act of the first day of creation was the fiat of God, "Let there be light," and the very first result of creative energy consisted in the fact that "there was light." Now, here is the paradox. The sun is the only source of natural light; the sun was not created until the fourth day; and yet there was light on the first day. The opponents of Bible-inspiration, therefore, put to us several very pertinent questions. If the sun was not created until the fourth day, how could there have been light on the first day? If light was created on the first day which divided the day from the night, the light from the darkness, what necessity was there for the creation of a new source of light on the fourth day for the purpose of effecting the very thing which had already been done on the first day? Or if two natural sources of light were at that time created, how is it and when was it, that the one originally made was blotted out from the face of the heavens or destroyed?
This question, from a strictly literal point of view, has never been answered. It cannot be. The nearest approach to an answer that has ever been given is, that it is one of those mysteries of religion which must be received by faith even though it be contrary to reason.
The believer in the truth that this is a spiritual parable avoids this confusion. When he under-
