May 2009 – What do the numbers 2009 and 2009 have in common?

2009 and 2009? What do these numbers have in common. Well, interestingly enough there are two celebrations occurring this year. It is five hundred years since the birth of John Calvin in Noyon Picardy. It is also two hundred years since the birth of Charles Darwin. One might think that these two august personages represent polar opposites – Calvin the rigid adherence to dogma over common sense, and Darwin the brave triumph of scientific inquiry over outdated superstitions. As you probably know, gentle reader, things are not that simple.