A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford
“The universe has lost its soul of loveliness,” George Romanes wrote as he wept. Why? Because he came to believe Darwin’s evolutionary theory was true. And if Darwin was right, then the Bible was wrong, and that meant the universe was not created by God. God did not exist. The theory of evolution is a “virtual negation of God.”
“It is with the utmost sorrow that I find myself to accept the conclusions here worked out [Darwin’s evolutionary theory]. I am not ashamed to confess that with this virtual negation of God the universe has lost its soul of loveliness. The nature of man without God is thoroughly miserable.” —George John Romanes
George Romanes grew up in England in the 19th century, loving God and planning to go into the ministry. He went to Cambridge University, where Charles Darwin was an honored scientist, and he became completely
convinced, against his will, that Darwin’s evolutionary theory was correct. He was honest enough a scholar to admit that Darwin’s evolutionary theory absolutely contradicts the account of creation as the Scriptures affirm. He saw that the two systems simply could not be reconciled. He lost his faith, but he always mourned his loss. “With this virtual negation of God the universe has lost its soul of loveliness.”
Thank God that shortly before he died, he regained his childhood’s love for God and wrote a book affirming his faith. His wife said that he died with peace and assurance of God’s love and care.
Why couldn’t Romanes reconcile the theory of evolution with the Word of God account? Because they can’t be reconciled, when you honestly compare evolution with the clear account of creation in Genesis 1:21-2:1:
“So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind.”
“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind’ . . . . And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind.”
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in our image, according to our likeness. . . So God created man in His own image. . . .This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.”
This universe is lovely. Our world has been damaged by the way we abuse it, but nevertheless, it is absolutely beautiful. Images taken by NASA’s Hubble and Webb telescopes give us astonishing images of God’s incredible creation.
“The heavens tell of the glory of God.
The skies display His marvelous craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make Him known.” Psalm 19:1,2
As Romanes exclaimed, “The nature of man without God is thoroughly miserable.”
How comforting it is to know that the Great Creator crafted this marvelous universe in His wisdom and power. It did not happen by blind chance. We did not evolve. God created us. His creation overwhelms us with His glory, whether it’s an enchanting spring morning or a wintery night’s glimpse of the incredible Orion nebula. This universe is, indeed, “the soul of loveliness,” because a holy, infinite God created it, and gave it to us to delight in and treasure.