Natural theology still has many enthusiastic proponents who devote Herculean labors to their efforts, but perennially impress mostly themselves. Some years ago, overwhelmed with a sense of ennui, I stopped being interested in refuting the latest iterations of the same old arguments. Now, I think it is enough to refer the would-be natural theologian to the "Ex Apologist" site that has helpfully compiled over 200 arguments for atheism:
That's a pretty comprehensive list! Indeed there will always be those who will cling to Natural Theology and other discredited ideas no matter what natural evidence might show. The goal of this essay (in the later parts, after this exposition) is to examine the moment when the "faith" many mainstream scientists of the early 19th century had in Natural Theology was shattered.
Looking forward to that. Even pious scientists, well before Darwin, agreed that science should seek to explain in terms of "secondary" (i.e., natural) causes rather than the "primary" cause (i.e., God).
Thanks a lot for publishing it, Ed! And I am quite happy that you learned something you found interesting. Indeed I did too when I was writing this essay, which came out of my own intrigue after learning the existence of and reading a certain anonymous book that will be discussed in the later installments of this essay (minor spoiler!)
Natural theology still has many enthusiastic proponents who devote Herculean labors to their efforts, but perennially impress mostly themselves. Some years ago, overwhelmed with a sense of ennui, I stopped being interested in refuting the latest iterations of the same old arguments. Now, I think it is enough to refer the would-be natural theologian to the "Ex Apologist" site that has helpfully compiled over 200 arguments for atheism:
https://exapologist.blogspot.com/2019/09/sixty-arguments-for-atheism.html
That's a pretty comprehensive list! Indeed there will always be those who will cling to Natural Theology and other discredited ideas no matter what natural evidence might show. The goal of this essay (in the later parts, after this exposition) is to examine the moment when the "faith" many mainstream scientists of the early 19th century had in Natural Theology was shattered.
Looking forward to that. Even pious scientists, well before Darwin, agreed that science should seek to explain in terms of "secondary" (i.e., natural) causes rather than the "primary" cause (i.e., God).
Thanks a lot for publishing it, Ed! And I am quite happy that you learned something you found interesting. Indeed I did too when I was writing this essay, which came out of my own intrigue after learning the existence of and reading a certain anonymous book that will be discussed in the later installments of this essay (minor spoiler!)