The 'battle' between science and religion over evolution in nineteenth century New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History at Massey University

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(2) THE. 'BATTLE' BETWEEN SCIENCE AND RELIGION. OVER EVOLUTION IN NINETEENTH CENTURY NEW ZEALAND. A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History at Massey University. JOHN STENHOUSE. 1985.

(3) MASSEY UNIVERSITY. l..t. (a). g�'<re. perm1ss1on for my thesis,. entitled. to be made available to readers in the Library under the conditions d€termined by the Lihrariai:l... 2. *. (b). I agree to my thesis, if asked for by another institut.i.o� :;n"ay on temporary loan under conditions determined by the Librarian.. (c). I also agree. that my thesis may he copied wr Library. US€ .. I do not wish my thesis, entitled. .�.tr� . . �JMtk/ . .�h.. $.���. M!!: .&tffl.ih . ()l.lrt: . ...��� .. Ji. .N� ..�. ..N.¥. .. �/...... .. ... . .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. to be made available to readers or to be sent to other institutions without my written consent within the next two years.. *. . @..�..................... . . .%..��...�9.� ................ Signed . . . .. .. Date. .. .. . .. Strike out the sentence or phrase which does not apply.. The Library Massey University Palmerston North, N.Z.. The copyright of this thesis belongs to the author. Readers must sign their name the space below to show that they recognise this. They are asked to add their permanent address. Name and Address. Da. MASSEY UNIVEftSfTY. t. e. m.

(4) Ab s t r a c t Th i s the s i s d e s c r ibes a n d ana l y s e s the New Z e a l and r e sponse to the Darw i n i an theory o f e v o l ution i n the s e cond ha l f of the n i n e t ee n th century. Trad i t i o n a l ac counts , u s i n g a d i s to r t ed v ersion o f the Hu x l ey-Wi l be r fo r c e debate as the i r mod e l , ha v e been tr iumpha l i st , pos i t i v i s t i c , and mi l i t a r i s t i c . The b l oody 'batt l e' between s c i e n c e a n d r e l i g ion , accord i ng t o the s e r e c e i v ed v i ews , resu l t ed in the o v erwhe l m ing v i ctory of s c i ence , truth , and progr e s s o v er r e l i g ion , i gnorance , and super s t i t i on. T h i s mod e l i s inapp l i cab l e i n the New Z e a l and con t e x t . Generations of reconc i l in g Gene s i s with geo l ogy had p r epared the Chr i s t i an mind we l l for com i n g to terms w i th s c i e n t i f i c d i s co v er i e s , a n d adj u s t i n g i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f S c r i pture accord i n g l y. After an i n i t i a l per iod o f caution and d e l iber ation , churchmen w i thin the major denom i n a t i o n s came to terms w i th � i o l ogica l e v o l ution a s r e ad i l y as they h a d e a r l i e r acce pted the f i n d i n g s o f geo l ogy and p a l aeonto l ogy. By the 1 8 8 0's e v o l ut i on b e c ame acceptab l e to most educated Chr i s t i an s . S c i e n t i s t s too,qu i ck l y accepted bi o l og i c a l e v o l ut i on but remained r e l i g ious b e l i e v er s , and in many c a s e s d e v out , p r a c t i s ing Chr i s t i a n s . The i r r e l i g ious v i ew o f nature was r e i n forced rather than d e s t r oyed by Darw i n . The han d fu l o f freeth i n ke r s who proc l aimed that S c i ence had supp l anted Chri s t i an i t y a l so be l i e the pos i t i v ist mode l , for e v o l ution be came for them a surrogate r e l i gious f a i th. S c ience d i d e f fecti v e l y become secu l ar i zed by the beginning of the twen tieth centur y , but this was the work o f d e v out s c i e n t i s t s who wanted to p r e v en t r e l i g ious contro v e r s y from constant l y ho l d in g back the progress o f b i o l ogy. The 'batt l e' between science and r e l i g ion o v er e v o l ution cu l m i n a t i n g in the fina l and d e c i s i v e tr iumph of science was a myth.. ii.

(5) Preface I wou l d l ike to r e cord my thanks to a l l those who h a v e b e e n so h e l p fu l o v er the l as t three y e a r s . Dr Peter L i n eham has b e en a l l that I cou l d ask of a chief supe r v isor , and mor e . His n e v er-fai l i ng enthu s i a s m , constant h e l p w i t h source s , i n s i ghtfu l c r i t i c i sm and sympathetic coun s e l h a v e put me permanen t l y i n his debt. I am gr a t e fu l to a l l the memb e r s o f the M as s e y Un i v er s i t y De partment o f H i s to r y who ha v e p r o v ided such a s t i mu l at i n g and congen i a l atmosphere to wor k i n . D r Kerry Howe h a s b e e n a v er y fr i end l y and approachab l e a s s i s ta n t supe r v i s o r . H e has constan t l y h e l ped m e to k e e p t h e 'magnum o pu s ' i n a h e a l thy perspect i v e ! Thanks to Professor W.H. O l i v er for h e l p in g to super v is e the i n i t i a l s t a g e s of the the s i s . Professor J . C . Da v i s and Dr Da v id Thomson ha v e p ro v i d e d v a l u ab l e comments and cr i t i c i sm s . I wou l d l ike a l so to acknowl ed g e i d e a s and r e fe r en c e s from Profes sor Ian Breward ,. Profes sor G.S. P a rson son ,. Professor M .P.K. Sorr enson ,. Professor George M ar s d en , S i r Char l es F l eming , Roger Chapman , Phi l i p F l eming , and my father , Dr Da v id Stenhou s e , who has p ro v ed a d e p t at c l ar i fying com p l e x zoo l o g i c a l and phi l o s o ph i c a l i s sues o v er t h e phone . S p e ci a l thanks to my brother Da v i d who was a g r e a t he l p i n the f in a l stages . I mus t a l so men t i o n the l ib r a r i e s which h a v e b e e n consu l t e d , i n p a r t icu l ar : t h e A l e x ander Turnbu l l Libr a r y , t h e We l l i n g ton Un i v e r s ity Librar y , The M as s e y Uni v er s i ty Library , t h e Pa lmerston North Pub l i c L i brar y , the Canterbury Pub l i c L i b r a r y , the M ethod i s t Church Archi v es ( Ch r i s t church); the Hocken L i b r a r y , the Dun e d i n Pub l ic L i b r ar y , the Knox C o l l ege L i b r ary , the Auck l and I n s t i tu t e and Mus eum L i b r ar y , the St. Johns Co l l e g e Librar y , the Leys I n s t i tute Library ( Auck l an d) , the. i ii.

(6) Auck l an d Pub l i c Libr a r y , the N ew Z e a l and Bap t i s t Co l l ege Librar y , and the Camb r idge Uni v er s i t y Library. A numbe r o f l ib r a r i an s and archi v i s t s d e s e r v e s pe c i a l mention : Da v id M ac Dona l d o f the Hocken L i b r ar y , M ar c i a Baker ( M ethod i s t Church Arch i v i st) , Kath l een Co l e r i d g e o f t h e V ictor i a Un i v er s i ty Library , I an Thw a i t e s o f t h e Auc k l and I n s t i tu t e and M u s eum L i b r ar y , Jud ith Br i g h t of the St. Johns C o l l e g e Library. and Peter Gautrey o f the Cambr i d g e Un i v er s i t y Library.. F i na l l y I wou l d l ike to thank a l l t h o s e who have mad e the l as t thre e y e a r s s o mar v e l l ous : e s p e c i a l l y my own fami l y , John and J i l l M c L e l l an , the membe r s o f Hokowhi tu Bap t i s t Church , the l ad i e s at M an awatu S t , and my f l atmate s - A l ec k , S te v e , M a r k , and P au l - who ha v e t o l erated my enthusi asms with e x traord i nary good humour , i n the know l ed g e , I suspect , that i n my case they w e r e w i t n e s s i n g a c l a s s i c Darw i n i an case o f r e v e r s ion to the anc e s tr a l type.. iY.

(7) CONTENTS Page Abstract P r e face Contents Abb r ev i ations. ii iii V. vi. I ntroduction 1 . Science and R e l i g ion Before the Origin. 10. 2 . The 1 8 6 0 ' s : The Phony vlar?. 34. 3 . The 1 87 0 ' s : Trends i n S c i e n c e. 82. 4 . The 1 87 0 ' s : R e l i gious Respon s e s to Evolution. 1 25. 5 . The 1 88 0' s : F r e e thought , E v o l ution and t h e Churches. 1 66. 6 . The 1 89 0 ' s : The Secu l a r i zation o f S c i e n c e and the Emergence o f Fund ament a l i sm. 219. Conclus ion. 274. N o t e s a n d R e f e r en c e s. 281. Bibliogr aphy. 312.

(8) Abbreviations CG. Chu r c h Gazette. DNZB. D i c t i on a r y o f New Zealand Biography. FR. F r e e thought Rev i ew. JHB. Journal o f the Hi story o f B i o logy. JRH. Journ a l of R e l i gious Hi story. LT. Lyt t e l ton Times. NZE. N ew Z e al an d Evange l i s t. NZH. N ew Z e a l and Herald. NZJH. N ew Z e a land Journal of Hi s tory. NZJS. N ew Z e a l an d Journ a l o f S ci en c e N ew Z e a l and Magazine. N Z Meth. N ew Z e a l and Method i s t. NZP. N ew Z e a land �r esbyt e r i a n. N ZYl. N ew Z e a l an d Yl e s l eyan. ODT. Otago D a i l y Times. TPNZI. T r a n s a c t i o n s a n d Procee d i ng s of the N ew Z ea l an d I n s t i tute Library S ymb o l s. AP. Auc k l and Pub l i c L i b r a r y. AR. Auckland I n s t i tute and Museum L i b r a r y. CP. Canterbury Publ i c L i b r a r y. Du : Ho. Hocken Libr ary , Dun ed i n. i-lTu. A l e xander Turnbu l l Library , W e l l i n g ton. wv. vi.

(9) Introduction : The Hi s tor io gr aphy of the Darwin i an Debates The famous debate be tween T .H . Huxl ey and Bi s hop 'Soapy Sam' Wilberfor c e at the Ox ford meeting o f t h e Br i t i sh Assoc i a tion for the Adv ancement o f S c i ence in 1 86 0 has e p i tom ized for many p e o pl e the r el at i o n s betwee n r eli gion a n d s ci en c e in the nineteenth c en tury. Wilbe r fo r c e concluded an a t t ac k o n Charl e s Darwin' s recently publ i shed The Or igin of Spe c i e s b y asking Huxley whe t h e r i t was o n h i s gr andmother's or h i s gr and fath er's s i de t h a t he cl aimed d e s cent from the a p e . Huxley turn e d to the s c i e n t i s t s i t t i n g b e s i de h i m a n d r emarked softl y , ' Th e Lo rd ha th deli v er ed h i m into mine hand s .' He ros e , defended the Dar w in i an theor y wit h quie t gr a v i t y , and concluded by obser v i n g tha t he would r at h e r b e d e s cended from an hon e st ape than f r o m a man who abused both t alent s and p o s i t i on i n th e s e r v i c e of falsehood and r el i g io u s p r e j u d i c e . Thus w a s launched t h e c a r e e r o f the world's fir s t s elf- styled episc opopha ge.. 1. Thi s epi s ode , incor p or ated uncr it i c all y into h i stor ical wr i t i n g , has gi v en r i s e t o a myth ol o g y o f a s to n i sh i n g propor t ion s . T h e d e b a t e i tself h a s g e n e r all y been d e pi ct e d a s t h e t r iumph of s c ie n t i f i c t r u th o v e r r eli gious bigotry and obscuranti sm. W ill i am I r v i ne a s s e r t s that 'Huxley committed fo r e n s i c mur der wi t h a wo n d e rful ar t i st ic simpli c i ty , g r i n d i n g or thodoxy between t h e fact s and t h e s u p r e me V ictor i an v alue o f t ruth-tell ing' . 2 Fo r the Dan i sh hi stor ian V ilhelm Gronb e ch t h e debate w a s 'on e o f t h e gr e a t b a t tl e s' o f a war which 'ended i n a n o v erwh elming v i cto r y f o r s c i en c e . 1 3 In th e opin i o n of Re gin ald Stackhouse the subs equent c on fli c t b e tween s c i e n c e and r eli gio n.

