That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;Ephesians 4:14
"One of the earliest and most active advocates of theistic evolution was Darwin's American
correspondent, Asa Gray. A Harvard professor of botany, he was, to some extent, one of the founding fathers of the theory of evolution and from 1860 on became Darwin's promoter, ambassador, and apostle in the United States. Although a lifelong Congregationalist, Gray's faith was undoubtedly affected by his wife, Jane, who was a devoted Unitarian and attended the services at Harvard College Chapel. Asa Gray's new gospel contributed not a little to Harvard University's stature as the American center of Unitarian thought. Gray was concerned about the absence of transition fossils to support Darwin's theory, while at the same time he was more positive than Darwin and saw in nature evidence of intelligent design.
Darwin confessed to being in "an utterly hopeless muddle" over the question of design. Conscious that literal belief in the Bible ran very high in America, Gray was concerned that, for this reason, Darwin's theory with its atheistic overtones would not be accepted by the majority of people. He wrote: "Since atheistic doctrines of evolution are prevailing and likely to prevail, more or less among scientific men [Gray was promoting the Origin at the time], I have thought it important and have taken considerable pain to show that they may be held theistically".
Gray conceived the view that all these difficulties could be solved at one stroke. The hand of the Deity was, of course, responsible for design, but might also be invoked to explain the missing fossils and persuade the atheist away from his position. The Christian community would thus find Darwin's theory more palatable. Gray explained the position in a private letter:
Darwin quickly saw through the fallacy of Gray's argument, however, and rejected it outright. In a letter written to Lyell in 1861, he said, "The view that each variation has been providentially arranged seems to me to make Natural Selection entirely superfluous, and indeed takes the whole case of the appearance of new species out of the range of science". Darwin later made his views very clear to Gray."
MindsOfMen
"One of the earliest and most active advocates of theistic evolution was Darwin's American
Darwin confessed to being in "an utterly hopeless muddle" over the question of design. Conscious that literal belief in the Bible ran very high in America, Gray was concerned that, for this reason, Darwin's theory with its atheistic overtones would not be accepted by the majority of people. He wrote: "Since atheistic doctrines of evolution are prevailing and likely to prevail, more or less among scientific men [Gray was promoting the Origin at the time], I have thought it important and have taken considerable pain to show that they may be held theistically".
Gray conceived the view that all these difficulties could be solved at one stroke. The hand of the Deity was, of course, responsible for design, but might also be invoked to explain the missing fossils and persuade the atheist away from his position. The Christian community would thus find Darwin's theory more palatable. Gray explained the position in a private letter:
The important thing to do is to develop aright evolutionary teleology, and to present the argument for design from the exquisite adaptations in such a way as to make it tell on both sides; with Christian men, that they may be satisfied with, and perchance may learn to admire, Divine works effected step by step, if need be, in a system of nature; and the anti-theistic [atheistic] people, to show that without the implication of a superintending wisdom nothing is made out, and nothing credible.
(J. L. Gray 1893, 2:656).
Darwin quickly saw through the fallacy of Gray's argument, however, and rejected it outright. In a letter written to Lyell in 1861, he said, "The view that each variation has been providentially arranged seems to me to make Natural Selection entirely superfluous, and indeed takes the whole case of the appearance of new species out of the range of science". Darwin later made his views very clear to Gray."
MindsOfMen