False Messiah: Darwinism as the God That Failed

Ever since The Origin of Species appeared in 1859, Charles Darwin's followers have co-opted him as the patron saint of materialism. In False Messiah, longtime Darwinist and agnostic Neil Thomas looks at how Darwinism triumphed, and he challenges the official story with an exploration richly informed by his expertise in rhetoric and cultural history. What of Darwinism's present status? Like Marxism-that other great materialist theory of the Victorian age-Darwinism has become "the God that failed." As Thomas shows, although Darwinism has done incalculable damage to our culture, there is hope for renewal in contemporary scientific findings that are reinvigorating the argument to design as well as in what amounted to an ingenious flanking movement against modern materialism-the spiritually charged philosophy of nature developed in the poetry of William Wordsworth.

Review :
In this fascinating and wide-ranging book, Neil Thomas draws on his expertise in European intellectual history and linguistics to examine both the content and context of Darwin's writings.... A stimulating challenge to the lazy assumption that Darwin's work provided a simple and satisfying scientific explanation for all aspects of the biological world. -Peter Jeavons, Emeritus Professor, University of Oxford Neil Thomas tackles with considerable verve and wit the central conundrum of our age: the ever growing hiatus between what we think (or thought) we knew about the practicalities of genetic inheritance and its inscrutable complexities as revealed by modern science.... as lucid as it is persuasive. -James Le Fanu, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians How in the world could a theory as transparently lame as Darwin's win over most late-nineteenth-century academics? Neil Thomas's brilliant new book, False Messiah: Darwinism as the God That Failed, shows that many intellectuals then were already hoping to explain away the obvious designedness of life, in order to subsume biology into a totalizing, human-centered Enlightenment vision. Darwin merely offered them what they were hoping for. Ironically, as Thomas notes, it is the very progress of modern science... that has ultimately quashed their efforts, whether or not they yet realize it. -Michael J. Behe, Lehigh University Professor of Biological Sciences A beautifully written exploration of Darwin's thinking, set against the historical context of his time and the diverse responses to his controversial ideas. -David J. Galloway, former President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow Darwin was a product of Victorian culture-in most respects, a typical one. Neil Thomas sheds useful light on the open-minded character of that culture, which allowed The Origin of Species to receive the critically sympathetic hearing that it did.... But whereas Victorian open-mindedness opened the door to Darwin's theory of evolution, today's open-mindedness may soon see it to its departure. -Steve Fuller, Professor of Social Epistemology, University of Warwick Prof. Neil Thomas's deft new book is as timely, judicious, and profound a brief account as could be desired of the defects, dangers, and enduring damage of orthodox Darwinism. -M. D. Aeschliman, Professor Emeritus of Education, Boston University I warmly commend this unusual book by Neil Thomas.... In False Messiah, Thomas shows that Darwin's theory "cannot bear the weight of its role as Gospel for a brave new age of atheistical enlightenment." -Paul Beasley-Murray, former Principle of Spurgeon's College, London As Neil Thomas expertly demonstrates, Darwin benefited from a rising tide of secularism that warmly embraced his material explanation for life.... This book gives good reasons to see through the messianic pretensions of Darwinism, and to follow instead the divergent path of Darwin's peer and co-discoverer, Alfred Russel Wallace, back towards the overruling intelligence of God. -Alistair J. McKitterick, Senior Lecturer at London School of Theology and Consulting Fellow for the Whewell Centre, Cambridge Rarely have I encountered a book so stimulating, yet such a joy to read.... An essential resource for anyone wrestling with the issues of origins and their impact on the meaning of life. -Steve Laufmann, co-author of Your Designed Body and chair of the Conference on Engineering in Living Systems