Againthenebularhypothesiscameforthstrongerthanever，andabout1850thebeautifulexperimentofPlateauontherotationofafluidglobecameinapparentlytoillustrateifnottoconfirmit。EvensodeterminedadefenderoforthodoxyasMr。Gladstoneatlastacknowledgedsomeformofanebularhypothesisasprobablytrue。
Here，too，wasexhibitedthatformofsurrenderingtheologicalviewstoscienceundertheclaimthatscienceconcurswiththeology，whichwehaveseeninsomanyotherfields；and，astypical，anexamplemaybegiven，which，howeverrestrictedinitsscope，throwslightontheprocessbywhichsuchsurrendersareobtained。AfewyearssinceoneofthemostnotedprofessorsofchemistryinthecityofNewYork，undertheauspicesofoneofitsmostfashionablechurches，gavealecturewhich，aswasclaimedinthepublicprintsandinplacardspostedinthestreets，wastoshowthatsciencesupportsthetheoryofcreationgiveninthesacredbooksascribedtoMoses。Alargeaudienceassembled，andabrilliantseriesofelementaryexperimentswithoxygen，hydrogen，andcarbonicacidwasconcludedbythePlateaudemonstration。Itwasbeautifullymade。Asthecolouredglobuleofoil，representingtheearth，wasrevolvedinatransparentmediumofequaldensity，asitbecameflattenedatthepoles，asringsthenbrokeforthfromitandrevolvedaboutit，and，finally，assomeoftheseringsbrokeintosatellites，whichforamomentcontinuedtocircleaboutthecentralmass，theaudience，aswelltheymight，roseandburstintorapturousapplause。
Thereuponawell-to-docitizenaroseandmovedthethanksoftheaudiencetotheeminentprofessorfor“thisperfectdemonstrationoftheexactandliteralconformityofthestatementsgiveninHolyScripturewiththelatestresultsofscience。”Themotionwascarriedunanimouslyandwithapplause，andtheaudiencedispersed，feelingthatagreatservicehadbeenrenderedtoorthodoxy。Sanctasimplicitas！
Whatthisincidentexhibitedonasmallscalehasbeenseenelsewherewithmoredistinguishedactorsandonabroaderstage。
Scoresoftheologians，chiefamongwhomoflate，inzealifnotinknowledge，hasbeenMr。Gladstone，haveendeavouredto“reconcile“thetwoaccountsinGenesiswitheachotherandwiththetruthsregardingtheoriginoftheuniversegainedbyastronomy，geology，geography，physics，andchemistry。Theresulthasbeenrecentlystatedbyaneminenttheologian，theHulseanProfessorofDivinityattheUniversityofCambridge。Hedeclares，“Noattemptatreconcilinggenesiswiththeexactingrequirementsofmodernscienceshaseverbeenknowntosucceedwithoutentailingadegreeofspecialpleadingorforcedinterpretationtowhich，insuchaquestion，weshouldbewisetohavenorecourse。”[9]
[9]ForaninterestingreferencetotheoutcryagainstNewton，seeMcCosh，TheReligiousAspectofEvolution，NewYork，1890，pp。103，104；forgermsofanevolutionaryviewamongtheBabylonians，seeGeorgeSmith，ChaldeanAccountofGensis，NewYork，1876，pp。74，75；foragermofthesamethoughtinLucretius，seehisDeNaturaRerum，lib。v，pp。187-194，447-454；
forBruno’sconjecturein1591，seeJevons，PrinciplesofScience，London，1874，vol。ii，p。36；forKant’sstatement，seehisNaturgeschichtedesHimmels；forhispartinthenebularhypothesis，seeLange，GeschichtedesMaterialismus，vol。i，p。266；forthevalueofPlateau’sbeautifulexperiment，verycautiouslyestimated，seeJevons，vol。ii，p。36；alsoEliseeReclus，TheEarth，translatedbyWoodward，vol。i，pp。14-18，foranestimatestillmorecareful；forageneralaccountofdiscoveriesofthenatureofnebulaebyspectroscope，seeDraper，ConflictbetweenReligionandScience；foracarefuldiscussionregardingthespectraofsolid，liquid，andgaseousbodies，seeSchellen，SpectrumAnalysis，pp。100etseq。；foraverythoroughdiscussionofthebearingsofdiscoveriesmadebyspectrumanalysisuponthenebularhypothesis，ibid。，pp。532-537；forapresentationofthedifficultiesyetunsolved，seeanarticlebyPlummerintheLondonPopularScienceReviewforJanuary，1875；
foranexcellentshortsummaryofrecentobservationsandthoughtsonthissubject，seeT。SterryHunt，AddressatthePriestleyCentennial，pp。7，8；foraninterestingmodificationofthishypothesis，seeProctor’swritings；forastillmorerecentviewseeLockyer’stwoarticlesonTheSun’sPlaceinNatureforFebruary14and25，1895。
