ON THE THRESHOLD OF PARADISE

have remained in the same condition for the last 13 billion years. In this apparently stagnant universe, only our earth is constantly changing and renewing itself. In an exceptional way, an evolutionary process is at work, for the earth continues to witness one stage after another. Ten billion years ago, the earth was just a fireball. But then it cooled down to become a temperate planet. Subsequently there was a phase of heavy rains which led to the growth of vegetation. Then came the animals. Lastly the humans appeared. After the appearance of human beings, the process of civilization set in on the earth. In the first phase man was only able to build a primitive world. But later, he became more and more successful at constructing a highly developed world. This human success goes hand in hand with a continuous evolutionary process. And it is but