(10) o v e r e vo l ut i o n has fol l owed the l i n e s o f the Hux l ey-H i l ber for c e debate , wi t h 'the champion s o f re l i gion a r gui n g a ga in s t e v o l u t i o n n o t so much w i t h s c i e n t i f i c r e a son s a s with appe a l s to the Bib l e , and der i di n g the adv ocat e s of e v o l u t i on a s i n fide l s . 1 4 The s e assert ion s prov e the truth o f Samu e l But l er's dictum that 'God h i ms e l f c an n ot remake h i s to r y , but h i stor i an s c an .' On the Hux l e y- W i l ber for c e debate itse l f S he r i dan Gi l l ey h a s poi n t e d o u t that the 'offic i a l v ersion' , o n wh i ch a l l sub s eq uent acc ou n t s h a v e been ba sed , w a s actu a l l y written b y Hux l ey a n d Hooker , an d was 1a who l l y o ne- s i ded e ff u s io n fro m th e winn i n g s i de , put together l on g a fter the e v e n t , uncr i t ic al l y copi e d from book to book, and shaped b y t he h a gi o gr aph ic c o n v e n t i o n s o f V i ctor ian l i fe and l etters'. 5 D a v i d O l droyd h a s p o i n t e d o u t t h a t W i l ber for c e was not i n fact a comp l e te l y un i n fo r me d obscur ant i st . P r i me d wit h scien t i fic infor mat ion b y the eminent compar at i v e anatomi st R ichard Owen , h e suc c e ss fu l l y exposed r ea l s c ie n t i f i c we akn e s s e s i n Darwin's theory. 6 As modern p a l aeon to l og i s t M ar t i n Rudwick has pointed out , Darwin' s empha s i s on the impe r fe ct i on of t he fos s i l reco r d to e xp l ai n t h e a b s e n c e o f i n termed iate for ms l ooked suspiciou s l y l ike s p e c i a l p l e ad i n g t o those l ik e Owen and W i l b e rfo r c e who wer e acqu a i n t e d with p a l aeon t o l o gy. 7 The r ec e i v e d v i ew o f the Hux l e y­ Wi l b e r fo r c e deba te i s di sto rt e d . App ropr i a t ed as a mode l for the r e l at io n s between s c i e n c e and r e l i gion in the n i n e t e e n t h century , t h i s v e r s io n has war p e d t h e gen er a l p i cture . What we h a v e ended u p with has been mor e l i k e p ro p a ganda than h i stor y. The r e ce i v ed h i sto r i o gr aphy n e e d s t o b e b r ok en up into i t s. 2.

(11) component par t s in o r d e r to b e e x a mi n e d i n d e ta i l . With few exc eptio n s i t ha s b e e n b l a t ant l y t r i um ph a l i s t , dep i c t i n g the o v e r whe l min g v i ctory of science o v e r r e l i gi o n . Ber t r a n d Rus s e l l , for in stanc e , argued i n Re l ig i on and Science ( 1 93 5 ) that 'sc i e nce has i n v a r i ab l y pro v e d v i ctor ious' o v e r t r a d i tion al Chr i st i an i t y , and tha t Darwin i sm was 1a s s e v er e a b l ow to the o l o gy' a s C opern ican astronomy h a d been. 8 Of course Russ e l l open l y re j e c t e d Chr i st i an i ty a n d t h i s mi ght be ex pected to b e e v ident in h is wr i t ing. Yet a suppos e d l y neutr a l h i s t o r i an of ph i l osophy l i k e Herbert S chne i der , wr i ti ng o n Ame r i c an r e s po ns e s , h a s ar gued t hat 'the theo l ogian s ga ve way . . . o n l y after waging a h o p e l e ss bat t l e against super i or fo r c e s .1 9 E v e n a stan dard h i sto r i c a l r e fer e n c e work l i k e T h e N e w Camb r i d ge Modern Hi story a s ser t s that 'the shock of t h e conf l i ct be tween s c i en c e and r e l i gion was profound , and it was the author ity of r e l i gio n , rather than s c i e n c e , tha t emer ged we akened from i t . 1 1 0 I n add i t io n to b e in g t r iumph a l i s t , the p r e v a i l i n g par adi gm has been posi t i v i st i c . P o si t i v i s m w a s t he b r a i n ch i l d of the n i neteen th century F r e n ch phi l osopher Auguste Comt e . H e saw human p r o gr e s s a s c o n si s t in g i n t h e r ep l acement of t he o l o gi c a l and ph i l osoph i c a l e x p l a na t i on s of n atu ra l phenome n a by scienti fi c e xp l an a t i o n s a s socie ty r e a ched int e l l e ct u a l ma tur ity. Ac cor d i ng to such a v i ew s c i e n t i f i c e n l i ghtenment and r e l igious fa ith w er e mutua l l y e x c l u s i v e . Thu s h i stor i an o f sci ence Wi l l iam Col eman asser t s tha t ' e v o l ution. •••. p r o v i de d a promi n e n t b att l e gr ound fo r th e o n go ing. content ion between science and r e l igion for the a l l e gi an c e o f th e. 3.

(12) European mind '. 1 1 The N ew Zea l an d h i stor iogr a ph y , though e mbryo n i c , has e v ident l y sw a l l owed th i s pos iti v i s t i c a s sumpt io n . G . S . Par son s o n , writ i n g on the Darw in ian debate i n the Otago Institute i n 1 876 , a s s e r t s that th e outcome of t he debate was tha t 'on e w as e i ther for Darw in or a ga i n st him, or as h i s cr i t i c s pr e ferr e d t o p u t it , for or a ga i n s t G o d .1 1 2 It w a s impos s ib l e , pre sumab l y , to both accept Darw in and r e ma in Chr i s t i an . Not o n l y w er e science and r e l i gi o n intr actab l y p o l ar ized b y e vo l ution , accordin g t o t r a d i t ion a l acco unt s o f t h e Br i t i sh and Amer ican debate s , but the r e l at i ons be twe en them w er e charact e r i z ed b y ho st i l i ty and antago n i sm. The mere t i t l e o f J .W. Dr aper' s 1 87 4 study enti t l ed History o f the Con f l i c t Between Science and Re l igion i l l ustr ate s the point suffi c i en t l y. A.D. Whi te's ! Hi story of the War fare Betw e e n Sc i en c e and Theo l ogy in Chri stendom ( 1 8 9 6 ) makes it e ve n p l ain e r . The mi l i tar y met apho r h a s appe ar e d e v erywh er e i n twen t i e t h c e n t u r y h i s to r i e s . In a chapter e n t i t l ed 'War fare betw ee n S ci en c e and Theo l ogy' , Car l t o n J .H. H ayes wr i te s that 'the fi ght b e gan in e ar n e s t in the de cade o f the ' 60' s o v e r e vo l ut ion and bi b l i c al c r i t i c i s m , and from 1 8 7 1 to 1 9 0 0 i t r a ged on a w i d e fro n t . Th e offensi v e p a s s e d e a r l y from "theo l ogy" to " scienc e " , whose h e a v y ar t i l l er y was manned by s u ch embat t l ed Darwinians a s Hux l ey , Tyn da l l , and H ae c ke l 1 • 1 3 It h a s b e e n taken for granted t h a t r e l i gious m e n were the mo st r a b i d of the comb a t an t s , v i o l ent l y antagon i st i c to moder n science. The New Cambridge Modern Hi story a ga i n : ' The fu r ious t i de o f cr i t i c i s m a n d the scor nfu l r i d i cu l e whi ch g r e e t e d The Or i g i n o f Spe c i e s a r e w e l l know n . 1 1 4. 4.

(13) Re l i gious r e sp on s e s i n par ticu l ar ha v e suffered from a gr a v e l ack o f sympathetic h i stor i c a l in v e st i ga ti on . The r e c e i v e d v ie w h a s insi sted n o t o n l y that s corn a n d abuse wer e the mai n wea p on s i n the Ch r i s t ian a r s en a l , but that b e l i e v er s c l un g des p er a te l y t o the l etter o f the Bib l e and re jected t he r e v e l ation s o f sci e n c e . Again and a ga i n i t h a s b e e n i n s i sted t h at it wa s t h e l i t er a l truth o f the S cr iptures which was the is sue for the d e f en d e r s o f o rthodo x y : ' Fo r the mas s o f Darwin ' s o p pon ent s who fo l l ow ed t he l e adership of Bishop W i l ber for c e i t was the l i ght which was r e f l e cted b y h i s i de a s upo n t he l i t er a l i n t e rpr e tation of s cr iptu r e. which w a s mo s t obno x io u s 1 • 1 5 D . R . O l dr o yd asse r t s. that ' Darwin c a st gr a v e d ou bt on ••• t he p l ausibi l i ty of the l it er a l tr uth of the S cr i pture s 1• 1 6 Pre sumabl y , on such v i ews , most Chr i st i ans s t i l l b e l ie v e d that t he e arth was o n l y four thousand years o l d , and had been cr e ated in si x l i t e r a l twen t y­ four hour day s . The o n l y e xcept ion s , the a ssumpt ion h a s bee n , were a f e w far- s i ght e d l ib er a l s. ' Pr o t e s tant s o f Ca l v in i st , Lut h er an , o r mor e e v a n ge l ic a l p e r s u a si o n ' , i t i s c l ai med ,. ' ···. r ebuffed an d. l on g r e si sted t h e t h eo r y of e v o l ution , me e ti n g i t w i th a wither i n g fir e of denunc i a t i o n and v i l i fi c a t i o n . Libe r a l Protestant s. wer e t o d o much in s i l en c ing th e guns o f. theo l ogians and s ci e n t i s t s who so r a sh l y p u t o n the i r armour and an swer ed t h e c a l l o f bat t l e . ' 1 7 The 'or t ho d o x ' , it h a s co n s t an t l y been a s s er ted , wou l d h a v e n ot h i n g t o d o with Darwi n . 1 8 Th e r e a so n why th e v a s t ma jor i ty of Chr i st i ans opp os ed Darwin tooth and na i l was , of cours e , qui t e simp l e ; the y wer e a l l. 5.

