“Many other theories, besides those relating to the atmosphere, have been brought forward to account for various degrees of illumination of our own planets and of other heavenly bodies, but none are satisfactory except the one admitting that each world, star, planet, comet, or other heavenly body is, to a great extent, self-luminous; be it solid, hot or cold, watery, vaporous, molten, or of any other substance. “Now, to prove to you how true is the story of creation as related in the Bible, let us take the version step by step and see how it harmonises with, or refutes, known scientific facts, for I want to convince you that the Bible, in its scientific statements, will repel any attacks on its veracity.” “Well, I have an open mind on the subject, Sorrel,” replied Godfrey; “it seems to me that it is not irrelevant to discuss these most interesting matters under the present circumstances.” Sorrel then resumed,— “At the first chapter in the Bible we have ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,’ at a period in the dim past, some millions of years ago, when perhaps, from a primary ‘something’ there was formed a world which gradually solidified, and there came a time when the azoic rocks were established; this was, roughly speaking, about 49,600 feet below the present surface of the Earth, and in these, as the name implies, exists no trace of organic life. At this time ‘the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,’ causing to spring into being molluscs without sight, and very low forms of phytozoa and radiata, the fossils of which are found in the next bed above these azoic rocks, the bed being about 16,600 feet thick, or about 33,000 feet below the present surface. Of these shells, limestone and other substances necessary to later periods were made, and during the countless ages that passed whilst this great deposit, designated the Cambrian Period, was being formed, darkness brooded over the waters, as the Spirit of God caused these low forms of life to spring into existence and to die, in order that their remains might prepare the Earth for further races. Then ‘God said, Let there be light: and there was light,’ and in the waters there came a new race of beings with eyes—which had not been necessary previously—trilobites, and many other strange and wonderful creatures.