s them treat the whole
question of the origin and destiny of man and of the world with
absolute indifference.

There can nevertheless be no question that the whole subject is at the
present moment in a more satisfactory state than ever previously; that
much has been done for the solution of difficulties; that many
theologians admit the great service which in many cases science has
rendered to the interpretation of the Bible, and that most naturalists
feel themselves free from undue trammels. Above all, there is a very
general disposition to admit the distinctness and independence of the
fields of revelation and natural science, the possibility of their
arriving at some of the same truths, though in very different ways,
and the folly of expecting them fully and manifestly to agree in the
present state of our information. The literature of this kind of
natural history has also become very extensive, and there are few
persons who do not at least know that there are methods of reconciling
the cosmogony of Moses with that obtained from the study of nature.
For this very reason the time is favorable for an unprejudiced
discussion of the questions involved; and for presenting on the one
hand to naturalists a summary of what the Bible does actually teach
respecting the early history of the earth and man, and on the other to
those whose studies lie in the book which they regard as the Word of
God, rather than in the material universe which they regard as his
work, a view of the points in which the teaching of the Bible comes
into contact with natural science at its present stage of progress.
These are the ends which I propose to myself in the following pages,
and which I shall endeavor to pursue in a spirit of fair and truthful
investigation; having regard on the one hand to the claims and
influence of the venerable Book of God, and on the other to the rights
and legitimate results of modern scientific inquiry.

The plan which I have proposed to myself in this part of my subject
is to take the statements of Genesis in their order, and consider what
they import, and how they appear to harmonize with what we know from
other sources. This will occupy some space, but it will save time in
dealing with the remaining parts of the subject. Before entering upon
it, I propose to devote one chapter to the answers to three questions
which concern the whole doctrine of revealed religion, whether
Semitic, Turanian, or Aryan. These are: (1)