Discovering Darwin's Designs (1)

So did Charles Darwin believe in God?

Actually, for most of his life he did; but he did begin to think that God might have, sort of, set the universe running and then sorting itself out and making itself better. He did stop believing in God when his daughter, Anne Elizabeth, died at the age of 10.

She is buried in the graveyard of Great Malvern Priory. Her dad had taken her there to drink the "healthy waters". He was heart-broken when it didn't work. 

That must have been tough for him. So it was then that Mr Darwin set out to prove the Bible was rubbish?

NO, NO and a thousand times, NO! He knew that his ideas would upset some people and he was saddened by that. But most Christians thought he was simply explaining how God created, not disproving it.

For Darwin, it all started with an invitation to take a trip on a boat.

HMS Beagle

Captain Robert Fitzroy's Second expedition

set sail 27th December 1831.

Returned to England 2nd October 1836

Its five year mission was to seek out new life and civilisations, to boldy go where no man had gone before.

The route of Darwin's voyage on "The Beagle"

[click on the image to enlarge]

Darwin's job was to keep a careful record of all that they saw on their epic journey. It was exactly what he saw that started him thinking about how animals change and where different species have come from.

So this is where all the arguments started?

Not really. We need to go about 200 years back in history. The problems probably began with this man.

James Ussher, Bishop of Armagh (in Ireland). Born 1581, Died 1656

Lived at the time of Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I.

He was a real "brain box"!

He calculated the God had created the world in the night before 23rd October 4004 BC!

A bit out; if the 'big bang' happened over 13 billion years ago. What a wally!

That's unfair. Many great thinkers came up with similar dates; they simply added up the ages of the people mentioned in the Bible; and it all made sense. Well, it made sense to them.

The great Isaac Newton came up with a date of approx. 4000 BC. Remember, all science was pretty basic then.

The first paragraphs of Bishop Usshers book. This is a translation into English. Like most clever people of his day, he wrote in latin. Sometimes the letter "s" was printed to look like "f"; "firft" is "first" ; "funday" is "sunday"!

This is the same passage with modern English letters and spelling:-

In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth, which beginning of time according to our chronology, fell upon the entrance of the night preceding the twentythird day of October in the year 4004.

Upon the first day, therefore, of the world, or October 23rd, being our Sunday, God, together with Highest Heaven, created the Angels.

Then having finished, as it were, the 'roof' of his 'building', he fell in hand with the foundation of this wonderful fabric of the world.

He fashioned this lowermost Globe, consisting of the deep; and of the earth; all the choirs of Angels singing together and magnifying his name.

And when the earth was void and without form, and darkness covered the deep. On the very middle of the first day LIGHT was created.

Everyone thought that his ideas were so good that they started printing his dates on the pages of the Bible; e.g. Noah entered the Ark in 2448BC as above from fbb's Family Bible. So everyone started believing that the Bish's dates were part of God's Holy Book. So they must be right. It would be blasphemy (like really bad swearing!) to think any other way. In fact they were simply the opinion of one man, not "holy" at all.

So it was the Bish who wrote that the earth was only about 6000 years old, and not 13.7 billion years?

That's right. So when people came up with different ages for the earth, some strict Bible experts started getting a bit shirty. We will think some more next week 'cos fbb and Mrs fbb are very busy with a Harvest Festival service and lunch on Sunday. Apologies.

 Next Bible Blog : Tuesday 2nd October 

the Science of Creation [4]

But what about God creating humans?

But animals first, remember?

Then God commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life: domestic and wild, large and small”; and it was done. So God made them all, and he was pleased with what he saw.

Go on; show me some really weird animals!

O.K. You asked for it!

Thylacine (extinct)

Aye-aye

Colugo

Glis-glis

Bilby

Dugong

Human

The wierd human is Carl von Linné [Linnaeus], born 1707, died 1778. He invented the system for naming all living creatures. In his system, the thylacine is (was!) "thylacinus cynosephalus", the glis-glis is "myoxus glis", the human is "homo sapiens"; that means "wise man".

So man is just a clever monkey, right?

In fact, that is one of the most misleading pictures that have even been drawn. As usual, various clever people don't agree completely but a simple explanation might be that man [homo sapiens] and the family of apes might, ages and ages ago; millions of years ago, have had "ancestors" in common.