(14) ' fu ndame n ta l i sts '. O l d royd e x p l ains the r e l i gi ous r eaction b y a ss e r t i n g that the n in e t eenth c entury was ' a per iod i n which fundamen ta l ist thinkin g was v e r y w i de l y adhe r e d t o . t 1 9 New Z e a l and hi stor i an s , too , ha v e f a l l en pr ey to t h i s a s sumptio n . Debate i n the Ota go Ins t itute cou l d h a r d l y b e a v o ide d , asse r t s P a r sonson , gi v en t he f a c t t h a t Dun e di n wa s a 'fun damen t a li st stron gho l d 1 • 2 0 The fact th a t the term 'Fundamenta li s t ' H as c o in e d in the U n i t e d S t a t e s in 1 9 20 , a n d ought h i storic a l l y to be app l i e d t o the mi litant l y anti-mod e rni st e v an ge l i c a l Prot e stan t i s m wh i ch arose aft e r that date , h a s not deter red his torian s . E v e n Catho l i c s h a v e been t a r r e d wi th th e fun damen t a l i s t b rush : ' Ov e r ab out t he l a st t hi r ty ye a rs of t h e nineteenth century the Catho l i c church a dopted a substan tia l l y fundament a l i st posi t io n , and b y offi c i a l d ecr e e th e me mbers of the Church w er e posi t i v e l y d i s co u r a ge d from takin g u p theo l ogic a l i s su e s t h at mi ght be r e l ated t o t h e q u e s tion o f e v o l ut i onism. 1. 21. Recent r esearch has sugge sted that the for e goin g a ssumption s n e ed to b e s e r i ous l y questioned and r e v i s e d , and t h at t hey c an n o t fa i r l y be a p p lied to B r i t i s h and Amer ican r e spon se s to Darwi n . J .R . Moor e , fo r in stanc e , h a s a r g u e d that the a l l -per v a si v e 'mi l itar y met apho r ' h a s serio u s l y di stor t e d i n t e r p retat ions o f t h e p ost-Darwin ian contr o v e r s i e s . H e offe r s i n s t ead a non-v i o l en t int e r p r e t a t io n , ar guing tha t th e c r i s i s w as l a r ge l y r e s o l v e d w ith in t h e fr amewo rk o f e stab l i sh e d re l i gious b e l i e f s . He fur ther su gge s t s that o n l y tho s e Chri sti an s w ho r ema ined t he o l o gica l l y o rt ho d o x c ou l d accept e v o l u tion by n atur a l s e l ection a s Darw in promu l gated i t . R e l i gi ou s l ib er a l s , on the other h an d , w er e. 6.

(15) for c e d t o mod i fy the theor y in order t o make i t consonant w it h the ir own h e t e rodox t h eo l og y } 2 Moore ac know l edges that h i s work e xtends to ninete en th century b i o l o g y the standard r e v i s i o n i s t v i ew that Chr i s tian the o l ogy h a s been at l ea s t c o n ge n i a l i f n o t essen t i a l to th e de v e l opment of rro d er n s c i e n c e . M . B. Foste r , R .K . M e r ton , and R . Hooykaa s h a v e argued t h a t the d e ve l opme n t o f phy si c a l s ci en c e a n d t e chno l o gy in t h e si xteen th a n d s e v ente en th c entur i e s w a s founded on the Chr i s t i an (and e s p e c i a l l y the Re for med ) doctr ine of a c o n t i n ge n t c r e a t io n , o r der ed and super i n t e n ded by a so v e r ei gn Creator , and that th i s l ed t o th e adoption of e mp i r i c a l method s i n s c i en c e and to the e xt e n s io n of c ausa-mechan i c a l exp l ana t i ons of natur e . 2 3 Moore e xt e n d s this the s i s to the post- Darw in ian contr o v er s ies i n a con v in c i ng ma jo r r e- in t erpr e ta t i o n . Some w o r k has b e e n d on e on r e ac t ions to Darw in i s m i n Austr a l i a . \-fa l ter P hi l l ip s sugge s t s that i n t he e a r l y 1 88 0 ' s most c l ergy w er e st i l l opposed to e vo l ut io n . 2 4 The theory wou l d s e em to ha v e made l i t t l e he adw ay i n Austr a l i a unt i l t he mid- 1 88 0 ' s at the ear l i e s t . 25 In N ew Z e a l an d none o f the a s sumpt ion s o f tradit ion a l acc oun t s ar e bor n e out b y t h e e v id e nc e . It was simp l y not the c a se t h a t th e e vo l ut i on c o n tr o v e r s y r e s u lt e d in the tr iumph of sc ience o v er r e l i gi o n . Cont r a r y to t h e posi t i v i st rro d e l , a l most a l l the scientists who e x pr e ssed an o p i n i o n o n the mat t e r a c c e p t e d Darwin ian e v o l ut i o n b u t r e ma i ne d r e l i giou s b e l i e v e r s , many o f the m d e vout and prac t i s i n g Chr i s t i an s. The ir con v i c t i o n t h a t God w a s t h e Cre a t or a n d Susta in e r o f na tur e was r e i nfo r c ed. 7.

(16) r ather than d e s tr o yed b y the theory of e v o l ut io n . The hand f u l o f r a d i c a l t h i nk e r s who argued tha t Sc ien c e h ad o v erthrown Chr i s t i an ity turned e v o l ut io n i t s e l f into a surrogat e fa i t h , r ep l et e wit h mi r a c l e s , m i l l en n i a l b e l i e fs , and e v en a c a s t e syste m. S c i e n c e became for them a r e l i gio n . Her e a ga i n t h e pos iti v i st mode l cannot b e sustain e d . The a s s umption t h a t the r e l ations between s c i e n t i s t s and chur chmen wer e char acter i z e d by c onf l i ct and host i l i ty a l so b r e aks down in the fac e o f the e v i denc e . Abus e and v i tuper a t i o n wer e co n s p i cuous b y the i r a b s e n c e fro m addr e s s e s o n e v o l ut i on b y b o t h ' s i de s ' . T h e re l ation s b e twee n s c ien t i s t s a n d chu rchmen w er e char acter i z ed more b y h ar mony and con s e n s u s t han b y b i t t er n e s s and d i v i sion. T h i s i s not t o sugg e s t tha t e vo l ut ion fa i l ed t o preci p i t at e a n y conf l i ct a t a l l . I f an i nf l e xib l e po l ar izatio n /co n f l i ct mode l must b e abandon e d , it mus t n o t b e re p l aced b y an equa l l y i n f l e x ib l e uni ty/harmony mode l . Ten s i o n s did ar i se . Yet the gener a l l e v e l of con f l i c t was n e ver as hi gh a s it was i n Br it a i n , Amer ica , and Eur o p e . An d , more impo r tan t l y , those co n f l i c t s whi ch arose can a l mo s t n e v e r b e adequat e l y inter p reted i n terms o f a s i mp l e co nf l i c t be tween sc ience and r e l i gion. For the fact w as that mo st con f l ict over e vo l ut i o n took p l a ce e i t he r be twe en o r t ho d o xy and fr e e t hought (bot h of wh i ch were r e l i gi on s ) , or b etween l iber a l and conser vati ve Chr i st i an s . Yet though a few Chr i s t i an s f i e r c e l y r e s i sted a l l fo rms of e v o l ut io n , the churche s were une qu � v oc a l l y not the r e act ionar y 'fun damen t a l i st ' mono l i th of l e ge n d . Bib l e-be l ie v i n g P r o t e s t an ts. 8.

(17) wer e not ipso facto intr a ns i gent woo d e n l i te r a l i s t s. The ide a that t h e e arth was o n l y four thousand ye a r s o l d , and t h a t i t had been c r e a t e d i n six twen ty-four hour days, had been abandon e d we l l b e fo r e Darwin b y th e v a s t ma jo r i ty of educat e d Chr i st i an s , in c l udin g m an y e v a n ge l i c a l s . They had p l enty of h i stor i c a l pr e c e d e n t fo r h er men eut i c a l f l e x ibi l i t y , and gen er a t i ons of reconc i l i n g G en e s i s w i t h geo l ogy had prepared them, after an i n i t i a l p e r iod of c autio n and d e l ibera t io n , for e a sy a cc e p t a n ce o f the the o r y o f e vo l ut i o n. 'Funda men t a l i st' might be a t o l er ab l e d escr i p t i on o f the r e a c t io n s of a few. As a b l anke t descr i pt i on o f Chr i st ia n r e sp on s e s i t i s woefu l l y in a p p ro p r i ate . By t h e 1 88 0's acceptance of bi o l o gi c a l e v o l ut i on h ad bec ome commonp l ac e within the major denomination s . There w as l i t t l e e v id en c e t h a t conser v at i v e s and e v a n ge l i ca l s wer e marked l y mor e r e s i stant t h a n r e l i gious l ib e r a l s . S ci en c e d i d become sec u l ar i z ed b y t he b e g i n n i n g o f t h e twe n t i e th c e n t ur y , but t h i s wa s the wo r k of d e v ou t s c i e n t i st s who wan ted t o p r e v e n t r e l i giou s contro v e r s y from c o n s t an t l y ho l di n g b a c k progr e s s i n e v o l ut io n a r y b i o l o g y. T he 'batt l e' b e tween s c i e n c e and r el i gion o v er e vo l ut i o n cu l mi n a t i n g i n th e fin a l a n d d ec i s i v e v ic to r y of s c i e n c e wa s , i n N e w Z ea l an d a t l ea s t , a myth.. 9.

(18) Chapter On e : Sci ence and Re l i g ion b e fo r e the Or i gin Pr ior to t he pub l ica t i o n o f Char l e s Dar wi n ' s The Or igin of Specie s i n 1 85 9 the r e ex isted a ho l y a l l i ance b et we en science and r e l ig ion . In thi s cha pter I s ha l l examine pr ev a i l ing b e l i e f s about science and r e l ig io n in Br i t a i n an d Ne w Z e a l and in ord e r to pr o v i d e the scien ti fic , i n t e l l ect ual , and r e l igio u s con t ex t for the co l on i a l r e sponse to Dar win after 1 85 9. Geo l og y , I sh a l l sho w , f a r from und ermin ing Chr i s t i an fa ith , wa s con s id er ed to be i t s al l y , i l l um in ating and in ter pr etin g the Gen e s i s acco un t o f cr eatio n . Bio l ogical e v o l ut ion wa s to b e ab so r b ed in to t he Chr i s t i an b e l i e f s o f b o t h scien t i st s a n d churchmen with e qu a l e qu an imity a fter Dar wi n . Darwin ' s V i s i t 1 83 5 H . M. S. Be ag l e sa i l ed into Pa ihi a from Tahi t i o n 2 1 December 1 83 5 . On bo ard wa s the yo ung n a t ur al i st Cha r l e s Dar win . I shal l d e al with Dar wi n ' s v i s i t to the col on y o n l y b r ie fl y since a par t from it s in tr in s ic in ter e s t it ha s no g r e a t r e l ev ance to t he o ngo ing d i scus s i o n . Wor th no ting ar e the facts that Dar wi n wa s at l e ast a nomin a l Chr i st�an himse l f at t he t ime , that he admir ed the Chr i s t ian m i s s i o n ar ie s , and that he a ppar en tl y shar ed pr ev a i l ing Euro pean a s sumption s abo ut a r aci al h i er arch y . Al r e ad y , i n Sout h Amer ica , he had m ad e m an y o f t h e ob se r v a t i o n s h e wa s t o inco r po r a te into h i s e poch-ma ki n g T h e Or igin o f Speci e s ( 1 85 9 ). At Pa ihia o n l y a sin g l e can o e came al ong si d e to we l come the Be ag l e , and for Dar win this wa s a ' no t v er y p l e a sing con tr a st, with o ur j o yf ul and boi ster o us we l com e at Tahi t i ' . 1 He was d el i g ht ed to se e Eng l i sh f l o wer s in the g ard en s in fro n t o f t h e n e at whi te wa sh ed ho u s e s o f Paihia , a n d the y contr asted m ar ked l y wi th t h e ' ho v e l s' of t h e 10.

