Elizabeth Reid, Lady Hope (née Cotton; December 9, 1842–8 March 1922) was a British evangelist who is generally believed to be the Lady Hope who claimed in 1915 that she had visited the British naturalist Charles Darwin shortly before his death in 1882. Year 1887 ( MDCCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Year 1842 ( MDCCCXLII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Events 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion. Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Year 1915 ( MCMXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Charles Robert Darwin (February 12 1809 &ndash April 19 1882 was an English naturalist, who realised and demonstrated that all Species of life Year 1882 ( MDCCCLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Hope claimed that Darwin had recanted his theory of evolution on his deathbed and accepted Jesus Christ as his saviour. eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed "
Charles Darwin's family denied the story, and insisted that Lady Hope "was not present during his last illness, or any illness. " The Lady Hope Story is generally recognised, even by many Creationists, to be false — or at least unverifiable — and if true, probably exaggerated. "Creationism" can also refer to Creation myths in general or to a concept about the origin of the soul. [2][3] The story remains a popular urban legend, even though it stands in sharp contrast to Darwin's published and known views about Christianity. An urban legend or urban myth is a form of modern Folklore consisting of stories thought to be factual by those circulating them
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Biography
Elizabeth Cotton was born in 1842 in Tasmania, Australia, the daughter of a British general, General Sir Arthur Cotton. Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. General Sir Arthur Thomas Cotton ( 15 May 1803 Oxford &ndash 25 July 1899 Dorking) was a British general and Aged 35, she married a widower, retired Admiral Sir James Hope, who was 34 years her senior, in 1877 becoming Lady Hope of Carriden. Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Hope ( 3 March 1808 &ndash 9 June 1881) GCB was a Royal Navy officer and Admiral of the Year 1877 ( MDCCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Sir James died just four years later.
She and her father were part of the evangelist temperance movement, living in Beckenham, Kent about 6 miles from Downe (where Charles Darwin died on 19 April 1882) during the early 1880s. See also Prohibition, Teetotalism The Temperance Movement attempted to reduce the amount of Alcohol consumed within a community or society in Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format Downe is a Village in the London Borough of Bromley, England. Events 1012 - Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich London. 1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer Year 1882 ( MDCCCLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events and Trends Technology Development and commercial production of Electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered
Hope remarried in 1893 to T. A. Denny, an Irish businessman some 24 years her senior. Year 1893 ( MDCCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Thomas Anthony Denny ( 2 April 1818 &ndash 25 December 1909) was an Irish businessman a self-described "pork philanthropist" She continued to use the name "Lady Hope" rather than "Mrs Denny". A Lady is a Woman who is the counterpart of a Lord, as opposed to lady, the counterpart of a Gentleman. Mrs (UK or Mrs (USA is an English honorific used for women, usually for those who are married and who do not have a title that would take Denny died in 1909. Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Hope travelled to the United States in 1913. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common It was there in 1915, 33 years after Darwin's death, in Northfield, Massachusetts that the story first appeared. Year 1915 ( MCMXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Northfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States.
Hope died in 1922 in Sydney, Australia, of cancer and is buried there. Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 Cancer (medical term Malignant Neoplasm) is a class of Diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled
The Lady Hope story
The Lady Hope Story first appeared in an American Baptist newspaper the Watchman Examiner on August 15, 1915. Events 778 - The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, at which Roland is killed Year 1915 ( MCMXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The author was identified only as a "consecrated English woman", "Lady Hope", but research by L.G. Pine, a former editor of Burke's Peerage, found no Lady Hope other than Elizabeth Hope who was adult in the 1880s and still alive in 1915. Leslie Gilbert Pine ( 22 December 1907 - May 15 1987) was a British Author, Lecturer, and researcher in the areas Burke's Peerage Baronetage & Knightage is an authoritative in-depth historical guide to the titled families of the United Kingdom. Events and Trends Technology Development and commercial production of Electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered
The article was preceded by a four-page report on a summer Bible conference held in Northfield, which that year ran from July 30 to August 15, 1915. Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off Events 778 - The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, at which Roland is killed Year 1915 ( MCMXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year
Original text of the article
- It was one of those glorious autumn afternoons, that we sometimes enjoy in England, when I was asked to go in and sit with the well known professor, Charles Darwin. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland He was almost bedridden for some months before he died. I used to feel when I saw him that his fine presence would make a grand picture for our Royal Academy; but never did I think so more strongly than on this particular occasion.
- He was sitting up in bed, wearing a soft embroidered dressing gown, of rather a rich purple shade.
- Propped up by pillows, he was gazing out on a far-stretching scene of woods and cornfields, which glowed in the light of one of those marvelous sunsets which are the beauty of Kent and Surrey. Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. His noble forehead and fine features seem to be lit up with pleasure as I entered the room.
- He waved his hand toward the window as he pointed out the scene beyond, while in the other hand he held an open Bible, which he was always studying.
