From: “Chris Ho-Stuart”
Newsgroups: aus.religion.christian
Chris: Before I say anything else on the topic at hand… Gladys;
> thanks very much for giving some references. This really
> helps discussion.
>
Gladys wrote:
> [snip]
> > 1. From my readings about evolution the implication is that
> > as humans developed from a common ancestor – an ape-like
> > being – that they had to acquire human attributes which took
> > many years.
>
C: Yes.
>
G: When the English settlement was started in 1788 fully clothed
> > people found a group of near-nigh naked, dark-skinned people
> > with whom they could not converse because they did not know
> > the language and assumptions were made about their culture
> > based on ignorance. It was obvious their shelters were
> > rudimentary, their living was nomadic. As the uni-cellular
> > to multicelluar plants and animals came to be accepted by
> > some there was a slotting of all forms of life into that
> > ‘ladder’. Many would have seen the Aborigine as a sub-human
> > or early stage of human development.
>
C: The “Scala Naturae”, or ladder of nature, is straight out
> of Aristotle; about 2300 years ago.
>
> Evolution, and Darwinism, marks the REFUTATION of the
> ladder of existence.
>
> You have this 100% wrong again. Darwin’s work refuted the old
> notion of allocating life to a ladder, or a great chain of
> being. The evolutionary model is of a tree, or bush. ALL human
> races are equally descended from a common ancestor. Darwin knew
> this; and he was well ahead of his time in calling for human
> rights for all humans. He was bitterly opposed to slavery and
> to imposed ranking on the races, or regarded different races as
> being “inferior”.
>
> Think for a minute… 1788 is about seventy years before
> Darwin published the Origin. Did the problems of Aborigines
> date from 1788, or from 1859?
>
> It is fascinating to read about how Darwin clashed with Fitzroy
> on this. Fitzroy was the captin of the Beagle, on which Darwin
> sailed around the world in the 1830s. Fitzroy was a very strict
> Christian; one might even say fundamentalist. Most certainly he
> was a creationist. And it was Fitzroy who argued for blacks as
> having a rightful places as slaves and subservients to superior
> races, and it was Darwin who regarded this is degrading and
> immoral and unjustifiable. They had serious clashes on this
> subject.
>
> It is also revealing to read “The Descent of Man”, which Darwin
> published in 1871.
>
> Darwin speaks of the “so-called races of man”; the qualifier
> “so-called” is his own. Darwin argues at some length that
> all humans are one species. He points out that the greatest
> difference between the so-called races is simply skin
> colour. His examples of intelligence and moral sense and so
> on are taken from all races; and he does not elevate his own
> “race” to any higher biological status.
>
> The great chain of being, which was the basic model BEFORE
> Darwin, was something like this.
> Rocks… plants… animals…. apes…. negros… greeks
>
> Darwin replaced this with a tree, something like this:
>
> XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
> X X
> X ___/ } modern X
> X / \ } apes X
> X / X
> X /–+ X
> X / \ X
> X / \ greeks X
> X + \____/ (and all humans) X
> X \ \negros X
> X \ X
> X \ ___ X
> X \ / X
> X \—+ (etc. Other animals) X
> X \ ____ X
> X \/ X
> X \— X
> X X
> XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
>
G: 2. from Creation Ex Nihilo Vol 14 2 titled ‘Darwin’s
> > Bodysnatchers’ information is given that in the late
> > 1800′s there was deliberate slaughter of some Aborigines
> > for scientific research in Europe and England – some by
> > phrenologists who worked on the brain size to determine
> > degree of humanness. Quote – “A gruesome trade in ‘missing
> > link’ specimens began with early evolutionary/racist
> > ideas. But this trade really ‘took off’ with the advent of
> > Darwinism….. perhaps 10 000 dead bodies of Australia’s
> > Aboriginal people were shipped to British museums in a
> > frenzied attempt to prove the widespread belief that they
> > were the ‘missing link’.”
>
C: This abysmal and offensive idiocy fails to note that the
> the collection of human remains dates from BEFORE Darwinism.
> It may have begun with early evolutionary ideas, if by early
> you mean pre-Darwinian ideas based on a ladder of being.
> Darwin refutes this idea, and the notion of Aborigines as a
> missing link is a direct contradiction with evolutionary
> theory and Darwin’s ideas in particular.
>
> I am angry almost past description that Creation Ex Nihilo
> sinks to such depths. The problems of racism are serious,
> and for Answers in Genesis to lie and distort the facts in
> order to smear evolution is utterly contemptible.
>
> Evolution is one of the strongest arguments AGAINST racism
> imaginable. Evolution is the OPPOSITE of the ladder of
> existence. By evolutionary theory the many so-called
> races are all equally descended from missing links in the
> PAST. The evolutionary model of a tree has the so-called
> races as being like sisters of the same parents.
>
G: I have read in part, scanned other parts, the book ‘One
> > Blood’ by John Harris (title from Paul’s words in Bible -
> > New Testament – Acts 17 : 26 ” God has made of one blood all
> > nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth.)
> > It is an honest appraisal of the relations of Christians
> > and Aborigines from 1788. They had to work from ignorance
> > through to understanding. Some were not suited for their
> > work with Aborigines – others were highly valued by both the
> > Aborigines and local white populations for their selfless
> > dedication. Aboriginal languages were being written down by
> > the mid 1800′s. With that contact attitudes were changing
> > and understandings of Aboriginal life made for better
> > communication.
> >
> > Christians did not deserve the unblanced media reports
> > – evidently by secularist-evolutionists from the late
> > 1960′s. Yes, there were failures, but there were also
> > successes. Many Aboriginges, livng in modern conditions are
> > glad the English came here – despite the early difficulties.
> > Must away – will post further when the computer problems
> > are rectified. Gladys
>
C: I mostly agree with you here, with some reservations. The story
> of Christians and Aborigines is a very mixed one, but many
> Christians certainly contibuted to improvement of the situation.
>
> Cheers — Chris