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Originally Posted by Superbelt
He did not. The popular myth among the creationist nutjobs is that he converted to christianity on his deathbed and repented for believing in and furthering evolution.
Robert Penock debunked this myth in a book about creationism called "Tower of Babel"
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That book, "Tower of Babel", is quite good. The title of the book talks about another story in Genesis that describes how people came to have different languages. Now, we can all look back at Chaucer and Shakespear and literature today and see how the English language has literally evolved. Well, the Tower of Babel story in the Bible describes how the people of the Earth once all spoke the same language. They decided to build a tower that would reach heaven (which, of course, is in the sky, you know . . . nevermind the moon, sun, etc.). Anyway, I digress. Well, God decided to punish them for their hubris and caused them each to speak and only understand a different language. Because they couldn't understand each other, they could not build the tower and they dispersed to other parts of the world. So, like creation itself, languages did not evolve, according to the Bible; they were created different immediately.
It's a creation story you don't hear much of.
Oh, by the way, here is the text of the story, written in English at different times (from
Omniglot ):
Wycliffe version (1395) - Middle English
Forsothe the lond was of o langage, and of the same speche.
And whanne thei yeden forth fro the eest, thei fonden a feeld in the lond of Sennaar, and dwelliden ther ynne.
And oon seide to his neiybore, Come ye, and make we tiel stonys, and bake we tho with fier; and thei hadden tiel for stonus, and pitche for morter;
and seiden, Come ye, and make we to vs a citee and tour, whos hiynesse stretche 'til to heuene; and make we solempne oure name bifor that we be departid in to alle londis.
Forsothe the Lord cam down to se the citee and tour, which the sones of Adam bildiden.
And he seide, Lo! the puple is oon, and o langage is to alle, and thei han bigunne to make this, nethir thei schulen ceesse of her thouytis, til thei fillen tho in werk; therfor come ye, go we doun,
and scheende we there the tunge of hem, that ech man here not the voys of his neiybore.
And so the Lord departide hem fro that place in to alle londis; and thei cessiden to bielde a cytee.
And therfor the name therof was clepid Babel, for the langage of al erthe was confoundide there; and fro thennus the Lord scaterede hem on the face of alle cuntrees.
Tyndale version (1536)
And all the world was of one tonge and one language.
And as they came from the east they founde a playne in the lande of Synear and there they dwelled.
And they sayd one to a nother: come on let us make brycke ad burne it wyth fyre. So brycke was there stone and slyme was there morter
And they sayd: Come on let vs buylde vs a cyte and a toure that the toppe may reach vnto heauen. And let vs make us a name for perauenture we shall be scatered abrode over all the erth.
And the LORde came downe to see the cyte and the toure which the childern of Ada had buylded.
And the LORde sayd: See the people is one and haue one tonge amonge them all. And thys haue they begon to do and wyll not leaue of from all that they haue purposed to do.
Come on let vs descende and myngell theire tonge even there that one vnderstonde not what a nother sayeth.
Thus ye LORde skatered them from thence vppon all the erth. And they left of to buylde the cyte.
Wherfore the name of it is called Babell because that the LORDE there confounded the tonge of all the world. And because that the LORde from thence skatered them abrode vppon all the erth.
King James version (1611)
And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
New International Version (1973)
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.
As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.
Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building.
The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.
Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
That is why it was called Babel -- because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
English Standard Version (2002)
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."
And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech."
So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.