(19) nativ e s . The nex t d a y he i n s pecte d some o f the ab an d o n ed pa s in t h e v icin i t y and v i si ted Ko rorar e ka i n the e v en i ng wi t h t h e ca pta i n o f t h e Be ag l e , Rob er t Fi t z Ro y , who wa s to b ecom e Gov erno r o f Ne w Z e a l and b e t we en 1 84 3 and 1 84 5 . In Dar wi n' s o pin ion the Mao r i s he ob s e r v ed ther e wer e ' of a much l ower ord e r ' than the Tahi t i a n : 'One g l ance at t he i r r e s pect i v e ex pr e s s ion s , br ing s co nv ict ion to the m i nd that one i s a sav age , the o ther a civ il i zed m an ' . Ther e wa s a twin k l ing in the e ye o f the New Ze al ander wh ich he fe l t 'cannot ind ica te an yth i ng b ut cunn ing an d fer oci ty' . Eoth the ir pe r so n s and the ir ho us e s he fo und ' f i l t h i l y d ir t y and o ffen s i v e ' . 2 On the twen ty third o f Decemb er he wa s inv ited to v i si t the Ha ima t e mi s s ion s tatio n by t he Rev . Wil l i am Wi l l i ams . Guid ed par t o f the wa y b y the Br i t i sh r e s i d en t Jame s Busb y , and then b y a l ocal chie f , he wa s amu s ed on the wal k by the Mao r i cer emon y of rubbing no se s , and kee n l y too k in the b otan y and g eo l og y of the d i str ic t . Th e station farm-ho u se , wit h i t s we l l l a id-o ut cro ps o f fr u i t and v eg etab l es , b l acksm ith' s for g e an d water -m il l suggest e d an Eng l i s h r ur al par ad i se . In Dar wi n ' s o p in ion ' t he l e s so n o f t he mi s sionar y i s the enchante r ' s wan d ' . He watched a par t y o f 'nati v e s' at cr icke t i n t h e e v e n i ng , and r e fl ect ed ' when I t ho ug h t o f t he auster i t y o f wh ich the m i s sio n ar i e s ha v e b een accused , I was amused b y ob se r v ing on e o f t he ir o wn son s take an act iv e par t in t h e g am e' . He s pen t a pl e a sant n i g ht wi th the Wi l l iams ho us e ho l d : 'I n e v er saw a n icer o r mor e m er r y gro up ; and to t h in k t h i s wa s in t h e cen tr e o f the l and o f cann ib a l i sm , murd er , and al l atro cio us cr imes! t 3 On the 24th o f December , ta ken to v i s i t a n e ig hb o ur in g fo r e st , he mea s ur ed a h uge kaur i tr ee , and r em ar ked on t he ab s e nce o f i nd i g e no u s 11.

(20) animal specie s i n Ne w Z e a l and . Re tur n in g to the Bay o f Isl and s i n the a fter noon , he s pent Chr i stma s Da y t h er e , a t t e nd i ng d iv ine s e r v ice in the cha pe l at Paihi a . On the 26th he wen t wi th Busb y to Ka wakawa to in s p ect the cur io u s l ime stone fo rma t io n s at Wa iom io . The o ld wom e n attend in g a tan g i a t a n e arb y v i l l ag e Dar win d e scrib ed a s ' mo st f i l thy , d i sgusting obj ect s. ••••. ho wl i ng and cut t i ng them se l v e s ' .. Thi s. wa s har d l y t he d i sp a s s i o n a te scr ut i n y o f t he n in ete enth cen t u r y soci a l ant hro pol ogi st . He wa s r el i ev ed to d e par t for Sydne y o n 3 0 Decemb er : ' I b e l ie v e we wer e a l l g l ad to l eav e Ne w Ze al and . It i s not a p l e a san t pl ace . Amo ng st t h e n a ti v e s there i s ab sen t that charm ing s im pl ici t y which i s found at Tahi t i ; and the g r eater par t o f t h e Eng l i sh ar e the v er y r e f use o f societ y' . The o n l y b r ight s pot wa s ' Wa imate , wi t h i t s Chr i st i an inhab itan t s' . 4 The r e l atio n s b e t we en science and r e l i g io n i n t h e colony , i f thi s b r i e f sojo ur n wa s an yt hi ng t o g o by , co u ld no t ha v e b e en b ette r . Dar win ' s e x per ience s wi t h m is si o n ar ie s in Ne w Z e al and , a s we l l a s i n Ta hi ti , aro u s ed an in t er e st wh ich h e shar ed with Fi t z Ro y , who wa s an ard en t e v an g e l ica l Chr i st i an . Whi l e st i l l a t se a the fo l l owi n g ye ar the y j o in tl y wro te a p am p h l e t pr e s s i ng fo r mor e Gov er nm en t s up po r t for m i s s i o n ar ie s in the Paci fic. It wa s pub l i sh ed in the South Afr i can Chr i stian Reco r d er in Septemb er 1 83 6 , and wa s on e o f Dar win' s e ar l ie st signed pub l icati o n s . 5 Hi s contin uing in te r e st in Ne w Ze a l an d wa s r e in forced b y t h e v i si t s o f fr iend s : Ern st Die ffenb ach ( 1 83 9 -4 1 ) , Jo se p h D a l t o n Hoo ker ( 1 84 0 ) , John Lor t Sto ke s ( 1 8 4 8-5 1 ) and T. H. Hux l ey , who v i si ted the Wa ima te m i s s ion in 1 85 0. Dar win corr e s po n d ed wit h a n umb er of Ne w Ze al and er s r ig ht up un t i l hi s d eath in 1 88 2 . The con ten t wa s al most 12.

(21) entir e l y scie n t i fic , Dar win r e que sting in fo r m ation o r spe cimen s , t h e co lon i a l co l l ecto r s be ing o n l y too ha ppy t o o b l ige . Typical wa s a l etter to Sir Geo r g e Gr e y , then Go v er no r o f Ne w Ze al and , wr itten in Nov emb er 1 84 7 . Dar win s ugge s t ed that d i gg ing in t he m ud under t h e s t a l agm ite crust o f 1 imesto n e cav ern s 1 ike Waiom io wo u l d prob abl y r ev e al bon e s o f t h e con tem por ar ie s o f Dinor n i s (the Mo a ) . He con si d er ed ther e wo u l d be spec i a l inter e st o n thi s po in t , ' Ne w Ze a l and b e i ng at pr e sent so em in en tl y instr uct iv e in a n egat iv e po in t o f v ie w , wit h r e s pect to the d i str ib ut i o n o f ter r e st r i a l m amm i fe r s ' . He al so a s ked Gre y to ke e p an e ye o ut fo r ' er r a t i c b o u l d er s ' , since t her e wa s at t he t i m e a d eb ate among geo l og i st s a s to whe ther such bo u l d er s wer e tr an s por t ed b y fl ood s o r b y iceb e rgs . 6 Co l onial scien ti st s conti n ued to co rr e s po nd wi t h scien ti st s i n Br i t a in , Austr a l ia , Amer ica , and t he Con t in en t for t h e r e st o f t he cen t ur y. I sha l l s e l d om r e fe r in d eta il to thi s cor r e spo n d en c e , s i n c e it wa s a lmo s t en t ir e l y co ncern ed wi t h the ex change o f s pecimen s o r in for m ation whi ch , t ho ug h fa scin a ting t o scien ti st s , i s o ut si d e the sco pe o f t hi s the si s. Almo st n e v e r d id sc i en t i s t s ex hange commen t s o f a per so n al , ph i l oso phical , o r r el ig io us n at ur e . Und o ub te d 1 y t he eno rmo u s r e s pect which co l on i s t s had for Bri t i sh s av ant s , and the st r ic t o b se r v ati o n of Victo r ia n e pi st o l ar y pro pr ie t i e s , m i l i tate d aga in st t hi s . The Bibl e and Science b e fo r e Dar wi n Amo ngst t he po s se s s io n s mo st Ne w Ze al and co l on i st s b ro ught wi t h them fr om the Ol d Wor l d wa s a Bib l e . The Aut ho r i zed ( or Kin g Jam e s) V er sion wa s t h e o n l y popul ar l y acce s s ib l e tr an sl a t i on . In t h e m a r g i n o f thi s v er sio n , o ppo si te the fir st v er se o f Gen e si s cha pter on e , wa s 13.

(22) prin ted the d at e 4 004 B . C. Ac cording to Arc hbi sho p Ussher o f Arm ag h wor king in t he s e v en teenth c en t ur y , c r e a tion h ad occ urr ed a t nin e o' c l oc k in the mornin g o f 23 Octob er o f that ye ar . Almo st nin e t y per c en t o f the immigr ant s to New Ze a l and w er e Pr ote stan t s , and their s w a s v er y much a r el igio n o f t he Book. Typ ic a l o f t he popul ar Pro te stan t a p pro ach to con t r o v er t ed que s tion s wa s Ang lic an mis sionar y Ric hard Ta yl or' s so l uti o n : 'Search the Scri pt ur e s' ) The Bib l e , Pro te stant s b e l i e v ed , wa s t he hig he s t a n d a l l- sufficie n t a ut ho ri t y . And it w a s no t a b o o k whi c h o n l y t he e x per t s c o u l d under stand . Acco rding to the c l a s sic a l Pro te stan t d o c trin e o f the per spic ui ty o f Scri ptur e , the p l ain m eaning o f the te x t w a s a lm o s t c er tain l y t h e cor r ect o n e . Bib l ic a l d o c trin e s co u l d r e adil y b e und er stood b y t h e c ommon m an . Thi s p l ain and common sen se appro a c h to the Bib l e wa s e pi t omi s ed in Rev . Ric hard Ta yl o r' s d e scri ption of t h e c r e atio n in Gen e si s c h a pt e r s o n e to t hr e e . I n hi s o pinio n thi s w a s ' no t a s erie s o f v ag ue c o n j ect ur e s or fab ul o u s t al e s' b ut 'a p l a in , sim p l e , consi st e n t a c c o un t' , w hich e v er y s ub se qu e n t scien ti fie inv e s tiga tion h ad f ul l y co n firmed . 8 Ye t i t must n o t b e as sum ed tha t Pr o te stan t Chr i sti an s wer e a l l wood en l i t er al i st s , w ho w e r e c om pe l l ed to r ej ect scienc e out o f h and when it a ppar en t l y con fl ic te d wit h the Bib l e . Ta yl o r him s e l f had c om e to t e rms wit h g e o l ogy for in s t ance , and h ad ab andon ed t he Us sheri t e c hr o no l og y wi tho ut t he s l ight e st distr e s s i n d oin g so . In an 1 85 0 ar ti c l e 'Ge o l ogic a l Ob se r v a tion s o n the Boo k o f Gen e si s' he arg ued that the c reation o f t he h e av en s and t he e ar th in Gen e si s c h a pt e r o n e a l mo s t c er tainl y inv o l v ed v a st period s o f tim e c al c ul a t ed in mil l ion s o f ye ar s . He he l d , a s did m an y o ther e v an g e l ic a l Chri stian s , t h a t the 14.

