Marilynne Robinson's Essay "Darwinism"
Marilynne Robinson’s Essay “Darwinism”
Introduction to Christian Theology
REL 103
Kaitlyn Spencer
Marilynne Robinson is a Pulitzer-winning novelist who has graced us with her essays found in The Death of Adam. Robinson gives the read the feeling of being much more educated than he or she really is. These essays provide readers with different ways of discussing history, religion and society. They, although difficult to comprehend at times, are flawlessly argued and, throughout, are grounded in universal human experience. When reading them, it is hard not to be persuaded, especially if reading them with an open mind. One of her most intriguing essays is that of Darwinism. Darwinism is one of the most widely admired and taboo-bounded idols of this age and time. To say that Robinson had a difficult task writing against it is an understatement. However, she does so with great reason and imagination. She provides firsthand evidence and realistic arguments that is very unique in this time. While Robinson offers many ideas (or themes) in her essay, three specific ones stood out more than the others. She spends some time discussing the relationship between Creationism and Darwinism; she attacks the way a Nietzschean ethic of selfishness has become respectable in the world; she also discusses the problems of the ideologies of Sigmund Freud. Along with references from Daniel Migliore and his book, Faith Seeking Understanding, these ideas provide much towards Robinson’s argument against Darwinism. In “Darwinism”, Robinson talks of the idea of Creationism and its relationship with Darwinism. Creationism, according to Migliore, is “ also know as ‘creation science’” and that is “opposes the theory of evolution and the estimates of the age of the universe by modern cosmology. It holds that the world was created by God in a manner corresponding closely to the biblical accounts and is perhaps 10,000 years old rather than many billions
Introduction to Christian Theology
REL 103
Kaitlyn Spencer
Marilynne Robinson is a Pulitzer-winning novelist who has graced us with her essays found in The Death of Adam. Robinson gives the read the feeling of being much more educated than he or she really is. These essays provide readers with different ways of discussing history, religion and society. They, although difficult to comprehend at times, are flawlessly argued and, throughout, are grounded in universal human experience. When reading them, it is hard not to be persuaded, especially if reading them with an open mind. One of her most intriguing essays is that of Darwinism. Darwinism is one of the most widely admired and taboo-bounded idols of this age and time. To say that Robinson had a difficult task writing against it is an understatement. However, she does so with great reason and imagination. She provides firsthand evidence and realistic arguments that is very unique in this time. While Robinson offers many ideas (or themes) in her essay, three specific ones stood out more than the others. She spends some time discussing the relationship between Creationism and Darwinism; she attacks the way a Nietzschean ethic of selfishness has become respectable in the world; she also discusses the problems of the ideologies of Sigmund Freud. Along with references from Daniel Migliore and his book, Faith Seeking Understanding, these ideas provide much towards Robinson’s argument against Darwinism. In “Darwinism”, Robinson talks of the idea of Creationism and its relationship with Darwinism. Creationism, according to Migliore, is “ also know as ‘creation science’” and that is “opposes the theory of evolution and the estimates of the age of the universe by modern cosmology. It holds that the world was created by God in a manner corresponding closely to the biblical accounts and is perhaps 10,000 years old rather than many billions