We are gathered today in Hilboro, Tenneessee for the Scopes Monkey Trial, the case between religion and evolution. As tension rises, the ultimate question being asked is, can we defy the original interpretations of the Bible?
Clarence Darrow defends Scopes with the suggestion that they must leave their faith in God in order to expand their knowledge of the world. Prosecutor William Jennings Brian opposes this theory exclaiming that they mustn't leave their faith of the Lord. The jury of course instinctively rejects Darrow's defiance to the Lord as the believers they are.
However, Darrow wasn't just speaking nonsense, as discovered by his sponge theory. Darrow challenged Brady as he asked whether or not a sponge obtained the same rights as a human being. The jury was astonished as they realized Darrow's intentions. Darrow continued to challenge Brady as he introduced the stone as another variable of evolution. He asked for the age of the stone triggering the debate over the creation of Earth.While the Bible states that the Earth was created over the time period of six days, the question asked was how long were these days?
Darrow asks Bryan "Do you think the earth was made in six days?" as Bryan answered, "Not six days of 24 hours." This of course proved to audiences that in fact, Bryan himself had assumed his own interpretation of the Bible, the ultimate factor that distinguished innocence and guilt for John Scopes.
In the end, the only real answer we have is the unknown; Meaning the truth one decides to follow is simply theory based on the Bible.
-Cassie
I agree that the tensions rise because everyone is going to have a different opinion on how to translate the Bible to modern times. Darrow shows that everyone can interpret the Bible differently when he 'traps' Bryan as he answers "not 6 days of 24 hours".
ReplyDeleteI agree that Bryan's response to the question "Do you think the Earth was made in six days?" proved that everyone has their own interpretation of the Bible. At this point I felt that Darrow was very successful in showing that Darwin's theory of evolution was not crazy and although it is not written in the Bible, the theory should still be considered. As you said, Darrow was able to show that people may have to leave their faith in God and the Bible in order to expand their knowledge of the world.
ReplyDeleteSameeha Rau
Well written article.Darrow did a good job leading Brady into a trap proving to us that the truth one decides to follow is simply theory based on the bible and everyone has their own interpretation. Although Darrow did not win Cate's trial, it did help create a new view of evolution and change the governments perspective on it. Even if no legal changes were made, peoples perspectives and attitudes did.
ReplyDeleteThis trial made a huge impact on our society.
Helen Weidemann
Very interesting! I agree with Clarence Darrow when he states, "they must leave their faith in God in order to expand their knowledge of the world." It reminds me of a quote by a role model and leader in science teaching: Bill Nye. Bill Nye stated, "Science is the key to our future, and if you don't believe in science, then you're holding everybody back. And it's fine if you as an adult want to run around pretending or claiming that you don't believe in evolution, but if we educate a generation of people who don't believe in science, that's a recipe for disaster. ... The main idea in all of biology is evolution. To not teach it to our young people is wrong." Also, the first amendment requires separation of church and state. Therefore, the church should not have any impact on what is being taught at school either.
ReplyDeleteThis trial proved a fundamental flaw in our society.
Emmanuel Miller