(23) d ays o f Gen e s i s i n the o r igin a l Heb r e w d e n o te d no t a l i ter al twen t y fo ur ho ur d a y b ut rat her a n e poch o f ind e fin i te d ur a t ion . What t h e acco un t i n tend ed to te ach , h e ar g ued , wa s the ' pr im ar y tr uth' tha t Go d wa s t he Cre a to r o f a l l t h i ng s . 9 Thi s wa s a wid e l y shar ed v ie w. Em in en t n atur al i s t and e v an g e l ic a l Ang l ican Wi l l i am Swa in son arg ued i n 1 84 9 t ha t both t he Ussher i te chr o n o l ogy and the id e a tha t the Gen e s i s d a y wa s o n l y t wen ty fo ur ho ur s l o ng wer e m er el y ' h um an in t er pr e ta t io n s' o f the scr i pt ur al pa ssa ge s , which e v er yone had g i v en up in the fac e o f the g eo l og ic a l fact s . Yet he po in t ed l y in s i st ed that t he r e i s a most impor tan t d i st i nctio n , b e tween r e j ectin g cer ta i n l o ng adm i t t ed h um an in t er pr e ta tion s o f mer el y hi sto r ical pa s sa g e s , and r e j ecting the b ib l e a s the r ev e l a t ion of God ' s wi l l fo r o ur s a l v a t ion Geol og y cor r ects t he erroneo us in ter pr e t a tio n , b ut in ste ad o f ov ert hro wing , con firm s t h e cl a im s o f t h e b ib l e to be t h e wo rd o f Go d . ( 1 0 ) ••••. Swa in so n r e fused to tie the aut ho r i ty and in s pir atio n o f t he fir s t cha pter o f Gen e si s , which he con t in ued t o ho l d , to an o utmod ed pr escie n t i fic und er stand ing o f t he cha pt e r . Man y e v an g e l ical Pro te st an t s wo u l d adj ust the i r v ie ws o f t h e cr e a t io n o f t he h um a n r ace in Gen e si s cha pt e r s t wo an d thr ee in s i m i l ar fa sh io n in the 1 87 0 ' s and 1 88 0 ' s , and come to terms wi th Dar win wi th sim i l ar e a se . It wa s no t j us t a hand ful o f we l l - ed ucated co l on i st s l i ke Ta y l or and Swa in son who h ad ab andon ed t he Ussher i t e chro n o l ogy. New Ze a l and was a com par ati v e l y l i te r ate socie t y , an d boo ks wh ich r e concil ed science and r e l ig ion wer e v er y pop u l ar amo ngst t he wid er r e ad i ng pub l ic . Typ ica l of t he g en r e was Hugh Mi l l er ' s The T e s t imony of t h e Rock s , or Geo l ogy i n i t s Bear i n g s on the Two Theo l o g i e s , N atur a l a n d R e v e a l ed ( 1 85 7 ) . M i l l er wa s a v er y ab l e s e l f-taught g e o l o g i s t who had 15.

(24) come from a wo r ki n g-cl a s s b ackgro und , an d a Scotti sh Free Church Pre sb yter ian . He too bel ieved t hat t he Gene si s day wa s no t a l i ter a l t wen t y-fo ur ho ur d a y , b ut r at her a n immen se l y l ong geo l ogical epoch . In t he ir acco unt s o f pre-human hi stor y , t he Scr i p t ures were n ev er in tended to rev e a l scien ti fic tr ut h , he ar g ued . 1 1 M i l l er ' s boo ks ind uced con s ider a b l e fl ex ib i l i t y in in ter pre t i ng Gene si s cha pter o ne among st reader s o f a l l cl a s se s , inc l ud ing Scotti sh Presb yter ian s . The y a p pe ar ed in to wn and in sm al l co un tr y l ib r ar ie s in New Ze al and fr om the beg in ning o f set t l emen t . 1 2 Natural Theo l og y As Hugh M i l l er ' s boo k demon str a ted , t he bel ief that t he Bibl e wa s tr ue wa s no b l in d l y he l d ar t i c l e o f fa ith fo r Pro te st an t Chr i sti a n s . God ' s tr uth was un i fied , so i t wa s he l d a s in ev i table t ha t science wo u l d con firm Scr ipt ur e. The Book o f God ' s vlo r ks ( Nature) mus t neces s ar il y con f i rm t he Boo k o f God' s Wo r d ( t he Bib l e) ,. fo r both boo ks. had the same Di v ine Aut ho r . Bi sho p Jo se ph But l er ' s Ana l o gy o f Re l i gion , Natur a l and Re vea l e d ( 1 7 3 6 ) h ad l a id t he gro und wor k. In t h i s perenn i a l l y pop u l ar wor k , But l er ar g ued tha t t he God o f crea tio n r ev ea l ed b y a scien ti fic ex am in a t io n of n a t ure h ad t he same char acter i st ic s as t he God of t he Bib l e. New Zea l ander s in the n ineteen t h cen t ur y continued to ab so r b i t s 1 e s so n s . 1 3 Wi l l ia m P a l ey' s Natur a l Theo l ogy ( 1 802 ) had been sim il ar l y in fl uen t i a l .. en. t he b a si s o f em pir ical ev idence ob ser v ab l e b y. ev er yone , Pal ey r easo ned tha t the ex istence o f a n in te l l igen t desi gner of t he un i v er se co u l d be e st ab l i shed as cer ta in l y as an y other o f m an ki n d ' s. most firm l y hel d bel iefs . Just a s t he ex i stence o f a 16.

(25) wa tch i m pl ied the e x i stence o f a watchm aker , so if o n e con tem pl ated t he intr ica te perfection of t he h um an e ye , one kn e w that a s ki l l ed creato r had b e en at wor k. Pro v iden ti a l d e si gn , he ar g ue d , wa s ev er y where t hro ugho ut Nat ur e . Typical o f t ho se books which attempt ed to pr o v id e scien ti fi c proof of God' s a t tr ibute s wer e The Br i dgewater T r e at i s e s on the Powe r , Wi sdom and Goodn e s s of God a s Man ifested i n the C r e a t i on , a ser ie s which a p pe ar ed b e t we en 1 83 3 and 1 83 6. Jul i us Haa st , a tr a in ed geol og i st and m in er a l og i st who was d e st i n ed to b ecom e o n e of the co l o n y' s l e ad i ng m e n of sc ience , ar r i v ed in 1 85 8 from Germ an y. Among hi s po s s e s s i o n s wer e Briti sh g eo l og i s t Wi l l iam Buckl an d ' s con tr ib utio n s to t h e Brid gewater s er ie s , o n m i n er al og y and g eol ogy. 1 4 Haa st ' s o wn speeche s and pa pe r s to the Can terb ur y In st i t ute in the 1 860' s and 1 870' s o v er f l o wed wit h t h e r ev er en t s p ir i t of the Tr eati se s . It Ha s no t sur pr i sing , t he n , tha t str ong l in ks sho u l d ex ist betH e en science and r e l igio n in e ar l y NeH Ze a l and . Tho ug h mo s t cl e r g y rece iv ed an e ss e n t i a l l y cl assica l an d t he o l og ica l ed uca tio n , man y fo und t he time to d e v e l o p in ter e st s a nd ab i l i t y in nat ur al hi stor y . Thus C. M . S. m i s sio n ar y Hi l l iam Co l en s o m ight v ar y pr e aching and bib l e tr an s l a t ion Hi t h b o t an ical excur s ion s in se arch o f fern s pecimens . He quickl y acquir ed a con s i d er ab l e r e put a tio n a s a c o l l ecto r Hith e m in en t Bri ti sh scien t i st s , l i ke b o t an i st J.D. Hoo ker . 1 5 Richard La i shl ey Ha s a Congr eg atio n a l ist m in i ster at On eh un g a and Tham e s . He Ha s a l so a keen n a t ur a l i st and nat ur al h i s tor y ar t i s t . Hi s pa in t i ng s of Ne w Ze a l and butter f l ie s , b e e t l e s , and bir d s Her e the prod uct of ho ur s o f cl o se ob serv a t io n o f h i s s ubj ect s . 1 6 T h e cl ergyman-n a t ur a l i st wa s a 17.

(26) no t uncommon f i g ur e in the c o l ony. Cl er g ym an wer e in te r e sted in science and scie n ti s t s wer e kee n o n r e l ig ion . The Yo ung Men s Chr i s t i an As socia t ion wa s an in ter d enom in ati o n a l e v an g e l ic a l o r g an i za tion se t up t o enco ur age co­ o per a t io n b e t we en ev ang e l ical Pro te stan t ch urches wi t h the a im of reachi ng yo ut h . Prom in en t in the Auckl and Association in the 1 85 0 ' s wer e t hr e e m en who were to b ecom e l e ad i ng m en of sc i ence . 1 7 Thoma s Fr ed er ic Che e seman wa s the so n o f a Method ist m in i st e r , and he b ecam e curato r o f t he Auckl and Muse um , a l e ad i ng l ight o f t he Auckl and In sti tut e , and a v er y abl e b otan i st who se wor k wa s r ecogn i sed b y e l ection to t he Linn ae an Society. 1 8 Andr e w Sincl a ir wa s a d ev o ut Pr e sb yter ian , and wa s ano ther en thus i a st i c bota n i st who had co l l ected with Bri ti sh b o t an i st J.D. Hoo ker in t he Ba y of Isl and s in 1 8 4 1 .. He. had a l so b een inv o l v ed in scien tific d iscus s io n s wi t h Hux l e y and Dar win . Sincl a ir wa s tr ag ica l l y d r o wn ed in 1 8 6 1 wh i l e ex p l or i ng t he So uthe r n Al ps wi th Jul ius Haa s t . 1 9 vla l ter Bu l l er wa s t he so n of t h e Met hod i st m i s s io n ar y Jame s Bul l er . He wa s t o e stab l i sh an intern atio n a l r e putation a s Ne w Ze a l and ' s fo r emost o r n i t ho l og i st , an d to r ece i v e a ho st of sc ien tific ho no ur s , a l l wi t ho ut ab andon i ng Chr i st i an fa i t h . In 1 86 1 he r eceiv ed fir st pr i ze in a com pe ti tio n r un b y the Associa t io n for hi s e s s a y ' The Mor al \-J'e l far e of New Ze a l and1 • 2 0 Th u s t her e e x isted a ho l y a l l iance b e tween science and r e l igio n . Thi s h ad con t in ua l ! y b een r e in fo rc ed from t he b eg inn i ng o f t he century by d i scov er ie s in g eo l og y and pa l aeo nto l ogy. The l ar g e - sc a l e ex cav a t ion inv o l v ed in m in i ng i ron and co a l in Br i ta in h ad r ev e a l ed succe s s i v e l a yer s of we l l -diffe r en t i a ted g eo l og ic a l str a t a . The differ en t str a t a e ach con t a in ed a d i s t i nct i v e se t of fo s si l s , some o f 18.