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- "What are you reading now?" I asked as I seated myself beside his bedside. "Hebrews!" he answered - "still Hebrews. The Epistle to the Hebrews (abbr Heb for Citations is one of the books in the New Testament. 'The Royal Book' I call it. Isn't it grand?"
- Then, placing his finger on certain passages, he commented on them.
- I made some allusions to the strong opinions expressed by many persons on the history of the Creation, its grandeur, and then their treatment of the earlier chapters of the Book of Genesis.
- He seemed greatly distressed, his fingers twitched nervously, and a look of agony came over his face as he said: "I was a young man with unformed ideas. I threw out queries, suggestions, wondering all the time over everything, and to my astonishment, the ideas took like wildfire. People made a religion of them. "
- Then he paused, and after a few more sentences on "the holiness of God" and the "grandeur of this book," looking at the Bible which he was holding tenderly all the time, he suddenly said: "I have a summer house in the garden which holds about thirty people. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin It is over there," pointing through the open window. "I want you very much to speak there. I know you read the Bible in the villages. To-morrow afternoon I should like the servants on the place, some tenants and a few of the neighbours; to gather there. Will you speak to them?"
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- "What shall I speak about?" I asked.
- "Christ Jesus!" he replied in a clear, emphatic voice, adding in a lower tone, "and his salvation. Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) In Theology, salvation can mean three related things being saved from or Liberation from something such as Suffering or the punishment of Is not that the best theme? And then I want you to sing some hymns with them. You lead on your small instrument, do you not?" The wonderful look of brightness and animation on his face as he said this I shall never forget, for he added: "If you take the meeting at three o'clock this window will be open, and you will know that I am joining in with the singing. "
- How I wished I could have made a picture of the fine old man and his beautiful surroundings on that memorable day!
Denial by Darwin's children
Darwin's family all denied the story and campaigned against it. The Darwin &mdash Wedgwood family was a prominent English family descended from Erasmus Darwin and Josiah Wedgwood, the most notable member of which was Darwin's son Francis wrote in a letter on May 28, 1918:
- Lady Hope's account of my father's views on religion is quite untrue. Sir Francis "Frank" Darwin, FRS ( August 16 1848 - 19 September 1925) a son of the British naturalist Events 585 BC - A Solar eclipse occurs as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common I have publicly accused her of falsehood, but have not seen any reply. My father's agnostic point of view is given in my Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Vol. Agnosticism ( Greek: α- a-, without + γνώσις gnōsis, knowledge after Gnosticism) is the philosophical view that the The British naturalist Charles Darwin had Correspondence with numerous other scientific luminaries of his age and members of his family I. , pp. 304–317. You are at liberty to publish the above statement. Indeed, I shall be glad if you will do so. "
After the story had been revived in 1922, Darwin's daughter Henrietta Litchfield stated in The Christian for February 23, 1922 in an article titled: Charles Darwin’s Death-Bed: Story of Conversion Denied by Mrs. Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. R. B. Litchfield:
- I was present at his deathbed, Lady Hope was not present during his last illness, or any illness. I believe he never even saw her, but in any case she had no influence over him in any department of thought or belief. He never recanted any of his scientific views, either then or earlier. We think the story of his conversion was fabricated in the U. S. A. . . . . . . The whole story has no foundation what-so-ever. "
In 1958 The Autobiography of Charles Darwin was republished edited by Darwin's granddaughter Nora Barlow, which restored various passages edited out by Francis Darwin in the original 1887 edition. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin is the Autobiography of the British naturalist Charles Darwin which was published in 1887, five Year 1887 ( MDCCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common These included Darwin's perspective on God, as well as harsh criticisms of Christianity. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity.
Subsequent retellings and academic investigation
Lady Hope gave her own slightly different account in a letter dated around 1919 – 1920 received by S. Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar J. Bole, author of Battlefield of Faith (1940). Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The text is given in Dr Paul Marston's article.
