charles_darwin

The Origin of Species
poetically in Paradise Lost: describe creation in a way that illustrated
and conformed to the literal text of the Bible. Aubrey Moore (1848–
1890), another British theologian and philosopher, argued that the fixity
of species was a theological, rather than a scientific, idea—although
prominent scientists such as the Swede Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778)
and Cuvier supported it. 4 John Ray had written about the fixity of the
species in books such as The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of
the Creation (1691), but Storr was incorrect when he suggested that
Ray was the author of the doctrine. The idea predated Ray by many
centuries. The fixity of species was simply one answer to a question
posed by many people living before and after Charles Darwin: from
where did all the species on the Earth originate?
45
William Paley and the Divine Watchmaker
Before the publication of The Origin of Species the most popular
answer to the question of origins was the one provided by the British
theologian William Paley (1743–1805). In his two books A View of
the Evidences of Christianity (1794) and Natural Theology: or, Evidences
of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity, Collected from the
Appearances of Nature (1802), Paley explained what is called natural
theology. Natural theology provided a unique answer to the questions
about extinct species and the fixity of species. The answer was
persuasive enough to convince most of the scientists of Darwin’s time
that any theory of evolution used to explain the origin of species
must be wrong.
Paley’s natural theology contained three major ideas. First, nature
was a source of information about God and Christianity. Anybody,
even someone without access to an organized religious
institution, could learn about the god of Christianity. People did not
need to read the Bible or know a set of doctrines: they just had to
look at the organization, beauty, and complexity of nature. Second,
studying nature would lead a person to accept the belief that God
created the universe and is in control of it. People could become
Christians simply by studying nature. Third, studying nature reveals
that God’s creation is ordered and logical. There are reasonable
explanations for all the phenomena of nature.
Paley’s objective in his two books was to convince his readers
that Christianity made sense. According to Paley, Christianity was
true because it was logical. The truths of the Bible as expressed in
the doctrines of the Christian Church were confirmed by nature. The
order in nature, natural theology, was another way to learn about
Biblical doctrines, called revealed theology. And why was the