Darwinian Theology

[Strix]

I found this site interesting:
http://www.update.uu.se/~fbendz/library/cd_relig.htm

It is taken from The Autobiography of Charles Darwin and gives some insight into the mind of the man who fostered Evolutionary theory.

excerpt:
"(speaking of Christianity)... And this is a damnable doctrine.

Although I did not think much about the existence of a personal God until a considerably later period of my life, I will here give the vague conclusions to which I have been driven. The old argument of design in nature, as given by Paley, which formerly seemed to me so conclusive, fails, now that the law of natural selection has been discovered. We can no longer argue that, for instance, the beautiful hinge of a bivalve shell must have been made by an intelligent being, like the hinge of a door by man. There seems to be no more design in the variability of organic beings and in the action of natural selection, than in the course the wind blows... "

[sandy_mcd]

I'm not familiar with Paley, so I did a search for him and found this quote also attributed to Darwin's biography:

In order to pass the B.A. examination, it was, also, necessary to get up Paley's Evidences of Christianity, and his Moral Philosophy. . . The logic of this book and as I may add of his Natural Theology gave me as much delight as did Euclid. The careful study of these works, without attempting to learn any part by rote, was the only part of the Academical Course which, as I then felt and as I still believe, was of the least use to me in the education of my mind. I did not at that time trouble myself about Paley's premises; and taking these on trust I was charmed and convinced of the long line of argumentation. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/paley.html

So at least he retained more respect for Paley than for most.
sandy

[Strix]

Another interesting insight into Darwin's mind:

"...I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science...It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many flaw(s) and holes as sound parts."
--- Charles Darwin to Asa Gray, cited by Adrian Desmond and James Moore, Darwin, (New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1991) pp. 456, 475.