Original scientific paper

Charles Darwin and God the Creator

Josip Balabanić orcid.org/0000-0002-5056-4715

Abstract

In this article, we search for the answer to the question why it is that in the works of Charles Darwin (1809-1882), there pertains such a surprising amount of direct theological content and why he brought an existential dimension of his own religious belief about God as the creator through the secondary causes (laws of nature) into his capital works, the Origin of Species (1859) and Descent of Man (1871). Based on his statements in some letters and quotes in Autobiography, one can conclude that Darwin, although a follower of scientifc reductionism, does not mention the Creator from tactical reasons (to soften the repulsion of his work by conservative readers, out of respect to his religious wife etc), but does it honestly as a theist agnostic who within himself simply combined the faith in God and the empirical experience of a scientist.

Keywords

Ch. Darwin; faith, science; God, creation; scientifc reductionism

Hrčak ID:

48019

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/48019

Publication date:

30.12.2009.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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