The Church of England has developed a new section of its website at www.cofe.anglican.org\/darwin to mark the approaching bicentenary of Charles Darwin\u2019s birth in 1809, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859.<\/p>\n
As media interest grows in the bicentenary, the pages analyse Darwin\u2019s faith and his relationship with the Church of England. A new essay by the Revd Dr Malcolm Brown, Director of Mission and Public Affairs, gives a personal view of Darwin\u2019s contribution to science, whilst warning of social misapplications of his theories.<\/p>\n
The Bishop of Swindon, Rt Revd Lee Rayfield, himself a former biological scientist, has contributed a welcome page to the section, and commented: \u201cTheology and science each have much to contribute in the assertion of the Psalmist that we are \u201d\u02dcfearfully and wonderfully made\u2019. I hope that this new section will not only provide a source of information and knowledge about Charles Darwin and his work, but that it will prove to be a resource for growing in wisdom and understanding.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
In the new section, Darwin and the Church reveals that Darwin was surrounded by the influence of the Church his entire life. Having attended a Church of England boarding school in Shrewsbury, he trained to be a clergyman in Cambridge; was inspired to follow his calling into science by another clergyman who lived and breathed botany; and married into a staunch Anglican family.<\/p>\n