Therevelationsofanothergroupofsciences，thoughsometimesbitterlyopposedandsometimes“reconciled“bytheologians，havefinallysetthewholequestionatrest。First，therehavecomethebiblicalcritics——earnestChristianscholars，workingforthesakeoftruth——andthesehaverevealedbeyondtheshadowofareasonabledoubttheexistenceofatleasttwodistinctaccountsofcreationinourbookofGenesis，whichcansometimesbeforcedtoagree，butwhicharegenerallyabsolutelyatvariancewitheachother。Thesescholarshavefurthershownthetwoaccountstobenotthecunninglydevisedfablesofpriestcraft，butevidentlyfragmentsofearlierlegends，myths，andtheologies，acceptedingoodfaithandbroughttogetherforthenoblestofpurposesbythosewhoputinorderthefirstofoursacredbooks。
Nexthavecomethearchaeologistsandphilologists，thedevotedstudentsofancientmonumentsandrecords；ofthesearesuchasRawlinson，GeorgeSmith，Sayce，Oppert，Jensen，Schrader，Delitzsch，andaphalanxofsimilarlydevotedscholars，whohavedecipheredamultitudeofancienttexts，especiallytheinscriptionsfoundinthegreatlibraryofAssurbanipalatNineveh，andhavediscoveredthereinanaccountoftheoriginoftheworldidenticalinitsmostimportantfeatureswiththelateraccountsinourownbookofGenesis。
ThesemenhavehadthecouragetopointoutthesefactsandtoconnectthemwiththetruththattheseChaldeanandBabylonianmyths，legends，andtheorieswerefarearlierthanthoseoftheHebrews，whichsostrikinglyresemblethem，andwhichwehaveinoursacredbooks；andtheyhavealsoshownushownaturalitwasthattheJewishaccountsofthecreationshouldhavebeenobtainedatthatremoteperiodwhentheearliestHebrewswereamongtheChaldeans，andhowthegreatHebrewpoeticaccountsofcreationweredrawneitherfromthesacredtraditionsoftheseearlierpeoplesorfromantecedentsourcescommontovariousancientnations。
Inasummarywhichforprofoundthoughtandfearlessintegritydoeshonournotonlytohimselfbuttothegreatpositionwhichheholds，theRev。Dr。Driver，ProfessorofHebrewandCanonofChristChurchatOxford，hasrecentlystatedthecasefullyandfairly。HavingpointedoutthefactthattheHebrewswereonepeopleoutofmanywhothoughtupontheoriginoftheuniverse，hesaysthatthey“framedtheoriestoaccountforthebeginningsoftheearthandman“；that“theyeitherdidthisforthemselvesorborrowedthoseoftheirneighbours“；that“ofthetheoriescurrentinAssyriaandPhoeniciafragmentshavebeenpreserved，andtheseexhibitpointsofresemblancewiththebiblicalnarrativesufficienttowarranttheinferencethatbotharederivedfromthesamecycleoftradition。”
AftergivingsomeextractsfromtheChaldeancreationtabletshesays：“Inthelightofthesefactsitisdifficulttoresisttheconclusionthatthebiblicalnarrativeisdrawnfromthesamesourceastheseotherrecords。Thebiblicalhistorians，itisplain，derivedtheirmaterialsfromthebesthumansourcesavailable……ThematerialswhichwithothernationswerecombinedintothecrudestphysicaltheoriesorassociatedwithagrotesquepolytheismwerevivifiedandtransformedbytheinspiredgeniusoftheHebrewhistorians，andadaptedtobecomethevehicleofprofoundreligioustruth。”
NotlesshonourabletothesisteruniversityandtohimselfisthestatementrecentlymadebytheRev。Dr。Ryle，HulseanProfessorofDivinityatCambridge。HesaysthattosupposethataChristian“musteitherrenouncehisconfidenceintheachievementsofscientificresearchorabandonhisfaithinScriptureisamonstrousperversionofChristianfreedom。”Hedeclares：“Theoldpositionisnolongertenable；anewpositionhastobetakenupatonce，prayerfullychosen，andhopefullyheld。”HethengoesontocomparetheHebrewstoryofcreationwiththeearlierstoriesdevelopedamongkindredpeoples，andespeciallywiththepre-existingAssyro-Babyloniancosmogony，andshowsthattheyarefromthesamesource。Hepointsoutthatanyattempttoexplainparticularfeaturesofthestoryintoharmonywiththemodernscientificideasnecessitates“anon-natural“
interpretation；buthesaysthat，ifweadoptanaturalinterpretation，“weshallconsiderthattheHebrewdescriptionofthevisibleuniverseisunscientificasjudgedbymodernstandards，andthatitsharesthelimitationsoftheimperfectknowledgeoftheageatwhichitwascommittedtowriting。”
RegardingtheaccountinGenesisofman’sphysicalorigin，hesaysthatit“isexpressedinthesimpletermsofprehistoriclegend，ofunscientificpictorialdescription。”
InthesestatementsandinamultitudeofothersmadebyeminentChristianinvestigatorsinothercountriesisindicatedwhatthevictoryiswhichhasnowbeenfullywonovertheoldertheology。