The story spread and became a popular urban legend. The claims were republished as late as October 1955 in the Reformation Review and in the Monthly Record of the Free Church of Scotland in February 1957. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar)
There has been subsequent academic investigation into the story. Ronald W. Clark's The Survival of Charles Darwin explained the story but did not go into much detail. Ronald William Clark ( November 2, 1916 -1987 was a British author of Biography, Fiction and Non-fiction. In 1994 Open University lecturer James Moore published The Darwin Legend, which claimed that Hope had visited Darwin sometime between 28 September and 2 October 1881, when Francis and Henrietta were absent and Charles' wife Emma was present, but that Hope subsequently embellished the story. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Open University is also the name of other institutions See Distance education or the Open Universities category for a list Events 48 BC - Pompey the Great is assassinated on orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt. Events 1187 - Siege of Jerusalem: Saladin captures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule Year 1881 ( MDCCCLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Emma Darwin ( Née Wedgwood 2 May 1808 &ndash 7 October 1896) was the wife of the English naturalist Charles Dr Paul Marston's article gives a different analysis, but generally supports this conclusion. He draws attention to discrepancies between the 1915 article and Lady Hope's later letter, which more plausibly has Darwin lying on a sofa rather than being in bed, and does not include the suggestion that Darwin was “always studying" the Bible. Year 1915 ( MCMXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year
The claim has continued to be used by modern creationists, including Boniface Adoyo, the Chairman of the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya[4]. Bishop Boniface Adoyo is a Kenyan Bishop and head of the 10 million member Evangelical Association of Kenya
Conclusion
False stories of deathbed recantations for other people are common. Indeed, in his 1879 biography of his grandfather, Charles Darwin himself recounted how the story had been started that his grandfather Erasmus Darwin had called for Jesus on his deathbed in 1802, and concluded by stating that "Such was the state of Christian feeling in this country at the beginning of the present century. Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Erasmus Darwin (12 December 1731&ndash18 April 1802 was an English Physician, natural philosopher physiologist inventor and poet Year 1802 ( MDCCCII) was a Common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting on Wednesday of the . . we may at least hope that nothing of the kind now prevails".
Charles Darwin's views on religion were complex and varied over his lifetime. Charles Darwin's views on religion have been the subject of much interest While he tried to avoid controversy, he tended towards agnosticism or deism, and consistently rejected Christianity in his later life. Agnosticism ( Greek: α- a-, without + γνώσις gnōsis, knowledge after Gnosticism) is the philosophical view that the Deism is the belief that a supreme God exists and created the physical universe and that religious truths can be arrived at by the application of reason alone without dependence on revelation Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings In fact, some of his views on Christianity were so critical that his son, Francis Darwin, decided to delete them from his father's autobiography before publication. Sir Francis "Frank" Darwin, FRS ( August 16 1848 - 19 September 1925) a son of the British naturalist The Autobiography of Charles Darwin is the Autobiography of the British naturalist Charles Darwin which was published in 1887, five They were restored only in 1958. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In one of these passages Darwin wrote:
- By further reflecting that the clearest evidence would be requisite to make any sane man believe in the miracles by which Christianity is supported, — and that the more we know of the fixed laws of nature the more incredible do miracles become, — that the men at that time were ignorant and credulous to a degree almost incomprehensible by us, — that the Gospels cannot be proven to have been written simultaneously with the events, — that they differ in many important details, far too important, as it seemed to me to be admitted as the usual inaccuracies of eye witnesses; — by such reflections as these, which I give not as having the least novelty or value, but as they influenced me, I gradually came to disbelieve in Christianity as a divine revelation. A miracle is an event believed to be caused by interposition of Divine intervention by a Supernatural being in the Universe by which the ordinary operation A physical law or scientific law is a Scientific generalization based on empirical Observations of physical behavior (i This article is about the canonical books of the New Testament The fact that many fake religions have spread over large portions of the earth like wildfire had some weight with me. EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 A wildfire, also known as a wildland fire, forest fire, brush fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, Peat fire, In the Physical sciences weight is a Measurement of the gravitational Force acting on an object But I was very unwilling to give up my belief; I feel sure of this, for I can remember often and often inventing day-dreams of old letters between distinguished Romans, and manuscripts being discovered at Pompeii or elsewhere, which confirmed in the most striking manner all that was written in the Gospels. Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, in But I found it more and more difficult, with free scope given to my imagination, to invent evidence which would suffice to convince me. Imagination is the ability to form Mental images/sounds/feelings or the ability to Spontaneously Generate images/sounds/feelings within one's own Mind Thus disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete. The rate was so slow that I felt no distress, and have never since doubted even for a single second that my conclusion was correct. Doubt, a status between Belief and disbelief, involves Uncertainty or Distrust or lack of sureness of an alleged Fact, an action
References
- Clark, R. W. (1984) The Survival of Charles Darwin ISBN 0-380-69991-5
- Moore, J. (1994) The Darwin Legend ISBN 0-8010-6318-3
Footnotes
^ Her maiden name is sometimes incorrectly given as Stapleton-Cotton. This is an error that appeared in Burke's Peerage; the Stapelton-Cotton name branched off the Cotton lineage after her ancestors had branched. Burke's Peerage Baronetage & Knightage is an authoritative in-depth historical guide to the titled families of the United Kingdom.
External links
- talk.origins on the Lady Hope story
- Newman, Robert C. (no date) The Darwin Conversion Story: An Update. Biblical Theological Seminary
- Marston, Paul. 2002. Charles Darwin and Christian Faith, from Scibel
- Thompson, Bert. 1991. Did Darwin Repent?, from ApologeticsPress.org
- Grigg, Russell M. (no date) Lady Hope from Answer in Genesis
- More information from the Stephen Jay Gould Archive
- Anon. 1997. Book review of The Darwin Legend
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