The pink arrow illustrates the idea that the branch of evolution (or the branch of creation!) that leads to humans branched very very early indeed. That's the most modern theory.

After all, although we've all got some of the same bits; but a very large number of different bits!

One expert has said that humans have more bits in common with a hedgehog than with a gorilla. Remember, none of the modern theories that try to explain where we come from have ever said than man was descended from the apes!

Anyway here is a version of the man-to-ape picture as above.

 It suggests that mankind has not "evolved" very much. We have become "monkeys" sitting in front of a computer!

 Don't look at me like that - I don't spend FOR EVER on my laptop!

Anyway... Doesn't the Bible say that God created man specially?

Oh, yes!

And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small.” So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female, blessed them, and said, “Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals.

And doesn't Darwin's evolution thing show that the Bible is all wrong anyway?

Aha! The great "evolution versus the Bible" debate! Probably the biggest and most pointless argument since the Church burnt people at the stake for saying that the earth was in orbit round the sun and was not the centre of the universe!

And this is the man at the centre of the argument!

Charles Robert Darwin, naturalist and geologist. Born 1809, Died 1882

I thought he had a huge beard?

That's typical of the problem with Darwin. So many people think they know about Darwin, what he thought and what he wrote. But so often they are repeating things that other people have said about Darwin; things that are either half-truths or often completely wrong.

Like what?

Like when Darwin published his famous book, almost all the Churches and Christian groups though it was absolutely wonderful; they didn't object at all.

That's not what I've been taught at school. So was Darwin wrong or right?

To answer that, we need to know much more bout him and the people that had similar ideas to him.

 Next Bible Blog : Thursday 26th September 

the Science of Creation [3]

Life has Landed

and humans represent a very small selection of vertebrates, which in turn makes up only about one hundredth of all the living creatures on earth.

Then God commanded, “Let the water be filled with many kinds of living beings, and let the air be filled with birds.” So God created the great sea monsters, all kinds of creatures that live in the water, and all kinds of birds. And God was pleased with what he saw. He blessed them all and told the creatures that live in the water to reproduce and to fill the sea, and he told the birds to increase in number. Then God commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life: domestic and wild, large and small" and it was done.

But surely, everything evolved. Nothing to do with God?

 1  is algae, descended from that primeval slime - the very beginnings of life.

 2  is a sea cucumber; an animal but not much more than a tube; with food in at the front and poo out at the back. It has no eyes, and some varieties live in the deepest and most inhospitable parts of our oceans.

 3  is a squid, descended from prehistoric creatures and still looking much like its ancient ancestors.

 4  is a coelacanth (pronounced 'seal-a-canth') and that is a prehistoric creature!

Ugly brute; but what's this go to do with evolution?

On December 23rd 1938 this fish was discovered. It was an unknown species and a powerful purple colour. The woman in the picture (Marjorie Courtnay-Latimer) took it to an expert who realised that it was a coelacanth which everybody thought was extinct!

In fact, fossil records suggest the the first coelacanths appeared 410 million years ago! That makes it the oldest fishy species still surviving.

It certainly looks a bit prehistoric.

The problem is that none of these creatures has "evolved" much since, well, almost for ever. Everything has not evolved!

So living animal life began in the sea. Are you telling me that a fish walked up the beach, grew legs, started to breathe air and became a land animal? That's simply not believable.

You are absolutely right, clever teenage person. The most likely explanation is that some form of life moved from sea on to land. But no-one really knows why or how or what it was It is quite hard to imagine how a fish could decide to breathe air normally and move on to land. Why would it want to? Some people have suggested that Land Animals and Sea Animals developed at the same time.

So where does all this leave us?

It shows that, although the Bible version is very simplistic, it does suggest a progession from sea to land. And that progress is under the control of God. It may not be technically right, but, astoundingly, considering when it was written, the basics are "spot on".

But that's not evolution is it? God doing it?

Unfortunately things are not that simple. As we shall begin to see next time. The fat bloke is away this weekend so you'll have to wait a bit longer.

 Next Bible Blog : Tuesday 25th September 

The Science of Creation [2]

That's Life!

It was a popular TV programme once; but we're looking at how science grapples with the origin of life itself.

