the Professor

It is my opinion, narrow and biassed, perhaps, that every man, and especially every theologian, should study geology. Every man should know where he stands. He should look out for his foundations, should know where his daily bread comes from; and for this reason should study the earth that supports him. Truly we are an ungrateful generation, for most of us pay not the slightest attention to patient Mother Earth, who gives us every physical thing we value – the building materials, the fuels, the metals, the harvests – that make civilization possible. ...

But there is another incentive to the study of geology, especially for theological students. It is a revelation of the mind of the Creator. It shows the Creator in action, discloses His hidden plans, gives us a glimpse of the mode of creation and all the wonderful steps by which was slowly evolved a world that may truly be called 'good.'…

It is time we had our eyes opened to read the revelation of God’s work in the book that lies nearest to us, a book of which the later chapters are still being written, a book that holds the oracles of the destiny of nations so far as they are shaped by material things – the open book of Nature.

A.P. Coleman,
School of Practical Science, Toronto