Since the time of Charles Darwin, the term common descent has referred to the idea that certain biological species existing in the present are the descendants of an earlier species from which they all evolved, albeit in somewhat different directions. For example, certain similarities between human beings and chimpanzees are said to be proof of their common descent from some earlier primate. However, while today this term is a staple of Neo-Darwinism, originally it actually had a distinctly "creationist" meaning. The phrase was inspired by the view of the early botanist John Ray (1627-1705) that "a species consists of all the descendants of a male-female pair created by God--just as the human race consists of all the descendants of the original human pair, Adam and Eve" (The Soul of Science, p. 101). As Pearcey and Thaxton point out, Ray's notion of common descent represented an early effort to establish a "natural" system of classification that would bring order to the confusing variety of animal and plant species discovered beginning in the Age of Exploration.
Thus, a phrase originally meant to express a view of biological species rooted in the Genesis account of Creation has become a term signifying a view of the origin of species very different from the Genesis account. I wonder how many Darwinists today realize that in using the term common descent they are actually using language originally coined by creationists. If so, do they appreciate the irony of doing so?
Image of John Ray from Wikimedia Commons