“I had gradually come, by this time, to see that the Old Testament from its manifestly false history of the world, with the Tower of Babel, the rainbow at sign, etc., etc., and from its attributing to God the feelings of a revengeful tyrant, was no more to be trusted than the sacred books of the Hindoos, or the beliefs of any barbarian.”
(from The Autobiography of Charles Darwin)
The Bible is “no more to be trusted than the sacred books of the Hindoos”? That’s dealing the low blow, Chuck! Surely not!!
Well, he really said it. The strange thing is he’s still calling them “Hindoos” in 1876, decades after “Hindu” had become normal. Guess he was an old man by then.
There is something telling in that Darwin is (quite rightly, of course) gutting the biblical account of history but that it obviously still doesn’t occur to him that maybe the British might be barbarians, or benighted like the Hindoos.
I wonder how Darwin would feel to find out that he is an object of quasi-religious devotion in some circles today?
Eric
With the English it’s hard to know where nationalist nostalgia stops and quasi-religious devotion begins. With Adam Smith (on the £20 note, with Darwin on the £10) it’s pure New Labour idolatry, though. That’s Hindoo Devil’ry if I ever saw it. The British caste system is as strong as ever and I expect the self-immolation of widows to make a comeback after the next election.
We can’t blame Darwin for having been born when he was, I suppose. In his day his view was the radical (“liberal”) one! His way of expressing it may be awkward, but like most of his work the point here is spot on, imho.
Darwin’s theory is completly wrong. God, Almighty created universe and mankind. If you see in the bible you can get generations from Abraham till Jesus ( Gospel of Mathew) and in Genesis you can get geneartions from Adam to Abraham which is history. If you visit middle east you can get historical evidences too.