The History of Creationism and what it can tell us about science and faith

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Society and evolution

Unlike many scientific theories, Darwinian evolution was comprehensively and deeply applied to philosophy, economics, society, ethics and much more. Herbert Spencer was one of the first to apply the science more widely, developing a humanistic ethic based on evolutionary principles. It was from Spencer, not Darwin, that the term 'survival of the fittest' first came. The industrialist Andrew Carnegie applied Spencerian ethics to economics, resulting in a harsh laissez-faire capitalism which did Darwinism's image no favours (Carnegie sponsored Spencer on a lecture tour of the United States). Far worse than Carnegie's industrial relations was Nazi Party domestic and foreign policy of the 1930s and 40s. The Nazis drew heavily on ‘Social Darwinism’ to both support their particular brand of aggressive and fervent nationalism, and to denounce the Jews as racially inferior. Hitler’s Eugenics programme provides a notorious example of the (mis-)application of Darwin’s theories to social engineering. Further, the other great modernist ideology of the twentieth century - Socialism  - extolled evolution for supposedly supporting its political agenda. By the time of the Cold War years, conservative middle-America came to see communism, atheism and Darwinism as an unholy trinity of evil.

conservative middle-America came to see communism, atheism and Darwinism as an unholy trinity

Fans of classic movies may recall ‘Inherit the Wind’, based on the 1925 'Scopes Monkey Trial'. Ostensibly the trial involved a biology teacher named John Scopes breaking a state law against teaching evolution. It gained fame as a battle between ‘obscurantist faith’ and ‘enlightened science’. In reality it was a battle over changes in society. William Jennings Bryan, the three time Presidential candidate who led the prosecution against Scopes, was seeking to save the moral and spiritual soul of America. The metaphysics of evolution worried Bryan, not most of the science. Bryan had already led a nation-wide anti-evolution tour, seeking to counter what he - and many others - felt were the pernicious effects of belief in the ‘ideology’ of evolution. Despite all this Bryan was a relative liberal on the science of evolution – certainly by the standards of creationists such as Ken Ham. In fact, if Bryan applied for a job at Ham's Creation Museum he would be rejected on the grounds that he believed in an ancient earth (and much else on evolution). This is somewhat ironic as the Museum has an exhibit dedicated to Bryan's defence of creationism. Yet it is the Ken Ham version of creationism which has become ascendant among many conservative Christians in America.

Today’s Creationism

So from where did contemporary creationism emerge? George McCready Price (b.1870) has much to do with the answer. Although he never attained more than an undergraduate arts degree, Price succeeded in transforming the creationist landscape⎯by focusing on the geology of creation. By the mid nineteenth century, modern geology had established what is called the 'geological column'. This is the chronological arrangement of rock layers from oldest to youngest, corresponding to fossils, with simplest life forms in the oldest layers to more complex ones as the layers become more recent.

Some Christians sought to match the geological column with Genesis using theories such as the day-age or gap-theories, or theistic evolution [see Appendice]. Upon studying these views Price could not reconcile them with Scriptural inerrancy. Price had grown up in a rural Seventh Day Adventist church, which his widowed mother joined shortly after the death of her husband, when Price was just 12.  Seventh Day Adventism is a Christian sect which emphasises a literal six day creation and the expectation of Christ's imminent return (or 'advent'). The group's name reflects both these beliefs, the seventh day being the Sabbath day to which Adventists strictly adhere. After graduating from an Adventist college Price drifted between jobs as a door to door salesman, a high school teacher, a handyman and a labourer. He had tried and failed as an evangelist, an administrator and a writer and struggled to support his family. At one point, after yet another failed career attempt, Price even contemplated suicide.

to his supporters at least Price washed away most of modern geology’s assumptions

However it was to be on the subject of evolution that Price found his life mission. Unconvinced by the creationism of his day, Price set about challenging the core of geological science - the geological column. He did so by applying Noah's flood to the problem, formulating ‘deluge theory’ or ‘geological catastrophism’. Geology had its column, but Price had the Flood – and to his supporters at least Price washed away most of modern geology’s assumptions. In 1923 Price's magnum opus appeared, The New Geology. He spent half a century promulgating its thesis.

What explains Price's success in re-imagining geology? His appeal to biblical inerrancy resonated at a time when many conservative Christians felt the bible was being undermined by liberal theologians. His persistence and prodigious output helped. But perhaps more than anything Price’s ‘laymans-logic’ was potent. Price re-framed geology and Genesis to fit together into a neat story-book format. In the end, Price, along with other leading creationists such as Harry Rimmer, John Whitcomb and Henry Morris, resonated with Fundamentalists who felt isolated, anxious, yet defiant. Price calibrated a response to Darwinism which suited the mood of middle America and the concerns of the evangelical churches. The formula has kept the movement resilient and resurgent over recent decades.

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