(27) which wer e entir e l y d i ffer en t to pr esen t l y e x isting s pecie s . Mo s t peo pl e h ad hit her to a s s um ed t hat t he e ar t h h ad h ad a r e l a t iv el y s ho r t l i fe hi sto r y , for n e i ther Scr i pt ur e n or science g a v e an y r eason for t hin king di ffer en t l y . Wha t ev er fo s s i l s h ad b een fo und wer e a s s um ed to be the r em ain s o f an imal s Hhi ch had per i shed d ur ing Noah' s fl ood . No w hoHev er , i t h ad b ecome a ppar ent t ha t a s i ng l e fl ood , ev en i f g l ob al in e x te n t , co u l d har d l y b y i t se l f acco un t fo r thi s m u l t i t ud e o f Hid e l y se par a t ed and di s t inct i v e s tr a t a . Lamarcki an Ev o l ut io n Thi s s ugge s t ed to some t ha t ev o l u t io n m ight hav e occur r ed . Per ha ps the m o st n o t e worthy o f the pr e-Dar win ian e v o l ut i o n i st s H a s Je an Ba pti ste P i er r e An to i n e d e Mon e t , or t he Ch ev a l ier de Lamarc k a s he i s b e tter knoHn . Lamarc k was pro fe ssor o f in v er te b r ate zoo l og y a t t he Museum d ' Hi sto ir e Nat ur e l l e in Par i s . He p ub l i sh ed a t heor y o f e v o l ut i on e ar l y i n the n in eteen t h cen t ur y i n Hhich he ar g ued tha t o rg an i sm s m ad e e f fo r t s to meet t h e e x i genc ie s o f t he ir env iro nm e nt , and the ir b od ie s Her e mod i fied accord in g l y. The se mod i fications wer e p a s s ed on to the i r o ffs pr ing. For ex am p l e , t h e g i r a f fe , Lam arck a sser ted is kno Hn to l i v e in the inte r io r o f Afr ic a in p l ace s Hher e t he so i l i s n e ar l y a l wa y s ar id and b ar r en , so that i t i s ob l iged to b r o wse o n the l ea v e s o f t r ee s an d to m ake con stan t e f for t s to r e ach t hem . From thi s h ab i t l o ng ma in ta in ed in a l l its r ace , i t ha s r es u l ted tha t the an imal ' s fo re- l eg s h a v e b ecome l o nger t h an i t s h i nd- l eg s and tha t it s n eck i s l eng the n ed to such a d e g r ee tha t t he g ir affe , Hi tho ut s t and ing u p o n it s h i nd l eg s , a t ta in s a he ight o f s ix metr e s . ( 2 1 ) Lamar c k s ug g e sted tha t o n e s pe ci e s m ig ht actua l l y cha nge ov er the co ur s e of t ime in to ano t h er . Geo r g e s Cuv ier: t he fixity o f s peci e s and geo l ogical catastr o ph i sm 19.

(28) Ho we v er a l l such e v o l ut io n ar y t he o r ie s wer e d i sm i ssed a s s pecul a t i v e and un sc ien ti fic b y t h e mo s t em in en t b iol ogi st in t he fi r st ha l f o f the n in eteen t h cen tur y , Geo r g e s Cu v ie r . Pr o fe s so r o f v er t eb r a te zoo l og y at t he Museum d ' Hi s to ire Nat ur e l l e , he em p l o yed a l l hi s i mmen se autho r ity and pr e st i g e in r ej ecting Lamar c k' s i d e a s . He prov id ed t he par ad i gm in b i o l ogy for t he fir st hal f of the n in e t e en th cen t ur y. In contr ast to Lam ar c k , hi s b i o l ogy wa s utte r l y fi x ist a n d non-ev o l ut io n ar y. But thi s wa s empir ica l l y r ather than scr i pt ur a l l y der ived . Cuv ier ' s e ar l y wor k wa s carr ied o ut i n t he l ate e i ght e e n t h cen t ur y on the bon e s o f l i v i ng and ex t i nct an im a l s o f the e l e ph an t typ e , incl ud in g the Sib er ian m ammoth. Faced wi th j umbl ed p i l e s o f fo s s i l bone s the tr ad i t ion al Linn ae an a p pro ach , o f s ystema t ica l l y cl assi fyin g an imal s accord ing to the ir ob v io us e x te r n a l char acter i s t ics , wa s o f l i t tl e hel p. Cuv i e r d id not kno w what t he ex tinct an imal l oo ked l i ke whe n i t wa s a l i v e . In att empting to so l v e t h i s prob l em , hi s b a sic pr emi se wa s that an y o r g an i sm m ust b e ad a pted to i t s e n v ironm en t in order to functio n s ucce s s f u l l y in that env i ro nment. Al l o f it s d i f fer ent par t s must coher e to form a v iab l e , functio n a l who l e. A ter r e str i a l car n i v or e , for in stance , m u st hav e l ungs fo r b r e a t h i ng , s ui tab l e l imb s and muscl e s for r unn in g and catchin g its pr e y , t e e th to te ar and che w t h e fl e sh , and a s ui tabl e stomach and in te s t ine fo r d ige s tion . I t m u s t a l so hav e a centr a l ner v ous system to in te grate an d co-ord inate a l l t he se act iv i t ie s. Gi v en t he se a s s umption s Cuv ier h ad ex tr ao rd in ar y succe ss in accur ate l y r econ str ucting en tir e an imal s from fr agm en tar y fo s s il r emain s . He d i v ided the an imal ki ngd om in to fo ur m ajor 20.

(29) d i v i si o n s using a s hi s cri ter ion the n er v ous s ys t e m to con str uc t a major n e w s ystem o f cl a s sifica t ion . Thi s system wa s fundamen t a l l y n o n - e v o l ut io nar y. fill y chang e i n an o rg an i sm' s m emb er s , par t icu l ar l y o n t he scal e which Lam arck po st ul ate d , wou l d ups e t the d el icate l y b al anced cor r e l ation of t he who l e . The o rgan i sm wo u l d a lmo st cer ta i n l y d ie . If change wa s al wa ys for the wor se , a s Cu v ier b e l iev e d , then e v o l ut io n cou l d no t , i n pr inci pl e , occur . Of co ur se Cuv ier was no t j us t a zoo l og ist an d com pa r a t i v e an a tom i s t concer n ed wi t h the in t er n a l par t s a nd f unct ion ing o f o r g an i sm s . H e wa s a l so a g eo l og i st and a v er te b r a t e pal aeo n to l og i s t . He wa s we l l a ware t ha t fo s s i l s tr a t ig r a p h y s ho wed cl e ar ev id e nce for m an y chan g e s in an imal fo rms o v er time . To m en l i ke Lam arck and a handf u l of other s t hi s s ug g e s t ed t h a t ev o l ut ion h ad occurr ed . Ho w d id Cuv ie r r econc i l e the fo s s i l record wit h h i s non-ev o l ut i o nar y b i o l o g y? He pro po sed that t h e g e o l ogic a l hi stor y of t he g l obe wa s i n t er r upted from time to time b y g r e a t ' r e v o l uti o n s' o r 1ca t a s tro phe s ' . 22 The s e cata stro phe s k i l l ed o f f a l l the cr e a t ur e s i n the ar e a s whe r e t h e cata str o phe occur r ed and the ir r em a i n s wer e in terr ed and b ecame t he fo s s i l r eco r d . After t h i n g s h ad se t t l ed down ag ain the ar ea wa s g r ad ua l l y r e stocked , no t b y d i v in e f i a t for in Cuv ier' s o pin ion t hat h ad o n l y occurr ed at the o r igin a l cr e a tion , b ut b y m igr ation from surro un d in g un affecte d a r e a s o f n e H form s . Br i t i sh g eo l og i st s , ho wev er , pre f err ed to t hin k t hat t h e n e w s pecies wer e specia l l y created i n s i t u . The l ast Cuv ier ian cata stro phe H a s i d en ti fi e d b y pio us Oxfo rd g e o l ogi st W i l l i am Buckl and a s Noa h ' s Fl o od . Buckl and' s e ar l y VlOr k 21.

(30) r econc i l ing Gen esi s and g eo l og y wa s v er y p o p u l ar . He d e par ted from Cuv ier i n R e l ics o f the D e l uge ( 1 82 3 ) by in si s t i ng that t he Del uge wa s no t l oc a l i se d b ut un i v er sa l . But when he used e v id ence o f fo s s i l bon e s be ing fo und i n t he Him a l a ya s and t he And e s a s ev id ence that t he fl ood had been d ee p eno ugh to cov er the h i g he st mo unta in s ther e wa s a wid e s pr e ad fe e l ing amo ng st sc i en t i st s no t o n l y t hat sc i e nce h ad b e en twi sted to con fo rm to Scr i pt ur e b ut a l so tha t Scr i pt ur e had been t wi st ed to con fo rm to what Buckl and er r eon eo u sl y r eg ard ed as sc i ence . Thi s fe e l in g wa s n ic el y e x pr e ssed in the ti t l e o f a pa pe r wr i tten b y Jo hn Fl em ing , a Sco t t i s h natur al i s t and Pr e sb yt er i an m in i ster , ca l l ed 'The Geo l og ic a l De l uge , a s i n ter pr eted b y Baro n Cuv ie r and Pro fe s so r Buckl and i ncon si stent wi t h t he te s t imon y o f Mo se s and t he Phenom e n a o f Na t ur e ' . Tr ue r el i g io n cou l d a ffor d to r e j ect such ' fa ithl e s s a ux i l i ar i e s ' a s Buckl and' s science , F l em i ng arg ued . 2 3 Sim i l ar v ie ws wer e to b e ex pr es se d in Ne w Ze a l and in t he 1 87 0 ' s and 1 880 ' s b y d ev out sci en ti sts , who in si sted t ha t t ho se who t wi st ed sci ence and Scr i pt ur e in to a forced harmon y t o accomod ate the ir o wn pr econce pt i o n s d id a gre a t d i s s e r v ice to both sc ience and Chr i s t i an i t y . Charl e s Lye l l a n d Un i fo rm i tar ian i sm The ca ta stro phi st geo l og y o f Cuv i er and Buckl and wa s highl y un sati s facto r y to Char 1 e s Lye l l . Hi s obj ectio n s wer e b a sica l l y method o l og ical . Cuv i er ' s occa s ion a l ca ta stro ph e s wer e not pr e sen t l y ob se r v ab l e. Geo l og y cou l d har d l y b ecom e a r i goro us science i f ca t a cl y sm ic ev ent s or , ev en wor se , wi l d s pecu l a t ion s l i ke Buckl and1s wer e inv oked e v er y time a g eo l og i st fe l t hi m se l f sho r t of a sa t i s factor y ex p l an a t i o n . Th u s in hi s P r inci p l e s o f Geo l ogy ( 1 8301 83 3 ) Lye l l o ut l ined hi s pr inci p l e o f un i fo r m i t y. Thi s wa s the 22.

