Re: Nature 100 years ago

Interesting but not untypical of 1900. In 1859 Darwin allowed the direct creation of the first life. Wallace argued that the divine spirit (he was a spiritualist) intervened at first life, sentient beings and humans as did many theologians e.g. James Orr etc.
Most religious thinkers accepted some kind of evolution with interruptions but objected to materialist versions.

Lord Kelvin was always anti-Darwin and wanted to smash Darwin up at the Brit assoc meeting of 1861 (he hadn't got his act together for 1860 when Wilberfoce and Huxley or rather Hooker had an argument of sorts.
It is interesting that the reviewer threw Kelvin's methodological naturalism (before the term was invented) at the semi-Darwinian.

The trouble is that we have hardly progressed in 100 years. Actually we have progressed backwards as there was no YEC published in the UK then and very little in the USA

Michael
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Cmekve@aol.com
  To: asa@calvin.edu
  Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 5:44 AM
  Subject: Nature 100 years ago

  Did anyone happen to notice the "100 Years Ago" section in the Dec. 4, 2003, issue of Nature? It has a mini-review of the 1903 book "Doubts About Darwinism" authored by someone known only as a "Semi-Darwinian":

  "The preface of this work informs us that its author has endeavoured to conform strictly to the principle laid down by Lord Kelvin, as follows -"If a probable solution, consistent with the ordinary course of nature, can be found, we must not invoke an abnormal act of Creative Power". Unfortunately the "Semi-Darwinian's" practice is not in accord with his profession. Whenever he meets with a problem in evolutuion which appears to him inexplicable on the lines of natural selection, so far from seeking a "probable solution, consistent with the ordinary course of nature," he resorts at once to the intervention, by a direct creative act, of "a Being possessing interlligence, intention and power." This is bad science, and we much doubt whether it is good theology."

  Sound familiar?

  Karl
  **********************
  Karl V. Evans
  cmekve@aol.com
Received on Thu Dec 11 13:03:28 2003