The evolution trial, so called at Dayton, Tennessee, ended just as most people thought it would end. That is to say John T. Scopes, the teacher who taught the theory of evolution in a public school, which is contrary to Tennessee law, was convicted and his attorney appealed to a higher court. The case may go finally to the Supreme Court of the United States.
The purpose of the trial at Dayton was not to punish Scopes but was done to test the constitutionality of the law. Scopes was quite willing to be used for this purpose. Incidentally, he has gotten a great deal of publicity and may make a great deal of money out of his fame. The town of Dayton, unknown before except by a comparatively small number of people, has been for a time on the tongues of millions. The lawyers on both sides of the case, especially Bryan and Darrow, got an enormous amount of advertising which may be worth considerable to them in a financial way. [Actually, William Jennings Bryan had already died. You can read about this at newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn91068210/1925-07-30/ed-1/seq-1/].
The masses of the people not only in Tennessee but all over the world, know little about evolution and have carried but little about it. For some 50 years it has been a matter of great interest to scholars and scientists everywhere. As a result of the trial, many people not heretofore interested have begun to inquire into this thing called evolution. It is well enough for people to think occasionally about something besides their own little affairs and those of their neighbors and if the Dayton trial has broadened the views of any considerable number of folks, it has been worth while.
Our understanding is that practically all scientists of the present day believe in evolution. That is, they believe that the forms of life now on the earth, including man, came originally from tiny cells. Mr. Bryan, and a great many others, say that this believe is contrary to the teachings of the Bible, and they do not wish it taught in the public schools. They say that all the animals including man, were created in just the same forms that they are today. This difference of opinion between the evolutionists and the fundamentalists caused the Tennessee anti-evolution law and the Dayton trial. The dispute is not ended yet but any means and is likely to flare up a great many times in both state and church circles. It may go on for a number of years but will finally die out just as other disputes have done. There was a time when a bitter fight was made against the theory that the earth revolves around the sun. It is never disputed now.
The controversy between evolutionists and anti-evolutionists will neither destroy religion nor stay the advance of science. In fact it is likely to be good for both. The hope and consolation afforded by religious faith are too real and too strong to be abandoned. Man must have some sort of religion. Of course opinions about religion change from century to century, from age to age. Christianity of the present day is quite different from what it was three or four hundred years ago, to say nothing of a thousand years ago. It is likely that there will be other changes in the future. Science is constantly discovering new truths and will continue to do so. So as the years go by both religion and science undergo changes, but they ought not to conflict. The human race has been thousands of years reaching its present standard of culture, and it has been a hard uphill fight. It seems pathetic that there would be a conflict between religion and science when both have as their aim the happiness of the human race.
From the editorial page of The Beaufort News, Thursday, July 30, 1925
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn91068210/1925-07-30/ed-1/seq-4/
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