Darwin and his Theism
Letemdangle
Published
01/09/2013
It is unremarkable to say that Darwin was a theist within his society. It would have been social suicide in his younger career to come right out and say, he was anything else other than a theist until making his mark upon the elite of society. It is humorous that Darwin wrote in his autobiography that his transition from theist to agnostic to atheist was a slow evolutionary cycle. Considering the time scales proposed by evolutionist as to the development of life and mankind, it is rather humorous to consider Darwin went from theist to atheist within one life span? Still, to examine the man from others who knew him, would suggest that his real religious convictions were unknown.
If Darwin were alive today, he probably would have Trolled the Shit out of the internet. Not in the manner of a unlearned man, like most trolls, but would have used it to in a shot gun approach to propose different ideas. This would of course been genius as long as the hypothesis had merit and the target audience had a semblance of free thought. I've looked, really hard, and I am convinced Darwin would have wrote a book on "Devolution of the Species". This was a joke for the less part, for those amongst us.
From Darwin's Autobiography.
In the summer of 1818 I went to Dr. Butler's great school in Shrewsbury, and remained there for seven years till Mid-summer 1825, when I was sixteen years old. I boarded at this school, so that I had the great advantage of living the life of a true school-boy; but as the distance was hardly more than a mile to my home, I very often ran there in the longer intervals between the callings over and before locking up at night. This I think was in many ways advantageous to me by keeping up home affections and interests. I remember in the early part of my school life that I often had to run very quickly to be in time, and from being a fleet runner was generally successful; but when in doubt I prayed earnestly to God to help me, and I well remember that I attributed my success to the prayers and not to my quick running, and marvelled how generally I was aided.
These statements are obviously those of a youthful mind, but it does demonstrate Darwin's spiritual sensitivities . Was this because of obvious cultural influence or an innate sense of reality? Probably both, as society expected it and Darwin as a child felt an inward compulsion to satisfy his mentors and fit in with his peers.
If Darwin were alive today, he probably would have Trolled the Shit out of the internet. Not in the manner of a unlearned man, like most trolls, but would have used it to in a shot gun approach to propose different ideas. This would of course been genius as long as the hypothesis had merit and the target audience had a semblance of free thought. I've looked, really hard, and I am convinced Darwin would have wrote a book on "Devolution of the Species". This was a joke for the less part, for those amongst us.
From Darwin's Autobiography.
In the summer of 1818 I went to Dr. Butler's great school in Shrewsbury, and remained there for seven years till Mid-summer 1825, when I was sixteen years old. I boarded at this school, so that I had the great advantage of living the life of a true school-boy; but as the distance was hardly more than a mile to my home, I very often ran there in the longer intervals between the callings over and before locking up at night. This I think was in many ways advantageous to me by keeping up home affections and interests. I remember in the early part of my school life that I often had to run very quickly to be in time, and from being a fleet runner was generally successful; but when in doubt I prayed earnestly to God to help me, and I well remember that I attributed my success to the prayers and not to my quick running, and marvelled how generally I was aided.
These statements are obviously those of a youthful mind, but it does demonstrate Darwin's spiritual sensitivities . Was this because of obvious cultural influence or an innate sense of reality? Probably both, as society expected it and Darwin as a child felt an inward compulsion to satisfy his mentors and fit in with his peers.
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