Thus，fromtheAssyrianresearchesaswellasfromothersources，ithascometobeacknowledgedbythemosteminentscholarsattheleadingseatsofChristianlearningthattheaccountsofcreationwithwhichfornearlytwothousandyearsallscientificdiscoverieshavehadtobe“reconciled“——theaccountswhichblockedthewayofCopernicus，andGalileo，andNewton，andLaplace——weresimplytranscribedorevolvedfromamassofmythsandlegendslargelyderivedbytheHebrewsfromtheirancientrelationswithChaldea，rewroughtinamonotheisticsense，imperfectlyweldedtogether，andthenthrownintopoeticformsinthesacredbookswhichwehaveinherited。
Ononehand，then，wehavethevariousgroupsofmendevotedtothephysicalsciencesallconvergingtowardtheproofsthattheuniverse，asweatpresentknowit，istheresultofanevolutionaryprocess——thatis，ofthegradualworkingofphysicallawsuponanearlyconditionofmatter；ontheotherhand，wehaveothergreatgroupsofmendevotedtohistorical，philological，andarchaeologicalsciencewhoseresearchesallconvergetowardtheconclusionthatoursacredaccountsofcreationweretheresultofanevolutionfromanearlychaosofrudeopinion。
Thegreatbodyoftheologianswhohavesolongresistedtheconclusionsofthemenofsciencehaveclaimedtobefightingespeciallyfor“thetruthofScripture。”andtheirfinalanswertothesimpleconclusionsofscienceregardingtheevolutionofthematerialuniversehasbeenthecry，“TheBibleistrue。”Andtheyareright——thoughinasensenoblerthantheyhavedreamed。
Science，whileconqueringthem，hasfoundinourScripturesafarnoblertruththanthatliteralhistoricalexactnessforwhichtheologianshavesolongandsovainlycontended。Moreandmoreasweconsidertheresultsofthelongstruggleinthisfieldwearebroughttotheconclusionthattheinestimablevalueofthegreatsacredbooksoftheworldisfoundintheirrevelationofthesteadystrivingofourraceafterhigherconceptions，beliefs，andaspirations，bothinmoralsandreligion。Unfoldingandexhibitingthislong-continuedeffort，eachofthegreatsacredbooksoftheworldisprecious，andall，inthehighestsense，aretrue。Notoneofthem，indeed，conformstothemeasureofwhatmankindhasnowreachedinhistoricalandscientifictruth；tomakeaclaimtosuchconformityisfolly，foritsimplyexposesthosewhomakeitandthebooksforwhichitismadetolossoftheirjustinfluence。
Thattowhichthegreatsacredbooksoftheworldconform，andourownmostofall，istheevolutionofthehighestconceptions，beliefs，andaspirationsofourracefromitschildhoodthroughthegreatturning-pointsinitshistory。Hereinliesthetruthofallbibles，andespeciallyofourown。Ofvastvaluetheyindeedoftenareasarecordofhistoricaloutwardfact；recenresearchesintheEastareconstantlyincreasingthisvalue；butitisnotforthisthatweprizethemmost：theyareeminentlyprecious，notasarecordofoutwardfact，butasamirroroftheevolvingheart，mind，andsoulofman。Theyaretruebecausetheyhavebeendevelopedinaccordancewiththelawsgoverningtheevolutionoftruthinhumanhistory，andbecauseinpoem，chronicle，code，legend，myth，apologue，orparabletheyreflectthisdevelopmentofwhatisbestintheonwardmarchofhumanity。
Tosaythattheyarenottrueisasifoneshouldsaythatafloweroratreeoraplanetisnottrue；toscoffatthemistoscoffatthelawoftheuniverse。Inweldingtogetherintonobleform，whetherinthebookofGenesis，orinthePsalms，orinthebookofJob，orelsewhere，thegreatconceptionsofmenactingunderearlierinspiration，whetherinEgypt，orChaldea，orIndia，orPersia，thecompilersofoursacredbookshavegiventohumanityapossessioneverbecomingmoreandmoreprecious；andmodernscience，insubstitutinganewheavenandanewearthfortheold——thereignoflawforthereignofcaprice，andtheideaofevolutionforthatofcreation——hasaddedandissteadilyaddinganewrevelationdivinelyinspired。
Inthelightofthesetwoevolutions，then——oneofthevisibleuniverse，theotherofasacredcreation-legend——scienceandtheology，ifthemastermindsinbotharewise，mayatlastbereconciled。AgreatstepinthisreconciliationwasrecentlyseenatthemaincentreoftheologicalthoughtamongEnglish-speakingpeople，when，inthecollectionofessaysentitledLuxMundi，emanatingfromthecollegeestablishedintheselatterdaysasafortressoforthodoxyatOxford，thelegendarycharacterofthecreationaccountsinoursacredbookswasacknowledged，andwhentheArchbishopofCanterburyasked。”MaynottheHolySpiritattimeshavemadeuseofmythandlegend？”[10]