Bishop Cherrington Defends Evolution

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 704, 2 July 1929, Page 9

Bishop Cherrington Defends Evolution

TEACHING IN SCHOOLS SCIENCE, AND RELIGION f From Ovr Oirn Correspondent) HAMILTON, Today. “It would seem that there are people in this enlightened and progressive age who are disturbed at the advance of scientific investigations, and distressed at some of the hypotheses which science has considered to be pretty fairly established,” said Bishop Cherrington, referring to the question of evolution in his charge to the Waikato Synod this afternoon. His Lordship said he believed considerable agitation was afoot to prevent the teaching of the evolutionary hypothesis to the children of our schools. “It seems to me that we might as well question the teaching of the laws of gravitation or the circulation of the blood. I presume that the reason underlying the objection is that in some way or other the hypothesis is supposed to affect some preconceived notion that we were created and have arrived at our present state by some other means.” The bishop said the only other theory to account for our existence that he knew of was the ‘‘special creation theory.” It had been supposed in some quarters that the “special creation theory” had the authority of the Book of Genesis. It would not matter if it had, since the early chapters of Genesis were quite a modern production, dating not much more than 400 years before the Christian era. As a matter of fact, the narrative spoke of an orderly process, a gradually perfecting growth, and a bringing of cosmos out of chaos, which would fit the evolutionary hpothesis quite as well as any other. One reason for opposing this hypothesis was that it was supposed that it would destroy the “design” argument for the being of God. At first sigth, and with a crude presentation of that argument, perhaps it might. Further study showed that, instead of destroying, it only enhanced that famous reason for believing in the being of God. The bishop commended to their notice a small but vastly important book entitled “Belief, Faith, and Proof,” by Canon Beibitz, a book read by all theological students in preparation for the grades for the licentiate of theology. His Lordship quoted extensively from this work, and said it was impossible for a Christian to be afraid of the discoveries, verdicts, and methods of science of any sort. In conclusion, the bishop said our final belief was in God; that this earth was part of the universe for which He was responsible; and that therefore the results of the labours of His creatures in His world must eventually be a larger and wider knowledge of Him.

Neither evolution nor biology had as yet presumed to say a word as to the ultimate origin of life which we shared, and whether that life was something that could not be produced by inanimate matter. Whether it had been derived from matter inanimate so-called mattered not one jot. In the second supposition, it would mean that we had not yet reached the end of understanding what material things are. “Bor the true scholar, humble and devout, all paths of learning lead to Heaven.”