OK so far. So where did life come from?
.
A Russian - Born 1894; Died 1980

This man came up with the idea of a primeval soup, a sort of sea of sludge. With all the heat, and great meteors crashing into the fiery hot earth, he guessed that the chemicals of life might mix and change and some sort of living slime might "appear"

Doesn't sound very much like life as we know it!

To continue ...

In 1953 a research student (in America) set up an experiment to see what would happen if he used high voltage electric sparks and high pressure to try to "stir up" certain basic chemicals. Would this home-made "primeval soup" eventually become alive? 

A bit like Frankenstein's monster creature?

Maybe, but it didn't really work. And so far no-one has been able to "create" life! Some scientists suggest that life came from "outer space" and infected the earth, like a disease! Maybe life didn't come from space but from outside our universe. That would fit in well with the idea of God.

The Bible implies that the sea comes before the start of life, although, again, it tells the tale very simply; and not al all scientifically. But it does suggest simple plant life had to come first, a bit like algae from the sea..

Yuk : Slimy

Then God commanded, “Let the water below the sky come together in one place, so that the land will appear”; and it was done. He named the land “Earth,” and the water which had come together he named “Sea.” And God was pleased with what he saw. Then he commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit; and it was done.

A bit like the idea of a primeval soup? Maybe possible. I'm not convinced. So what came next?

Then God made the sun to rule over the day; and the moon to rule over the night. He also made the stars. Then God commanded, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate day from night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals begin; they will shine in the sky to give light to the earth"; and it was done. So God made the two larger lights, the sun to rule over the day and the moon to rule over the night; he also made the stars.

Hang on a minute! God's got it in the wrong order!! Surely the earth evolved after the first stars?

Maybe. Maybe not. Time to take a ride in your imaginary spaceship again.

A question. With all the heat, and smoke, and earthquakes and volcanoes as the earth settles down and starts to become stable; what would the atmosphere be like?

I guess pretty stinky and hot with lots of fire and smoke.

So, to see the sun moon and star from your little spaceship you would need a clear atmosphere and a blue sky.

And that means oxygen! And where do we get oxygen from?"

A bit of biology? Green plants take in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen.

Well done, have a merit point! There would certainly be no clear sky until plant life started covering the earth. Yet photosynthesis needs sun, first. Once the sky cleared (in your imagination, looking out from your spaceship) you could see the sun, moon and stars for the first time. From the limited point of view of a theoretical observer on a changing earth, that's when the visible heavens would be "created".

A bit simple again - but remember, the people who wrote these ideas down were not scientists!

But .. I'm confused

The first living stuff, plants and the like, make oxygen.

Correct.

But isn't living stuff partly made of oxygen?

Correct

But ... How can they make oxygen if they haven't got any in the first place? The plants won't be there to make it.

Correct again! At the moment this is one of the many problems that science cannot explain. The calculations do not work out. There isn't enough free oxygen to make the world go round. Of course, it works for God, creating stuff from outside our universe! It's another "which came first?" conundrum; the oxygen to make the plants or the oxygen made by the plants.

What about humans? Descended from the apes?

 Next Bible Blog : Thursday 20th September 

The Science of Creation [1]

So, do you want the science first; or the Bible?

Of course, the science!

To help you understand, you need to buy a spaceship!

And a time machine, and set the controls to take you back to about 3 seconds after the "big bang". Well, try to imagine the impossible.

How far back must we go?

Not far! Scientists reckon about 13.7 billion years.

That's 13,700,000,000 years!

Look out of your porthole, and what will you see?

Cool!

No, very hot actually! A few seconds after the "big bang", the whole of space was filled with brilliantly glowing and very hot particles of light. (They're called "photons", if you want the scientific term.)

Photons, 13,7 billion years and what does the Bible say?

In the beginning, when God created the universe, the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God was moving over the waters. Then God commanded, “Let there be light"; and light appeared. God was pleased with what he saw. Evening passed and morning came; that was the first day.

So you're telling me that the guys who wrote the bible; thousands of years ago; they knew about the big bang?

Ancient people did not have the technical skill to understand cosmology. There is no logical explanation as to why the writers of the bible thought that light was the first thing "created". But, scientifically speaking, it was. Maybe God put the idea into their minds! But, from ancient writings, we know that they thought that the earth was flat; with the sky shaped like a dome over the top.

