CHAPTER II

THE CHRISTIAN FAITH AND MODERN SCIENCE

The Darwinian Theory: inferences unfavourable and favourable to religion 56 Evolution and the Copernican Revolution 60

I. The Method of Evolution: the biological discussion 61 State of opinion after fifty years of Darwinism 61 Laws of Variation and Heredity 62 Weismann's theory of Germinal Selection 63 Significance of the variety in opinions 65

II. The Meaning of Evolution: the philosophical discussion 66 1. Mechanism and Design 66 In the organic world in general; the fitness of the environment 67 In the organic world including man 70 2. Preformation and Epigenesis 73 Preformation and the infinite regress 74 The Origin of Life: various theories 75 The Origin of Man as viewed from different standpoints 78 The _Generatio Æquivoca_ 80

III. Theism and Evolution 82 The causal demand 82 Theism and the ideas of Continuity and Progress 83 Religion and scientific advance 85