Question

Creationism is the belief that the universe and living organisms originate from specific acts of divine creation, as in the biblical account, rather than by natural processes such as evolution. Moreover, the orthodox Christian world view, reading the bible literally, claims that man is made in the image of god and has been given dominion over the other animals, as described in Genesis. See below, "Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden" (Wenzel Peter). In what ways does H. G. Wells' novel War of the Worlds challenge creationism? How do the Martians undermine the claim that man is made in god's image? To what extent does man exercise dominion over other creatures in the story? What is the significance of the curate (priest) character in the novel? How is the curate effected by the Martian invasion? To what extent do religious perspectives prove useful to the curate and/or the narrator in the midst of the crisis? What happens to the curate and what lessons does his fate suggest to the reader? Produce an argument responding to one of more of the above questions, providing textual support in the form of quotation from the novel with parenthetical citation (page or electronic location number).

Answer 1

"What good is religion if it collapses under calamity? Think of what earthquakes and floods, wars and volcanoes, have done to men! Did you think God had exempted Weybridge? He is not an insurance agent." p.72. chap.13.Prestwick House Inc. 2006.

These lines of narrator questions the faith of curator. He rejects the idea of curator that its the purpose of the God behind destruction by the Martians. He questions the purpose of God behind the every calamity that he has seen or heard in his life time to the curator, to which the curator has no answer. Thus, the narrator refutes the idea of God's purpose behind the Martian attack, and asks the curator to be reasonable if he wants to survive. He States that God is not an insurance agent and that Weybridge wasn't exempted because of this. So, if one has to survive they have to struggle and be fit for the survival, instead of leaning upon the supernatural. Thus, the notion of supernatural and creationism is rejected and Darwinism is favored here.