Questions of Faith and Charles Darwin

The late priest, professor, and author, Dr. Stanley Yaqui, told about a 17-year-old German student who wrote to Charles Darwin with questions of faith. He was confused and filled with doubt after the death of a friend

The young student was W. Mengden, and his letter to Darwin said, “I make bold to ask you whether strong belief in your theory is compatible with belief in God?” Darwin replied that his theory was compatible with belief. Mengden was not satisfied with that answer, so he pressed the question further in a second letter. Again, not satisfied with Darwin’s reply, he wrote again, “I therefore come to you for the third time, asking and begging, so that your kind reply may provide a directive that tells me what I should believe… I know not where apart from you, I can get hold get hold of the truth… Please tell me, can one believe in Christ as described in the Bible?”

Thinking about his best friend’s recent death, Mengden further asked, “If you, however, are kind enough to be generous with your answer, would you please tell me what one should think about life after death and whether one should expect to meet others in afterlife?”

Because Darwin’s health was failing, his son Frances pinned the reply on his father’s behalf. He wrote, “I am much engaged, an old man, and out of health, and I cannot spare time to answer your questions fully, — nor indeed can they be answered. Science has nothing to do with Christ, except insofar as the habit of scientific research makes a man cautious in admitting evidence. For myself, I do not believe that there ever has been any revelation. As for future life, every man must judge for himself between conflicting vague probabilities.”

As I read that correspondence from a young man seeking answers to some of life’s most important questions of faith, I can only think that Charles Darwin, a man who had given up his faith, would not be a good source for answers. All Darwin could say is that there are “conflicting vague probabilities.”

If you have questions of faith concerning the existence of God, the afterlife, and whether you can believe in Christ and the Bible, seek out the wisdom of a Christian who has a strong faith. And if you’re a Christian who can’t answer those questions, perhaps you need to study the scriptures and materials available from this ministry, along with information you can find on our websites. Christians should never fear questions, and we should never leave them unanswered.

— Roland Earnst © 2026

References: Letter from James M. Kushiner with the Fellowship of St. James and The Savior of Science by Stanley Yaki © 2000.

For more information to answer these questions, see doesgodexist.org, doesgodexist.tv, and search the archives of this website, doesgodexist.today, or email jncdge@aol.com.