(31) pr inc i p l e tha t the earth' s g eo l og ical past o ught to b e in ter pr et e d i n term s of pr e s en tl y occurr i ng and emp ir ica l l y ob se r v ab l e proce s s es . Thi s wa s not pur e l y a m e thod o l og ic a l a ssumpt io n. Ther e wa s p l en t y of em pir ical ev id ence in phenomen a l i ke s ed im en ta t ion and g l acia t io n to support the id e a tha t g eo l ogical cha n g e occur r ed as a r e s ul t of t he gr ad ual act io n o f ord in ar y fo rce s o v er v er y l o ng per iod s. The Dar win ian theo r y o f t he e v o l ut i o n of s pecie s a s a r e s ul t of the gr ad ua l s e l ect ion o f n a t ur al l y occurr i n g v ar ia t ion s ov e r v a st per iod s Has b a sical l y un iform itar ian and sho wed ho w m uch Dar Hi n had been infl uenced b y Lye l l . Lye l l b e l i e v ed , i n add itio n , t ha t the e ar t h wa s enormous l y o l d , per h a p s t ho usand s o f m i l l io n s of ye ar s o l d. Thi s Has no gr eat pr o b l em for d ev out g eo l og i st s for b y t he 1 83 0' s most scien t i st s , incl ud i n g ca ta stro phi st s , acce pted t he gr e a t an t i qui t y o f t h e e ar t h . It Ha s gen er al l y acce pte d tha t the Heb r e w wor d ' da y' in Gene si s cha pter s o n e and t wo r e ferr ed t o an e poch o f eno rmo u s d ur a t ion. The b a s ic pr emi se of n atur al theo l og y - tha t the Eo o k o f Nat ur e an d the Eoo k of Rev e l a t ion s po ke wit h on e v o ice - r ema in ed in t act. Rob e r t Chamber s The o n l y wr i ter b e for e D ar win who threa t en ed to u p se t t he ho l y a l l iance b e tHeen science and r e l i g io n with a d e t a il ed ar gumen t fo r b i o l og ical ev o l ut ion Has Rob ert Chamb e r s , an Ed i nb urgh p ub l i sher who in 1 84 4 anonymous l y wro te an d pub l i sh e d V e st i ge s of the Natur a l H i story of Cr e a t i on. I t cr e a t ed an imm ed i ate sen sat ion. No t o nl y d id Chamber s s pecul ate tha t o n e s pecie s m i g ht chan g e in to ano ther s pe c i e s , s uch a s a goo se into a r a t in a s l i t t l e a s t wo g en er a t ion s , b ut he e v en tho ught it po ssi b l e to sa y som ethin g abo ut the or igin o f l i fe . He 23.

(32) ci ted ex pe r imen t s in whi ch l ife had a l l eg ed ly b een created by t h e act ion o f an e l ectr ic di scharge on sol utio n s o f pota s s i um s i l ica t e and co pper n i tr ate . It wa s l ater sho wn that a we l l -kno wn o r g an i sm , t he m i te , h ad in adv er ten t l y b e en d r o p p ed in to t he sol ut ion , and Chamb er s wa s m er c i l e s s l y cr i tici sed . 24 Hi s e ssent i a l l y Lam arcki an e v o l ut i o n , a nd a ppar ent ph i l o so ph ica l m a t er i al i sm , wer e un e quiv oca l l y r ej ect ed by the scie n t i fie wo r l d . W i l l iam Swa in so n , a l e ad ing na tur al i st and Fe l l o w of t he Royal Soci e ty who arr i v ed in Ne w Ze a l and in 1 8 4 1 , r ej ected i t in an 1 85 0 r e v ie w a s r epugnan t to b o t h scie n c e an d Scr i pture . 25 R i ch a r d Tayl or v er sus Wil l i am Swa in so n o v er Gen e s i s and Geo l ogy M any o f the ten s io n s genera ted b y the gro wt h of sc i ence for r el i g io us m en m ay b e i l l ustr ated by com par ing the v ie ws of Richa r d Tay l o r and Wi l l i am Swa in son . They wer e t wo o f t he co l ony' s l e ad i n g m en of s c ie nce in the 1 84 0 ' s and 1 85 0' s , and both wer e e ar n e st e v an g e l ic a l Chr i s t i an s . Tayl or wa s a typical cl e rgyman-n a t ur a l i st . He had g r ad ua ted M . A. a t Cambr idg e in 1 83 5 and s pe n t con s i d er ab l e time o n the Con tin en t on b o t an ical and geo l og ical excur s ion s . He arr i v ed in Ne w Ze a l and in 1 83 9 , was an ob se r v er at the Tr e aty o f Hai tan g i , an d t he n l ed t he Wangan u i m i s s ion wi t h co ur age and d i st i nct ion . Li ke \'li l l ia m Co l en so , Tay l or wa s a col l ecto r fo r em in en t Br i ti s h sc ien ti st s . He h ad p l ayed a n im por t an t r o l e i n br i ng i ng t he fir s t moa b o n e s to the atten tion o f Richard Owen , t he famous com par ativ e an a t omi st , who b y fol l o wing Cuv i er i an pr inci pl e s perfo rm ed the pro d i g io us fe a t o f corr ect l y r econ str ucti n g the moa a s a g ig anti c , f l igh t l e s s b i rd from a s i ng l e piece of femur ( t h igh-bo n e ) . Tay l o r a l so sen t s pecimen s o f Ne w Ze a l and f l or a to J.D. Hoo ker , who wa s the 24.

(33) dir e c to r of Ke w Potan ic al Gar d en s and a c l ose fr iend of Dar win ' s. Hoo ker n am ed t he f ungus- l i ke p l an t d ac t y l anthus tay l or i after h im. 2 6 Ta yl or , a s we ha v e a l r ead y s e e n , had ab and on ed the Ussher i te chro no l og y and t he id e a that t he Gene si s day wa s t wen t y fo ur ho ur s l o ng . He wa s a g eo l og ic a l c at a st r o ph i st who fo l l owed Cuv ie r , and he acco un t ed for t he fo s s i l r ecord by po st u l a t ing a pr e-Ad am ic r ac e of an ge l s , for who s e fa l l in to sin the who l e wo r l d wa s d e stro yed , a s r ec o rd ed in Gen e s i s 1 : 2. The e arth wa s t hen r ene wed and r e peo p l ed d ur ing the six ' l ong e poc h s' whi c h Her e the d a ys o f Gen esi s c ha pt e r one . 27 Thus t he fi r st thr ee v er se s of Gen e si s c ha pter o n e d e sc r ib e d a c r e a t io n ( 1 : 1 ) , fo l l o wed b y a c a ta strophe ( 1 : 2 ) , fo l l o wed after an ind eter m in at e pe r io d b y a r e-creation ( 1 : 3 and fo l l o win g ) . Thi s ' ga p ' t h eo r y h ad b e en g i v en a ut ho r i t y and pr e s t i g e b y a n umb er o f em in en t scr i pt ur a l g eo l og i st s , inc l ud ing Pre sbyter ian d i v in e Re v . Tho m a s Ch a lmer s , and Ang l ic an s Rev. Ad am Sedgwic k , and Rev . Hi l l i am Buc k l a nd of Br idgewater Tr e at i s e s fame. It wa s l ater ad o pt ed b y C. I. Scofi e l d in hi s Refe r en c e Bi b le , and thus con tin ued to r e ac h a fa i r l y e x t en si v e e v an g e l i c a l aud ience in the l a te n in e t e en t h and twen t i e th c en tur i e s. 2 8 The ' g a p' t h eor y a l l o wed Chr i s t i an s l i ke Ta ylor to acc e pt t h e l ate st , mo st we l l - estab l i shed sc ien tifi c theo r ie s in a stro no m y a n d geol ogy. For in s t ance t h e n eb ul ar h ypothe si s o f t he Fr e n c h a s tro n om e r Pierr e Lap l ac e , who ar g ue d tha t the p l an e t s wer e fo rm ed b y t h e c o o l ing of t he n eb ul ar ga se s wh ich s ur ro und ed the s un , co u l d be acc e p t ed b y a l l owin g an eno rm o us t i me- sc a l e for Gen e si s 1 : 1 , a s Ta yl o r d id . Sim i l ar l y , t h e ' ga p' theo r y ex p l a in ed t h e fo s s i l r ecord a s ev id enc e o f a j ud g em en t o n the e ar th' s o r ig in a l inhab itan t s. Ev en Lye l l ' s 25.

(34) un iformi tar ian m ethod o l ogy cou l d b e caut ious l y acc e pted . For Ta yl or the d i v in e fiat s of Gen e si s cha p t e r one wer e r e a l i zed , no t in stan tan eo us l y , b ut g r ad ua l l y and pro gr es si v e l y , o v er eno rmous e poch s . 2 9 Giv en t he s t a t e of sc ientific kno wl edge at the time ,. this. theo r y d i s pl ayed con s i d er ab l e f l ex ib i l i t y i n inter pr etin g Gen e si s . Ther e wa s not h i ng an t i - se i en ti fie , obv iousl y ob se ur an ti st , o r b l i nd l y l iter al i st ic ab o ut i t . Ho we v er Ta y l o r ' s in ter pr e ta tio n s o f the v er se s fo l l o wing Gen e si s 1 : 3 a ppe ar ed to r a i se prob l ems . The cha pter a s ser t ed that l ig ht a ppe ar ed on the fir st d a y b ut t he sun n o t un ti l d a y four , which see m ed impo s s ibl e . But accord i ng to Ta y l or it wa s no t . The seco nd d iv in e fia t , h e a s serted , was the prod uction o f t he atmo s phe r e . The ear t h was s ur ro und ed wit h a v a s t e l e v a t ed cano p y of wa ter l i ke Sat ur n , so that t he sun , which had of co ur se b een created on d ay on e , was no t v i sib l e from e arth . Thi s cano p y prod uced an e x tr em e l y e quab l e a tmo s pher e on e ar th in which , un tro ub l ed b y s u d d en f l uct ua tions o f t e m per atur e , h um an s co u l d l iv e for h und r ed s of ye ar s . Thi s acco un t ed for t he tr emend ous l onge v i t y o f Ad am and hi s i mmed iate d e scen d an t s . 3 0 Ho we v er t h e n e ar a p pro ach of a come t , a s an agen t o f t he Lor d ' s w i l l , ca used thi s a queo us cano py to b r ea k up and pr ecipi tate , hence the No ahi c d el uge a s r eco rd ed in Gen e si s . Yet i n Ta yl or ' s o pi n ion the Fl ood wa s no t un iv er sa l . Tha t par t o f the wo r l d inhab i t ed b y h um an s wa s s ubm e r g ed a n d a l l fl e sh d i ed exce pt No ah and the ar k . Ho we v er the m o a an d m ar su p i a l fam i l ie s of Austr a l a s i a s urv i v ed to l e av e d e scend an t s . Thi s a t tem pt to acco un t fo r the un i quen ess o f t he Austr a l asian faun a b y ar g uing tha t t he y had e sca ped t he Fl ood wa s an i n g en io us , i f r at her s pecul a ti v e , piece of 26.

