The Man Who Got Me Hunting Down Evolution!

David says it was the writings of a creationist university professor who was teaching in Madras, India, in the 1950s.

Professor Hannington Enoch, named after the famous Bishop of Uganda, was born in Trivandrum, south India. He taught university students for more than 30 years in Madras, and retired as Professor of Zoology in Presidency College. David says Professor Enoch was a devout Christian who puzzled over evolution for many years. The professor finally concluded that the theory of evolution was a colossal mistake—a ‘grand illusion’.

This led the professor to write in the 1950s a series of articles about creation—a lonely protest at a time when English biologist and atheist Julian Huxley was trumpeting the infallibility of Darwin. David says, ‘I was then a missionary in Madras, and these articles convinced me that Genesis 1 and Exodus 20 could be, and should be, taken literally.’

David eventually wrote a book on creation and evolution entitled ‘The Great Brain Robbery’, which was highly commended by Dr D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and many others. ‘This was written in 1966,’ he says, ‘the same year that saw publication of Professor Enoch’s book “Evolution or Creation?” ’

Professor Enoch died in April 1988. But his influence continues strong in the Union of Evangelical Students of India, of which he was the prime architect. Over the years, hundreds of students have been converted and are learning to trust the Bible as Professor Enoch did—as the Word of God; inerrant not only in matters of faith and conduct, but also wherever it touches on history, on science, and particularly on origins.

We are sure that the many readers of ‘Creation’ magazine who have been influenced by David Watson’s writings will be interested to know the story behind what influenced his own strong stand against evolution and for creation.