The Darwin Myth: The Life and Lies of Charles Darwin

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The Darwin Myth: The Life and Lies of Charles Darwin is an intelligent design book written by Benjamin Wiker and was published by Regnery Publishing in 2009. The title is possibly stolen from The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, which appears in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling.

Overview

Wiker claims in the book that Charles Darwin was behind a mass conspiracy of hijacking science from theism and turning it into an ideological atheism. Like many other creationist writers he also claims in the book that "Darwinism" is responsible for all of the world's evils including everything from nazism, abortion and euthanasia to mass murder and sexism.

Wiker's main claim

Rebuttal

Darwin set out to create a Godless version of evolution and turn science into atheism.

There is no evidence that Darwin set out to create a Godless version of evolution or turn science into an atheistic ideology. In his book On Origin of the Species Darwin wrote: “”There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved (XLIX, 243). In 1879 John Fordyce wrote to Darwin asking him if theism and evolution were compatible and Darwin replied that they were. He also wrote “”In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an Atheist in the sense of denying the existence of God. I think that generally (and more and more as I grow older), but not always, that an Agnostic would be the more correct description of my state of mind."

Reception

In the book Wiker proposes a version of theistic evolution which he says Darwin ignored and supressed. However Wiker uses arguments similar to creationists and believes that the "Darwinists" have ignored the evidence for intelligent design. The book has been reviewed as a religious Christian creationist book and is not taken seriously by scientists or historians of science. In a review Sander Gliboff a Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science at Indiana University wrote:

“”Indeed the pitch for theistic evolution is astonishing, considering how little credence the book gives to any evidence for species transformation. Aside from that, the book’s claims are unsurprising, since they are mostly Discovery Institute talking points that date back to the mid-1990s and have been rebutted many times since then. The biographical interpretations may be original, though. They also verge on fantasy, so I recommend this book to Harry Potter fans, in case they want to see how a real-life Rita Skeeter operates.

The only support for the book has been from the intelligent design community such as those at the Discovery Institute.

See also

• The Dark Side of Charles Darwin: A Critical Analysis of an Icon of Science