Saturday, February 11, 2012

The Birthday of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin

It's that time of the year when I traditionally observe the birthday of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin, who were born on February 12, 1809.

I see at least six points of similarity between Darwin and Lincoln. (1) Both saw the universe as governed by natural laws, which included the natural laws for the evolution of life. (2) Both were accused of denying the Biblical doctrine of Creation. (3) Both spoke of God as First Cause. (4) Both appealed to the Bible as a source of moral teaching, even as they also appealed to a natural moral sense independent of Biblical religion. (5) Both abhorred slavery as immoral. (6) Both were moral realists.

I have elaborated each of these points in previous posts, some of which can be found here and here.





2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where do we find in Darwin the reference to his thoughts on "God as First Cause"? Thanks.

Larry Arnhart said...

I have a post on this.