Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was a British scientist who discovered the theory of evolution by natural selection, explaining the history of life on earth. He wrote about it in the “Origin of Species” (1859) and the “Descent of Man” (1871).
The Bible says God created the species – all the kinds of plants and animals. Darwin said no: all life belongs to the one large family, each branch developing or “evolving” into different creatures. Over time fish came from worms and men from monkeys. His theory shook – and still shakes – the West.
The son of a rich family, Darwin went to Cambridge but he had no direction in life. The only thing he seemed to love was nature, especially beetles. Then he heard the HMS Beagle was about to sail round the world. Darwin signed up.
Along the way they came to the Galapagos islands. Each island had its own kind of finch. Yet they were all similar to the same bird found nearby in South America. How did this happen? Did God create a finch for each island? If not, how did they change or evolve for each island?
On the ship Darwin read Charles Lyell’s “Principles of Geology” (1830-33). Lyell said that the mountains, the rivers and so on were not created suddenly, either by God or some sudden natural calamity. Instead everything was created bit by bit, by slow, everyday change that is still going on.
This is called uniformitarianism. It makes for great science: Science is not about one-off changes like acts of God but about what can be observed to happen over and over again.
So Darwin thought that if the finches had changed for each island, it was a slow change that was going on all the time right under his nose. But what was it?
One night years later when Darwin was back from sea he read “Principles of Population” (1798) by Malthus. Malthus said that more children are born than can be fed, so some die, chiefly among the poor.
That was it: too many finches are born. Only those best suited for the island would live long enough to give birth to the next generation. Over time the fit would multiply and the unfit die out. That is how each island got its own finch. That is how evolution happened. No acts of God were required.
For over 20 years Darwin kept the theory to himself and some close friends. But then one day Darwin got a letter from Alfred Russell Wallace. Wallace had also sailed around the world, he had also read Malthus and he had also come up with the same theory. He asked Darwin what he thought of it.
This forced Darwin’s hand. In 1858 they jointly made the theory public. A year later Darwin explained the theory in his book, the “Origin of Species”.
The theory destroyed Darwin’s Christian faith, but not Wallace’s. Wallace did not see how evolution could explain man, especially his mind. Darwin thought it could and wrote about it in the “Descent of Man”.
Darwin died rich and famous but without hope of heaven.
See also:
I agree. Evolution cannot explain even the origin of species, much less how life even began.
Life’s beginning is very supernatural. So is the origin of the Universe.
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I don’t see how theory of evolution could destroy someone’s faith. I do believe evolution is real, but I am a Christian. I don’t have any problems with it. I mean, I don’t think those things are the opposite.
If God created everything, including Universe itself, He also made laws of physic and evolution as a way for species on Earth to evolve.
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My stock response to creente students is this:
Look, God’s almighty, right?
This means that, logically, he must live outside of our notion of time (the Bible in fact supports this statement, saying at one point that a thousand years is less than a minute for God).
So, to God, creation happens either simultaneously or very, very quickly – say it takes 7 days. But to us who are not transcendental beings, it looks like it takes billions of years.
Evolution is simply one of the mechanisms God used to create life. To him, it all happens in a snap of his fingers. To us, it looks like a growing and developing process that takes millions of years to occur.
I then go into what the Bible gets right: life did come from the sea, plants did arrive before animals. Man only arrived way at the end.
Then, to top it all off, I ask my lil’ Christians what was God’s FIRST injunction to humanity. Not a single holy roller has got it yet, which means I can sigh at them for the rest of the semester when they try to quote Bible passages at me as “proof” of something or another. (I mean, how can you REALLY understand the Bible and God’s plan for us if you don’t even know the first thing he told us to do?)
Can anyone here tell me what’s the first thing God told humanity to do without looking in the Bible?
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Multiply?
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No, Mira, “Be fruitful and multiply” came later.
God initially charged humankind with a very important task – one that’s relevant to anthropology and, indeed, science in general.
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Here is a next villain of the piece Malthus who some suggested influenced Darwin.
From what I can remember he was keen on the ideals of population control and felt that population would be controlled by such factors as war, famine etc…Here think mainly poor people, but not rich people dying from such effects…
To Thaddeus, asking for such a response from this board may take as long as the creation story itself – if my last question is to go by ha ha ha ha
“Do not pick of the fruit of good and evil”
And I did not look either…
Notwithstanding there are in fact two creation stories in the bible…
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Didn’t god say I leave you in charge of the earth and all its inhabitants or something of the like?
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J, this charge is from the first story.
Marci, close, but no ceegar. 😀
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Sorry I had to have a look
Genesis Ch 1
26 ¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, 1 Cor. 11.7 after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth
Genesis Ch 2
6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 1 Cor. 15.45
8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life Rev. 2.7 ; 22.2, 14 also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
….
15 ¶ And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
So what is the answer then good sir??
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Argh!! not even a candy cigarette?
Oh.. wait a minute.. did he say name all the animals?
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I have to admit I’m a recovering Catholic and this is driving me nuts. I’m trying not to go and look it up.
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You got it, Marci!
Here’s that ceegar.
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After all this Thaddeus…
I alluded to my short-sightedness earlier in a previous post…
I still can’t see the passage you are referring to in the bible.
this is the online link I was utilising
Anyhow even if you are correct on the first commandment…
You know what the real implication of the proposed answer to your question is ??
It suggests that humans is the centre of God’s creation, above the animals (and any other life form can even named them appropriately)
This would fit my conception of anthropology as a social science. However that is neither here or there at this present.
What were you alluding to when you asked your question please??
Thanks!!
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OOOps I forgot the biblical online link
http://sacred-texts.com/bib/kjv/gen001.htm
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I always thought that’s the way God created man, not the first thing God told humanity to do.
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Does that mean I can eat steak, veal and other meat without feeling guilty?
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With regard to:
“I always thought that’s the way God created man, not the first thing God told humanity to do”.
Now I am really getting nervo-uuuuus – because the first command appears to be what you said Mira (
at least for Genesis Ch 1)…but you do not seem to be believe it now…
Gulp…
Hereinth I think you should be alright…’prey’ continue
Do you get it he he he??
hang on I am about to get my magnifying lasses (here
think Mr Magoo)
I am back now…
*** denotes instruction
7 Yahweh God shaped man from the soil of the ground and blew the breath of life into his nostrils, and man became a living being.
8 Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden, which is in the east, and there he put the man he had fashioned.
9 From the soil, Yahweh God caused to grow every kind of tree, enticing to look at and good to eat, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river flowed from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided to make four streams.
11 The first is named the Pishon, and this winds all through the land of Havilah where there is gold.
12 The gold of this country is pure; bdellium and cornelian stone are found there.
13 The second river is named the Gihon, and this winds all through the land of Cush.
14 The third river is named the Tigris, and this flows to the east of Ashur. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 Yahweh God took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and take care of it.
16 Then Yahweh God gave the man this command, ‘You are free to eat of all the trees in the garden. ***
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat; for, the day you eat of that, you are doomed to die.’ ***
18 Yahweh God said, ‘It is not right that the man should be alone. I shall make him a helper.’
19 So from the soil Yahweh God fashioned all the wild animals and all the birds of heaven. These he brought to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to bear the name the man would give it. ***
20 The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild animals. But no helper suitable for the man was found for him. ***
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Hereinth I think you should be alright…’prey’ continue
Do you get it he he he??
Yes indeedy ree, LOL!
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Reblogged this on Project ENGAGE and commented:
Was Darwin clear about the evolution of man?
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