Charles Darwin’s handwritten confession that he does not believe in the Bible as a divine revelation or Jesus as the Son of God has won $197,000 at an auction here.
Darwin’s letter is a reply to a young barrister named Francis McDermott. McDermott wrote to Darwin on November 23, 1880, with an unusual request.
“If I am to have pleasure in reading your books I must feel that at the end I shall not have lost my faith in the New Testament,” he wrote.
“My reason in writing to you therefore is to ask you to give me a Yes or No to the question Do you believe in the New Testament...” McDermott wrote, promising not to make the reply public.
“Dear Sir, I am sorry to have to inform you that I do not believe in the Bible as a divine revelation and therefore not in Jesus Christ as the son of God. Yours faithfully Ch Darwin,” Darwin replied the next day.
