The World's Foundations; or, Geology for Beginners · Ch. XXII, part 1 · Unit 3: Part II: Reptiles, chalk, mammals, ice and people
24. The two records
Goal: Your child can tell back the author's view of how the Bible record and the rock record relate, in her own terms.
You'll need
- The book, open to this chapter
- Paper and pencil for copywork
What's in the book
The first part of Chapter XXII (pages 203 to 208) is Giberne's discussion of the first chapter of Genesis and the rock record. She says the two cannot truly disagree because they come from the same Author, lists several ways readers have tried to explain how they fit, and advises holding these ideas freely and waiting for fuller knowledge.
The lesson, step by step
About this chapter
Like Chapter IX, this is the author's own view as a Christian. Read it as written; this guide does not add comment either way, so families can discuss it in their own way.
Read together
Read pages 203 to 208, up to the paragraph that begins "A more easy task lies before us". She opens:
This is not, indeed, a religious work, but no volume on the subject of Geology can be fairly and honestly written without frequent reference to the Divine Architect of the great Earth-crust Building.
Her main points
Help your child list them:
1. She believes the story in Genesis and the story in the rocks come from the same Author, so they cannot really be at odds.
2. If a discovery shows that a common reading of some Bible words is wrong, she says that reading may be given up.
3. She warns against accepting new theories too quickly.
4. She lists several ideas people had suggested, such as the "Days" meaning long periods.
5. She advises waiting for fuller knowledge.
Her "we do not know" list
Find the paragraphs that begin "We do not know". Count how many there are, and read one aloud, for example:
We do not know how far his language is literal and how far it is figurative.
Tell it back
Ask your child to explain the author's view in their own words, beginning "Giberne thinks that...".
Copywork
Your child copies one sentence from the chapter that sums up her advice, for example the one that begins "We shall be wise to hold our thoughts free". Talk about what it means.
Answers to the book's problems
Model narration: Giberne thinks that the Bible and the rocks both come from God, so they cannot really disagree; that people's readings of either can be mistaken; that new theories should be accepted carefully; and that we should wait patiently for fuller knowledge.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.