The Darwin Legend
by James Moore
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1994)
The legend pursued by Moore is the claim Darwin turned to God on his deathbed and renounced evolution as an error of his youth. This story has been told and retold over the years in a variety of versions especially in fundamentalist circles. Moore's appendices document and reprint such tales from 1882, the year Darwin died, to the year before publication of this book. He also reprints and documents denials of the canard by family and friends of the great man. Moore is extremely well placed to write on this topic. He is co-author of a highly regarded biography of Darwin, of other works on Darwin, and of works on science and religion. So what is the source and the truth of the matter?
I learned three things. One, Darwin was an unbeliever who had lost his faith in the traditional Christian God early in his scientific career. He called himself an agnostic in his personal diaries, and would say so in the circle of intimate friends. There is no evidence he ever wavered in this conviction. And, it would have been quite uncharacteristic of this calm and meticulous thinker to do so on his death bed.
On the other hand Darwin never proclaimed his loss of faith publicly. Moore never calls him a hypocrite, but Darwin supported the local village church, its charities, and if called upon local evangelical preachers who came to save the hop harvest workers from sin and drink. Darwin was in every way a Victorian gentleman, a member of the establishment. And a gentleman was not a radical, he did not speak against the crown or its church. Darwin deferred in such matters to his wife and daughters who tended to continue strong in their belief in God, and feared he would go to hell. They also made sure his private diary was published only in an edited version. Darwin's public adherence to the church made possible his interment in Westminster Abbey.
This ambiguity about Darwin's faith made the legend possible. The actual perpetrator was a woman evangelist, Lady Elizabeth Hope, who worked the tent circuit in Down village in the year before Darwin's death. Her descriptions of the view from the house and from Darwin's study are too accurate to be second hand. Thus, although there is no direct evidence of her visit, Moore credits her with calling on Darwin in the Fall of 1881. Darwin, always a gentleman, surely would not have refused to receive a titled preacher.
Moore's pursuit of the facts makes a fascinating story. If you like historical detective work, this is a good one. Oh, yes, and what was Darwin's actual final utterance on his deathbed? "I am not the least afraid to die," he assured his wife and several members of his family before he expired.
Journey into the Light:
Exploring Near Death Experiences
by Richard Abanes
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1996)
This book is written from an evangelical Christian view point by a "cult awareness" activist. The foreword is by Norman Geisler, a "creation science" apologist, and the cover endorsement by another, D. James Kennedy. For some skeptics this is enough to discredit it. But, there is much of use to skeptics in this book. Near Death (NDE) and Out of Body Experiences (OBE) occur only in the brain, not outside the body is the author's contention. Let me provide a chapter by chapter description.
This book was thoroughly researched, has a glossary, extensive footnotes, and a long bibliography. Unfortunately no index is included, which I consider a major omission. On the whole, the book examines NDEs in a way acceptable to skeptics.
William S. Bainbridge in an insightful article "Superstitions: Old and New" in the SI (Summer 1980) pointed out that evangelicals accept many of the same ideas as skeptics. He surmised that an end to religion may not mean the beginning of an "age of reason", instead, it may mean the coming of an age of new superstitions.
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