Kenneth R. Miller Quotes
What evolution tells us is that we are part of a grand, dynamic, and ever-changing fabric of life that covers our planet. Even to a person of faith, in fact especially to a person of faith, an understanding of the evolutionary process should only deepen their appreciation of the scope and wisdom of the creator's work.
Miller, Kenneth R. Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul. Viking, 2008.
This is another oft quoted statement of Darwin’s. The phrase “by the Creator” is often cited to show that Darwin did not preclude the role of a prime mover of God in the process. God may have started the system going and created the laws of evolution and physics and then the world evolved. At the time, most religious authorities believed that the only way for a new species to exist is if God created the species. Darwin was trained in theology and was extremely sensitive to the effect of what he discovered on the religious leaders and believers of his day. However, this quotation is particularly interesting because the phrase “by the Creator” never appeared in his original manuscript, nor did it when the bombshell book was published. There was great excitement and great religious opposition to publication which Darwin had delayed for years. The mention of the Creator never appeared in the first 5 printings. Only in the 6th printing did it appear.
This particular quotation is particularly distressful to some religious fundamentalists who not only will not accept that man evolved, but find it worse to accept that man is continuously evolving.
Kenneth Raymond Miller is an American cell biologist and molecular biologist, currently Professor of Biology and Royce Family Professor for Teaching Excellence at Brown University. Miller's primary research focus is the structure and function of cell membranes, especially chloroplast thylakoid membranes. Miller is a co-author of a major introductory college and high school biology textbook published by Prentice Hall since 1990. Miller, who is Roman Catholic, is opposed to creationism, including the intelligent design (ID) movement. He has written three books on the subject: Finding Darwin's God; Only a Theory; and The Human Instinct. Miller has received the Laetare Medal at the University of Notre Dame. In 2017, he received the inaugural St. Albert Award from the Society of Catholic Scientists.