(35) bib l ic i st b io g eo g r a phy. The e quab l e atm o s phe r e d i s a p pe ar ed wi th t he d e s tr uc t io n of t h e c anopy , Tayl o r c o n c l uded , and t he s un s hone d ir ec t l y on the e ar th . Thi s a c c o un ted for the sun ' s a ppe ar anc e on d ay fo ur and aft er t h e creation o f l ight . As t he s im pl e d ie t o f t he anted i l uv ia n s wa s supe r se d ed by the use o f an imal food , the l ong e v ity of the patr iarch s d ecrea s ed , j u st a s t he Scr i pt ur e s r ec o r d ed. 3 1 Hi l l iam Swa in so n , ho we v er , fo und thi s a r ather fo rc ed r ec o n c i l ia t io n of Gen e s i s and geol ogy , and took Taylor to task in t he pa g e s of the New Zea l and E v an ge l i s t , a mont h l y per iod ic a l put o ut b y t he 'We l l i ng ton Ev ang e l i c a l Al l i ance. 32 Swa in so n h ad acquir ed a pen c han t fo r na tur al hi st o ry a s a yo ut h , fa sc in ated by h i s fathe r ' s c o l l ec t io n o f s he l l s. Zoo l og ic al and b o t an ic a l tr i p s to Euro pe and Nor th Amer ic a had e stab l i shed hi s r e put a t io n , a s a zoo l og i st and a pa in ter o f b ird s . He b e c ame a Fe l l o w o f t he Linn aean Soc ie ty in 1 8 1 6 , and a Fe l l ow of the Roya l Soc i e ty fo ur year s l at e r . 3 3 H e r ej ec ted Tayl o r' s ide a o f a pr e-Ad am ic ang e l ic r ac e who se s i n c aused a g l ob a l c ata stro phe a n d t h e d e ath o f the anc ien t r ac e s o f i t s inhab i tan t s . Thi s wa s 'mer e conj ect ur e'. Tayl o r o ught ,. i n Swa in so n' s. o pi n io n , to ha v e e sc he wed s pe c u l atio n , s t u c k t o the fac t s , fo l l o wed Baco n ' s i nd uc t i v e method mor e , and Ar i sto t l e' s d ed uc t i v e a p pro a c h l es s . 34 The r e wa s n o thing i n e i t he r sc i e n c e o r Scr i pt ur e t o b e l ie v e tha t any s u per io r c l a s s o f b e i ng s ex i st ed pr ior to Ad am. Tayl o r ' s Geo l o gic a l Obser v ation s came in to much the same c l a s s a s Rob e r t Chamb er s' V e st iges , i n Swa in so n' s o pin ion :. ' The se sc ien ti fie romanc e s. o n t he wond er s o f wo rl d-makin g m ay p l ea se the s pec u l a t i v e , and tho s e who d e l ig h t i n t he marv e l l o u s r a t her t h an t h e tr ue ; b ut t h e en unc ia tio n o f o n e c l e ar l y a sc er ta in ed g eo l og ic al fac t , o r o n e f ul l y 27.

(36) e stab l i shed the o l og ical pr inc i pl e , i s o f mor e r e a l wor th t ha n a who l e v ol um e o f s uch d o ubtf u l s pecu l a t ion1. 3 5 Swa in son wa s an i n d uct iv i st , who l i ked both hi s sc ience and hi s Scr i pt ur e p l ain and un emb e l l i sh e d . Ex actl y t he sam e cr i t ici sm s a s t he se wer e to b e l ev e l l ed in t he ye ar s ahe ad at t he Dar win i an t he o r y b y t ho se who , wh i l e ful l of adm ir atio n for t h e f acts Darwin r ev e al ed , f e l t t hat t he theory v io l a t ed tr ue Bacon ian pr inci pl e s o f ind uctio n. The y pr efer r ed the o l d e r ph i l oso ph y of sc ience e pi tom i z ed b y Ne wton' s d ict um :. ' Hy pothe se s non fingo' ( I do. no t make hypothe se s ) . Yet Swa in so n had som e r ather specu l at i v e ideas o f h i s o wn . He had a t t em p t ed to pop u l ar i ze the quin ar i an s ys t em o f cl a s si fica t ion i n Br i t a in i n the 1 83 0' s , in whi ch an imal spe c ie s ( an d e v en Ir ise s) wer e arr anged in ci rcul ar groups o f f i v e acco rd ing to an al og i e s and affi n i ti e s . The qui n ar i an system wa s , he f e l t , in accord wi t h the un i fo rmi t y of t h e d iv in e p l an of cr e a t io n . But it wa s no t ta ken ser io us l y b y the Br i ti sh scien t i fi c e st a b l ishm en t , and both Swa in so n and Wi l l i am Shar pe Macl e a y , t he s yst em' s o r igin a tor , l ef t d i sgr un tl ed , the former to se t tl e in Ne w Ze a l and , t h e 1 atter in Ne w So ut h Ha l e s . 3 6 By no stre tch o f the im ag i n a t io n can t h i s br ie f and r e s tr a in ed con tr o v er sy b e r epr e sented a s a c l ash b et ween science an d r e l ig io n . Swa in son sim p l y fo und Ta y l o r ' s harmoni za tion of Gen e si s and geol ogy r a ther forced and unn a tur al , wi tho ut an ad e qu a te b a si s i n e i the r science o r Scr i pt ur e . Both m en wer e ard en t ev ange l ic a l Ang l ican s , who h e l d hi g h v ie ws o f b o t h science and Scr i pt ur e , and b e l iev ed tha t t h e t wo m u s t u l t ima t e l y agr e e . I n t h e d ecad e s ahe ad mo st col o n i al Olr i st i an s wo u l d come to te r m s wi th Dar win ian b i o l og y a s r ead i l y a s Ta yl or and Swa in son h ad come to terms wit h geo l og y . 28.

(37) It must b e said , n ev er the l ess , that Ta y l o r d id no t com e to term s wi th Dar win a s e a s i l y a s mo s t ed uca ted Chr i s t i an s d id .. As l a te a s. 1 87 2 he fo und Cu v ie r ' s s yn t he tic the o r y mor e sati s fa c to r y a l l ro un d than Dar wi n' s . Ther e wer e no tr an s i t ion a l form s in t he fo s s i l r eco r d t o sup po r t e v o l ut io n , h e ar g ued , whi ch wa s a p l aus ib l e e n o ug h obj ect ion a t t he time. Thus Dar win' s id e a s wer e to o ' s p ec u l a tiv e ' ) 7 Gi v en the char acter o f Ta yl or' s o wn wor k thi s l a st char g e wa s a c a s e o f t he po t ca l l ing t he ke t t l e b l ack. The Be g inn ing s o f a Colonial Scienti fic Community futh Swa in son and Ta yl or wer e prom in ent m emb er s of the e a r l y co l on i a l scie n t i fi c comm un i ty. Man y o f t he imm ig r a n t s t o Ne w Ze a l and wer e ke e n l y in ter e s ted in l i ter ar y and sc i en ti fic s ubj ect s , both fo r t he intr in sic in te r e st and wi th an eye to se l f- impr o v emen t . A Ne l son Li ter ar y and Sc i en ti fic Soc i e t y h ad b e en fo rm ed o n bo ard t h e Whi tb y in 1 84 1 , and thi s wa s t he for er unn er of t he Ne l so n Ph i l oso ph i c a l �c i e t y . In 1 84 4 some s i x t y m emb er s a t tend ed a gener a l mee t ing , a t wh ich t he cha ir wa s o ccup i ed by Wi l l iam Fox , w i t h Al fr ed Dom ett a s v ice­ pr e s id en t , and Fr anc i s D i l l o n Be l l as secr e t ar y ) 8 A Hechan ics In sti t ut e wa s formed in Ne l so n in 1 84 6 who s e aim wa s to promo t e l i te r ar y and sc i en ti fic progr e s s wi t h e l em en t ar y ed uca t ion . No d i scus s i o n o f r e l i g io n o r po l itics wo u l d b e a l l o we d b ut b oo ks o n tho se s ubj ect s wer e perm i tted. Typical l ect ur e s i n cl ud e d ' Th e Ad v an ta g e s o f Ed ucat i o n' b y Fo x , ' The Scie nce o f Mo r a l i ty' , b y G. Whi te , and ' Astro nomy' by C. Hea phy. The In stit ute impor t ed Bri t i sh pa per s and r ev ie ws i n o rd er to sup p l em en t the e x ten s i v e l ib r ar ie s pros pero u s co l on i st s b r o ught wi t h t h em , and to ke e p up wit h ev ent s ' a t hom e ' . By 1 85 8 the y i n c l ud ed the Exami n e r , t he London T i me s , t h e 29.

(38) Quarter l y R e v ie w , t he Ed inburgh R e v i e w , the We stminster R e v i e w , the North Br i t i sh R e v i ew , t h e Athenae um , B l ackwood' s Maga zine , P unch , a nd Chamb e r s J o ur n a l . Mo st of t he se per iod ica l s wou l d r ev ie w t he Or igin after i t s p u b l ica t ion in 1 85 9 . In 1 85 1 t he Ne w Ze a l and Soc i e t y was fo und ed a t We l l in g to n . It wa s mod e l l ed o n t wo Bri t i sh in s t i t ution s : t he Ro yal Socie t y fo und ed d ur i ng the Eng l i sh Re stor atio n , an d the mor e r ecen t l y formed Br i ti sh As soc i a t io n for t he Adv ancem en t of Sc ience . The mo v i ng s p ir i t s be h i nd i t s formatio n wer e Sir Geo r g e Gr e y and Wa l ter Man te l l , s o n of the famo us di scov er er of the d i no saur s Gid eon Al g er non Man te l l . At t h e fir st mee ting i t wa s d ec i d ed t ha t mont hl y m ee tin g s wou l d b e he l d to r e ad paper s r ece iv ed ' and fo r t he d i scus s i o n of matte r s conn ected wit h ph ys ical scie nc e , and i t s ad v ancemen t i n t he col ony1 . 3 9 It s member shi p incl ud ed t h e l e ad i ng f i g ur e s o f co l on i a l socie ty : Gr e y , I. E. Fe ather sto n e , J. E. Fi t zg er a l d , Mr Jus t i c e Cha pm an , G. Hun te r , Al fr ed Domett , vi. War ing Ta ylor , E. J . Wake f i e l d , and A. Brando n , a s we l l a s cl er ical r e pr e sen t a t i v e s Archd e aco n Had fi e l d , Rev . Richar d Ta yl o r , an d Rev . Jon a s Woodward , who fo und ed t he Congr ega t io n a l Ch urch in Wel l in g to n . Di v i si v e po l i tical an d r e l i g io us i s s ue s , i t wa s m ad e c l ear , wer e to b e av o id e d . Fo l l o wing t h e r u l e s o f t h e Eng l i sh Ro yal Society , i t wa s sti pu l ated : ' The in trod uction o f po l itics and po l em ic s be ing to t a l l y inco n si sten t wit h t he f undamen t a l pr inci pl e s of a sc i en ti f ic socie ty , an y m ember g ui l ty o f i n trod ucing an y s ubj ect of s uch tend ency , sha l l cea se , i p so facto , to b e a m emb er o f t he Soc ie t y1 • 4 0 Science , i t wa s i n tend ed , wo u l d· pr ov ide i d eo l ogical l y n e ut r al gro und , and wo u l d d i s so l v e potent i a l l y d i v i s i v e po l i tical and r e l igio us 30.