Boria Sax, Dinomania: Why We Love, Fear and Are Utterly Enchanted by Dinosaurs (2018)
As Tom Rea has observed, since the early twentieth century people have thought of museums of natural history as ‘temples to science, with the dinosaur exhibits as their central shrine’. Museums, especially those of that era, were modelled on old temples or churches, with their high ceilings, domes and elaborate reliefs. They were, like churches, guardians of esoteric knowledge.
This resemblance of museums to cathedrals is not simply a matter of accidental associations. It reflects the ideas of natural theology, which was a driving force behind early science and, though challenged by evolutionary theory, remains very influential today. This holds that the order of the natural world is proof of a conscious plan and, thereby, the existence of God. To study this order is to reveal part of the divine plan, an activity that should inspire reverence and awe.
白田同文科譯本：
正如湯理雅所言，自從二十世紀初，人們就將自然歷史博物館視為「科學的神殿，而恐龍遺存則是其聖壇」。博物館，尤其建於那個時期者，都在模仿古老的神殿或教堂，有挑高的屋宇、拱頂和細膩的雕花。博物館就像教堂，守護着奧秘。
將博物館建得好像大教堂般不是無意的雷同，這種做法體現了自然神學的理念，這種理念正正是早期科學的發軔，即使在演化論漸囂塵上的今日，仍然歷久不衰。自然神學認為，萬物有序即證明世間有主宰，亦即證明神之存在。格物致知者，就是參透造物主的旨意，這個過程令人心生敬畏。
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