A man has found the end of the world and is poking his head out; a bit like the Truman Show.

It's a film; I'll tell you about it sometime. This diagram gives a simpler picture.

It's not a very scientific idea compared with our level of understanding today, but the words of Genesis were expressed in terms which the people understood then. Look up, and the sky does look like a dome.

There are holes in the sky, where the rain comes in. The holes are small, that's why rain is thin!" : a poem by Spike Milligan

So the bible's wrong, then?

 Maybe not wrong; maybe a bit too child-like for our modern minds. And poetic rather than scientific.

That's a galaxy!

Yes, where stars are made. The science says that all the hot "stuff" started to cool down and clog together in huge lumps; then it started spinning. After millions of years, stars "condensed" out of the hot gasses; a bit like drops of water "condense" on a cold window when mum is cooking.

I'll bet the bible folk didn't get that!

They ancient writings are surprisingly accurate, allowing for the limitations of the authors.

Then God commanded, “Let there be a dome to divide the waters and to keep it in two separate places”; and it was done. So God made a dome, and it separated the waters under it from the waters above it.

In the minds of an ancient Hebrew "waters" could mean "stuff". And separating is much the same as condensing.

He named the dome “Sky.” Evening passed and morning came; that was the second day.

Can't wait to see how you explain the rest of the creation story.

You won't have to wait long!

 Next Bible Blog : Tuesday 18th September 

Oh My God!

So what about God?

 Is this what he looks like?

Can anyone believe in a very old man on a cloud these days?

No real believer EVER thinks of God like that. But back in history some of our big-name artists were expected to paint murals and canvasses with images of God. How could they illustrate an almighty and all-powerful being?

When Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (it took him four years from 1508 to 1512)  he painted God as a huge, powerful and elderly human. The enlargement above shows God creating the sun!

And this, from the same place, is God, with angels, creating Adam.

Can you find it in the main ceiling picture? It was the best they could imagine; and certainly the only way they could think of painting God.

 So, is this what he looks like?

Of course not; but it might give some clues about God. It's a picture, an attempt to communicate a supernatural idea to an insignificant human.

When I look at the sky, which you have made, at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places; what are human beings, that you think of them; mere mortals, that you care for them?

Spookily the "pod" which God is sitting in is in the shape of a human brain... 

A picture of God the super-brain! But to really answer your question, you need to become a goldfish!

Not much better than a pigeon! You're joking again!

OK, It sounds daft - but I'll be a goldfish!

Nice bowl; lovely green plastic plant things.

So the bowl is your "universe" - how ever hard you try you cannot get through the glass! But things happen outside your little glass universe. Strange blobby creatures move about. (you've got very poor eyesight) And you depend on those creatures for your food. Your "god" creatures even keep your universe clean and fill it with fresh water. You might even be given a plastic rock to hide behind! Your "gods" are good and generous!

So God is, like, outside our universe?

Outside our universe; not part of our apace and time, which he then "created". To us, scientifically, it would "appear" OUT OF NOTHING! He made our "goldfish bowl" and he offers to care for us. Because God is just too big a concept for our tiny human minds we give Him human charcteristics. There is a posh word for that; it's:-

Anthropomorhism

The very wise old man idea might be all right for mediaeval paintings, but perhaps pictures of magnificence; power; beauty; rich colours and especially love; give a better idea of God.

There's nothing particularly unscientific about wierd non-human dimensions and multiple universes.

Maybe I can understand that idea - just about! 

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In order to grapple with the complex questions in the "Bible versus Science" debate, we are presenting infromation in the form of a conversation between an enquiring and intelligent teenager (yes, they do exist) and a reasonably knowledgeable adult; an uncle, a teacher or a Church minister. The teenager's words are shown in BLUE, the adult's in normal font. Quotations from the Bible are shown in RED as below.

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The following words are from one of the great pop songs of ancient Israel : in the bible it is called Psalm 36.

How precious, O God, is your constant love! We find protection under the shadow of your wings. We feast on the abundant food you provide; you let us drink from the river of your goodness. You are the source of all life and because of your light we see the light.
 

 Next Bible Blog : Sunday 16th September