ocates of a theistic and
Christian view of the world, which maintained the full consistency of an
evolution theory with religion and Christianity. McCosh, for instance, as
referee in the philosophic section as to the relation of the evolution
theory and {225} religion, said[10]: "I am not sure that religion is
entitled to insist that every species of insects has been created by a
special _fiat_ of God, with no secondary agent employed." And still more
plainly and more courageously, President Anderson, of the University of
Rochester, in his very remarkable address, speaks about the unnecessary and
unworthy fear of many Christian men, when they see the appearance of
hypotheses with which science operates. At the end of his address, he says:
"The evidence for the existence of a personal Creator cannot be affected by
any considerations drawn from the mode, relative rapidity, or the nature of
the proximate antecedents and consequences in the creative process."

From German sources, we can note fewer utterances of a friendly or at least
neutral position between Darwinism and religion. For this fact there are
many reasons. One may be, that on the continent in general there is a
smaller number of those who, without being specialists in both realms,
unite active religious interest and reasoning with a thorough study of
those naturo-historical questions, while in Great Britain
physico-theological studies have been for generations traditional and the
object of interest for the majority of educated men. A second reason,
indeed, is that some of the warmest scientific advocates of Darwinism at
once attacked also theism and Christianity; hence with all those who did
not have time and incitement enough to study the questions for themselves,
they necessarily created the opinion that Darwinism really attacks even the
fundamentals of {226} religion, and their whole tendency had but a
repelling influence even on scientists of deeper spiritual and ethical
disposition and need. Finally, in Germany as well as on the whole
continent, the number of those who do not care for religious questions in
general, and who therefore interest themselves in the scientific questions
brought up by Darwin, but do not trouble themselves farther for their
position in reference to religion and Christianity, is unfortunately larger
than in Great Britain.

Nevertheless, such friendly voices are not entirely wanting in our country.
The botanist Alex Braun says, in