[old-ager]

> "I wish that someone would show me one character by which to place humans and the apes in separate genera. I most assuredly know of none. Had I called humans apes or vice versa I would have fallen under the ban of the Ecclesiastics."

... which would have been the proper thing for the church to do. Parts (most) of the visible Christian church have changed their theology under the attack of evolutionists. Most of the changes about evolution have been I think in the last 50 years. There's a conservative core of the Christian church that has not changed its position. In every era, there has been something calling itself Science or something else that opposes core Christian doctrines. Evolution is no different at all. Its attack is relatively recent (less than 200 years) and the capitulation of most of the church (but not all) is extremely recent (40-50 years as I said). This is a blink of the eye in historical terms, and it'll pass.

[old-ager]

> This is a blink of the eye in historical terms, and it'll pass.

and it coincides historically with rampant socialism and liberalism. It is from the majority, _liberal_ side of the "Christian" house.

[jennyp]

[Carl Linnaeus:] "I wish that someone would show me one character by which to place humans and the apes in separate genera. I most assuredly know of none. Had I called humans apes or vice versa I would have fallen under the ban of the Ecclesiastics."

[old-ager:] ... which would have been the proper thing for the church to do.

I'm speechless.

[jennyp]

In every era, there has been something calling itself Science or something else that opposes core Christian doctrines. Evolution is no different at all.

You'll enjoy this page (and the website it comes from). If you really mean what you say about Linnaeus, then you should adopt geocentrism too...

The main change caused by the Copernican Revolution was the acceptance of the belief that "science" had disproved the Bible. And, if the Bible could be wrong about the earth not moving, it could be wrong on other aspects of the creation, on Noah's Flood, the Virgin Birth, Heaven...anything!

Thus, the Copernican Revolution began a process of replacing the Bible with "science" as the new source of Absolute Truth. Religion, business, politics, science, art....Everything had to begin forming a new philosophical basis as "science" began to dethrone the Bible with Copernican heliocentricity.

This new mindset was indisputably foundational for the success of Bible-denying Darwinian evolutionism that was the next thing the Devil was to send down the road, attired fetchingly again as "science".