Creationism and Scriptural Geology, 1814-1857

In this, the fourth set in the "Evolution and Anti-Evolution: Debates Before and After Darwin" series, primary sources on the age of the earth debate are collected together. It illustrates the great battle over the interpretation of the Book of Genesis in the light of the apparent great age of the Earth. It became clear to the majority of practising scientists and theologians in the 1800s that a literal six-day creation, 6000 years ago was untenable as a scientific theory, whatever its theological backing may be. Two major approaches developed from this; the "Gap theory", which suggested a long stretch of time between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis I (thus allowing the fossil strata to appear), before the creation of the Garden of Eden and man, and the "Day-Age" approach, which suggested that each Genesis day corresponded to a geological age of unspecified length. Rare works by influential 19th-century theologians, such as Thomas Chalmers, amateur geologists, such as Hugh Miller, and biblically inspired interpreters, are assembled here. These important primary works, often cited in contemporary literature, have up until now been largely inaccessible for scholars.
With an introduction by evolutionary biologist John M. Lynch, this set is a resource for scholars of modern anti-evolutionism and historians of geology, and those interested in the interactions between science and religion.