Reports of Darwin's Deathbed Conversion Have Been Greatly Exagerrated

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It's an enduring tale that we've all heard: while Charles Darwin laid on his deathbed he threw out his own ideas about evolution and accepted Christianity. It makes for an interesting story, but it's completely false.

The tale was made up by Elizabeth Cotton (also known as "Lady Hope" for some reason). She claimed to have visited Darwin on his deathbed where she saw him reading his Bible and complaining about people taking his theories too seriously. (The story can be read in its original version at Wikipedia.) According to Cotton, Darwin told her that he was wrong about evolution and wanted her to tell his friends and family about Jesus. The story reads like a tall tale, complete with emotional appeals and unrealistic dialogue. And are we really expected to believe that Darwin wanted to discredit all of his life's work and that Elizabeth Cotton was the only person he told?

Darwin's family has always denied the stories of his deathbed conversions. Since many of his family members were Believers they probably would have wanted Cotton's story to be true (at least the part about him finding Christ), but they never supported Elizabeth Cotton's claims and neither have any independent historians.

Charles Darwin is a poorly understood person. He was not an atheist, and he did not consider evolution to be at odds with the church. Plenty of people think his work was pitted against religion (like the people who visit my site and tell me that Darwin "killed God"), but he didn't see it that way. Darwin enjoyed doing science for the sake of understanding the world around him, and he wasn't out to change anyone's religion. Charles Darwin specifically stated that his scientific notions were not a challenge to religion, but people don't like to remember that part.

I've had the pleasure of reading some of his correspondence and discovered among them some rather interesting statements about religion. In a letter to a friend, he says that he attended a presentation of Handel's Messiah and laments that his soul is too "dried up" to appreciate it. In another, his wife wishes he would return to seminary, but understands that he isn't able to go back there. None of these things are explained, at all, but it certainly paints a picture of man who's religious journey was more complex than we like to think.

No, I'm not Just Going to Church Because I was Raised that Way

"You're only a Christian because you were raised as one," he shouted at the top of his lungs, "if your parents were another religion you'd believe in that!"

Nonsense.

And, yes, someone actually screamed this at me in public after I casually mentioned that I attend church. That sort of sanctimonious, hateful religious talk isn't just for nutty street preachers, anymore. Plenty of "enlightened" people have given me an earful of violent rhetoric for my beliefs (even though I'm never pushy about my religion). I recommended that we talk about something else, but he kept yelling at me, certain that I was following blindly the ideas of my childhood.

That's insulting. Does he think he's the only person who ever questioned anything?

Everyone rebels. Every teenager fights back against their parents' worldview. Kids who grow up in church always reach the point of questioning their faith. Why not? We are taught in church to question everything and to be skeptical of religious claims. (At least, non-cultish churches do that.)

The grown-ups you see in church are people who questioned the convictions of their parents and, after a period of soul searching, came to believe in God on their own. And that's just the ones who were actually raised in church - plenty of Christians I've known were not brought up in Christian homes. They, too, questioned the ways of their parents.

Cynics tell me that I'll change my mind if I learn more, but I feel like I've read it all. I've enjoyed the philosophers, like Plato, Plotinus, and Cicero, and I love the scientific writings of Hawking and Stephen J. Gould as well as Galileo and Darwin. And I've read more books on theology and church history that I can count. Every possible argument against God has come to my attention and I have considered them all. I read whatever I can about Christianity from every point of view possible because I think that is the best way to understand it.

I don't mind if you disagree with me, but stop insisting that I'm just a product of my surroundings as if atheists are the only skeptical people. Everyone questions their upbringing - that's human nature. Church goers are not unthinking sheep, but people who searched for answers and decided that God was out there, after all.

Thoughtful Christian Discussion on Atheism

Below is a link to a Chapel video from Dallas Theological Seminary video called The New Atheism. The discussion is thoughtful and level-minded.  I find the advice for Christians, starting around the 20 minute mark, particularly interesting, as I am guilty of mean-spirited engagement with Atheist ideas.

I think the main take-away for Christians from this discussion should be a willingness to listen to other points of view, Atheist or otherwise, without arrogance or condescension.  I’ve found it difficult to express Jesus’ love while engaging in last-word contests.  

Dallas Theological Seminary:  The New Atheism