Unveiling Darwinism: How God's Design Shines Through Family Connections

Darwinism: It Was All in the Family

Many people mistakenly believe that Charles Darwin, a theology graduate, was introduced to the concept of evolution during his voyage to the Galápagos Islands in 1835. However, the truth is that the idea of evolution had been present in his family for decades, ever since his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, first proposed it in 1770. The interpretation of facts and observations in favor of evolutionary ideology was influenced by Darwin's upbringing and the beliefs of his grandfather.

Scientist, Inventor, and Doctor: Erasmus Darwin

Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802) was a highly knowledgeable and enthusiastic scientist, inventor, and doctor. He translated the works of Carl Linnaeus into English, who created the plant classification system still used in modern botany. Erasmus invented numerous devices such as a speaking machine, a copying machine, and a steering mechanism for carriages that later found use in automobiles. His contributions spanned a wide range of areas, from evolution to eugenics, from airplanes to submarines, from antiseptics to psychoanalysis, and from talking machines to telephones.

Erasmus started his medical career in Lichfield in 1756 and gained a reputation as an excellent physician after saving the life of a young man whom other doctors had deemed incurable. His practice grew rapidly due to his frequent successful treatments and eventually became the largest in the English Midlands. Despite being offered the position of personal physician to King George III in London, Erasmus declined.

Around 1766, Erasmus co-founded the Lunar Society—a renowned social club consisting of prominent scientists, industrialists, and natural philosophers of the time. This society, often referred to as "the think tank of the Industrial Revolution," included members such as James Watt (known for inventing the steam engine), Joseph Priestley (the discoverer of oxygen), William Murdoch (the inventor of gas lighting), Josiah Wedgwood (a renowned potter), and Samuel Galton (a wealthy industrialist). The society also had connections with influential figures in America, including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

Epicure, Free-Thinker, and Poet

Erasmus Darwin had a strong passion for food, particularly fruits, sugar, cream, and butter. His love for food was matched by his aversion to exercise, resulting in him becoming significantly overweight. By the age of 46, a semi-circle had to be cut out of his dining table to accommodate his girth during meals.

Erasmus was married twice and fathered 12 children with his wives. He also had two known illegitimate daughters from a relationship with Miss Parker. These girls were raised alongside his other children in his home and played a role in inspiring Erasmus's extensive tract on female education.

Erasmus held anti-Christian views, opposed slavery, and supported the American and French Revolutions. He was an accomplished poet who often expressed his opinions and scientific ideas through verse. His notable works include "The Botanic Garden," published in two parts in 1789 and 1791, consisting of 4,384 lines of rhyming couplets, and "The Temple of Nature," published posthumously in 1803.

Evolution à la Erasmus

Erasmus first introduced the idea of evolution tentatively in 1770. His family coat of arms featured three scallop shells, to which he added the Latin phrase "E Conchis omnia" meaning "everything from shells." He painted this motto on his carriage to subtly publicize his theory. However, it did not go unnoticed. Canon Seward of Lichfield Cathedral wrote satirical verses criticizing Darwin's ideas, accusing him of renouncing the Creator and claiming that he could create everything from simple shells.

To avoid offending his wealthy patients, Erasmus eventually painted over the motto on his carriage but retained it on his bookplate in 1771. Over the following years, Erasmus became bolder in expressing his evolutionary ideas. In his work "The Economy of Vegetation" published in 1792, he proposed that the Earth was formed through a cosmological explosion. He wrote about the origin of life in the sea and its progressive development from there in "The Botanic Garden."

Erasmus's most significant work, "Zoonomia or the Laws of Organic Life," published in two volumes in 1794 and 1796, was a comprehensive medical treatise that included a classification of diseases and their treatments. It is considered the first consistent hypothesis of evolution and was published approximately 65 years before Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" in 1859.

Erasmus suggested that warm-blooded animals arose from a single living filament endowed with the power to acquire new parts and improve through its own inherent activity. He proposed that these improvements could be passed on to future generations through reproduction. In "The Temple of Nature," Erasmus extended this idea to claim that all existing plants and animals originated from microscopic forms that spontaneously developed in primeval oceans.

Erasmus attempted to appease the church-going culture of his time by referring to "The Great First Cause" in his writings. However, he quickly asserted that once evolution began, it required no divine intervention but proceeded based on its inherent ability. He opposed Christianity and included "Credulity, Superstitious Hope, and the Fear of Hell" as diseases within his catalog.

These ideas presented by Erasmus faced criticism from writers like Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who coined the term "darwinizing" to describe wild speculation regarding evolutionary ideas. "The Temple of Nature" was widely condemned for denying any involvement of a deity and for attempting to replace biblical religion with a religion of nature.

Erasmus's Influence on Charles

Although Charles Darwin was born seven years after Erasmus's death, he grew up in a household where his father, Robert, embraced Erasmus's materialistic and anti-Christian ideas. Disbelief in Christianity was not viewed as a moral crisis or rebellion within the Darwin family but rather as a filial duty.

Charles read and greatly admired "Zoonomia" when he was only 18 years old. Years later, when faced with criticism similar to what his grandfather had experienced, Charles attempted to distance himself from Erasmus's book. He claimed to be disappointed upon rereading it after a decade or more, citing an excess of speculation compared to factual evidence. However, in 1837, when Charles began writing his own ideas in a notebook, he titled it "Zoonomia" to symbolize his alignment with his grandfather's path.

One of Charles Darwin's main arguments for evolution was based on the observation of finch beak shapes and their adaptation to available food sources in the Galápagos Islands. It is difficult to believe that he was not influenced by Erasmus's writings on the subject. Erasmus suggested that birds had acquired different beak shapes over generations through their perpetual endeavor to find food.

Almost every topic and example discussed in "Zoonomia" reappears in Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species." In fact, all but one of Charles's books have corresponding chapters or essay-notes in Erasmus's works. Charles's copies of "Zoonomia" and "The Botanic Garden" are extensively marked and annotated.

Erasmus Darwin's influence cast a long shadow that made atheism intellectually respectable and shifted Western society's worldview from belief in the Creator God to a worship of humanistic hedonism devoid of accountability to God. As Christians, it is crucial for us to consider what we pass on to our children and grandchildren. We have a responsibility to teach them the true biblical worldview, which not only addresses our need for salvation but also provides meaning to their lives. By instilling repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection, we can guide them away from the uncertainties of man-made theories that deny God's existence in favor of a 21st-century "big lie."