The Origin of Man

THE FIAT THEORY

By Alfred Acton, M.A., D.Th

[Reprinted from THE NEW PHILOSOPHY, Vol. XXIV, Nos. 2-4, April—July—October, 1921]

The first of these theories has its name from the Latin word fiat, "let there be." It is the original theory of the Christian Church, and is still maintained by the orthodox. It is based on the story of creation as given in Genesis, where it is said that God made man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (2 Gen. 7).  In the vulgar acceptation of these words the picture presented is that of dust, or rather mud—for it is said that God made mist to rise up from the earth—fashioned into the shape of an adult man, and suddenly changed into flesh and blood by the inbreathing of life from God. This is the picture formed in the minds of most Christian children, from hearing the words of the Book of Creation.  In later years men are apt to smile at this picture as the fancy of the child and unworthy the consideration of the man; and they usually adopt in its place either an attitude of unconcern in regard to the whole question or some purely materialistic explanation of man's creation.  But in this men deceive themselves. The statement in Genesis is the statement of revelation; it is a simple one, like the childish grasp of it; but it is nevertheless the expression in the language of ultimate appearances of the truth itself. And in any true education the picture thus presented should be the first to be the first to be implanted in the childish mind as the basis for the understanding of the truth involved within it. The Fiat theory, properly understood, is indeed (or perhaps we should say, might be) the basis of all the theories which we have enumerated above. In its broad aspect this theory is the simplest possible statement of the philosophic doctrine of the Writings, that God created, from His own substance, an atmos­phere whereby He might proceed and operate; that from this were formed other atmospheres less and less active, until at last they ended in matter at rest; and that from this matter (the dust of the ground), suitably prepared, God formed all organic forms of life, ending by the creation of man. This is the doctrine as given in the Writings; and its truth is confirmed by the fact that man is being continually created, from day to day, in precisely this way. The law of man's creation is not a law which ceased to operate when the first man was created. It is a Divine Law, and its operation is unceasing. It is the law by which man is now created, and by which he is continually sustained. The law of creation is the law of existence; for existence is perpetual creation. In other words, the mode by which a thing comes into existence or is created is the mode by which it is continually sustained. We can, therefore, test the truth of any theory concerning creation by examining whether it expresses the law that is operating now, from day to day, in the creation of man—in the birth of an infant, in the sustenance of our body, or the rebirth, as it were, of its, every part, and in the birth and growth of the mind. By this test we see the truth of the law of creation as given in the book of Genesis. It is from matter, the dust of the ground, and from this alone, that the body of man is formed and continually sustained. It is no objection to say that this matter must first be converted into human food by means of the vegetable and animal kingdoms; it is still essentially matter. The bread that we eat is still the corn of the field—corn taken up by human intelligence, and harvested and threshed, and ground and baked, and so prepared that it may be received into the human body and be taken hold of by the soul for the creation and sustenance of the body; but still corn; corn which God has created from the dust of the ground, and which no man can make. The words "Dust thou art and to dust shalt thou return" constitute, indeed, a true and comprehensive statement of the law of creation both of man and of all organic forms of life. For in the work of creation God-Man continually takes the dust of the ground, divinely prepares it for human food, and from it, thus prepared, builds up and creates the body of man. It is this “dust” thus prepared that enters into the mother's blood to constitute the store upon which the soul of the infant—the breath of life from God—will draw for the fashioning of a body whereby it can enter into the world. And after birth the soul continually takes up new matters from the earth for the sustenance and new creation, as it were, of its body— 'first by the mother's milk, and then by grosser foods. And here let me note that something of this thought should be insinuated into the minds of children in connection with the story of Genesis. Not that children should be told that God did not create man from the dust of the ground in the way they picture. Indeed, care should be taken not to do this, for thus doubt may be subtly insinuated as to the truth of the Divine Word. But the genuine truth is sufficiently insinuated when they are shown that it is the dust of the ground by which we live, but dust prepared by Divine Love into fruits and vegetables fit for human food;  and that when this food has entered into our mouth God takes hold of it and builds it into human flesh and blood. With this truth insinuated, children, in later years, will see for themselves the meaning of the words, “God created man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." The Fiat theory, then, expresses the fundamental truth as to the creation of man. In itself it is not discordant with any of the other theories which we have enumerated. For, to paraphrase a statement made by Swedenborg in his HISTORY OF CREATION, whether the dust of the ground is prepared by the animal kingdom, as in the second and third of our theories, or by the vegetable kingdom, as in the fourth, it is still dust of the ground. The theories are but the understanding of the mode whereby man was created from this dust. There is, however, a very real difference between the fiat theory and the theory of evolution or descent which is now generally accepted. The fiat theory postulates the Will of God as the active force in the formation of man. But the modern theory of descent ascribes the formation of man to the operations of nature alone—that is, to the operation of merely natural forces devoid of love, wisdom, and end. The existence of God-Man, and the operation of Divine Love and Wisdom as the cause of creation, it ignores; or, if it admits the possibility of the existence of God, it assumes an agnostic attitude; and it sees no necessity for considering Divine Love and Wisdom as having any place in the solution of the problems of creation.