I originally wrote this as a response on a Yahoo! Group, but decided it was pretty good stuff, and should be a blog, too.
I can't understand why Creation-versus-Evolution is even a question in this day and age. Darwin's Evolution Science is, by a HUGE margin, the most well-proved theory in the history of civilization. It is the foundation of everything we know about biology. Half of the people reading this would have died before reaching adulthood without modern medicine, and everything we know about medicine rests on the foundation of evolution. Geology, anthropology, sociology, chemistry, astronomy ... even psychology, would all come crumbling down if evolution were proved false.
But it won't be. Darwin's evolution has been proved in so many ways it's hard to count. There has never, in the history of the world, been a science that's been attacked so fiercely, yet withstood the test. Over and over, every fact that's ever been learned, every bone dug up, every new discovery in physics or chemistry, every advance in our understanding of DNA and reproduction, has strengthened, rather than weakened, Darwin's Theory.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply wrong. Why dance around and be polite? Creationism is plainly, and OBVIOUSLY, inconsistent with the world we live in. Darwinism explains it perfectly, in every respect.
The odd thing is that religious people don't challenge other scientific theories that are far less proven. Einstein's theory of relativity? The evidence supporting it is pretty strong, but it's just a shadow of the evidence supporting Evolution Science. Why don't Christians object to Einstein? The theory of plate tectonics? Nobody questions it, but it's just a child compared with Evolution Science. Why don't Christians object to earthquake predictions that are based on plate tectonics? Even the fact that the planets revolve around the sun is barely better supported than Darwin's Evolution Science. Why don't Christians object to that?
The real question is this: If you believe in God, and you believe that God gave you a brain, and intelligence, and free will, don't you think He wanted you to discover the beauty and wonder of His creation? He gave you a brain – use it!
The great thing about science is that, unlike religion, if I tell you something is true, the scientific method obliges me to tell you HOW I reached that conclusion, and you can verify it for yourself. I've done the work – I've read dozens of books on evolution, on biology, zoology, natural history. I've even read Origin of the Species, cover to cover; it's a magnificent work. And you can read it too.
Do your homework. Read Dawkins, Gould, Dennett, Wills and even Darwin himself. They're really good reading. You'll enjoy them. If you want to learn more, take a biology course at your local community college. Then take a physics course, so you'll truly understand things like carbon dating and radioactive isotopes dating, and other scientific dating methods. Then maybe a basic course in geology, and learn the REAL facts about the Earth. And then, AFTER you've done your homework, after you've really studied all this stuff, if you still believe in Creationism, well, then come back and argue.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
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The real question is this: If you believe in God, and you believe that God gave you a brain, and intelligence, and free will, don't you think He wanted you to discover the beauty and wonder of His creation? He gave you a brain – use it!
ReplyDeleteThis is why I am so baffled with fundamentalists claims that if it contradicts the Bible, then it is not true. The world/universe is such an amazing place full of wonder and beauty. Why water that down simply for a book? It is a shame that many are not unable to grasp the awesomeness that life has to offer because they are stuck in their dogma.
Hi Craig,
ReplyDeleteYet again, this is another very interesting topic, and I think that you’ve placed it in such simple, straightforward terms. You noted, “The odd thing is that religious people don't challenge other scientific theories that are far less proven.” It’s more than likely that the vast majority of believers probably don’t follow science at all, so the few that do, have demonized evolution, yet, I’d venture a guess that it’s scarce understood. Let’s be honest here; it’s takes a fairly ignorant mind to believe the patent absurdity called religion – I do not mean this in the pejorative sense. As the late, great Robert Heinlein once noted in Stranger in a Strange Land: “Faith strikes me as intellectual laziness.”
As I have noted on boards elsewhere, I really don’t care what people believe, for they are entitled to live their lives according to the dictates of their conscience. However, the problem lies in that religious people rarely afford others the same luxury. Furthermore, if someone is disposed to believe such palpable myths, then what other sorts of flapdoodle are these religious believers willing to swallow? And, most importantly, what does this mean for our Republic? As Aristotle so aptly put it, “The basis of a democratic state is liberty.” Yet, as we have seen, religious people think it’s their duty to impose the will of God on everyone.
All of that aside, yes, I cannot agree more, and for fear of overstating my case, I dispense with the pleasantries and call a spade a spade; for all intent and purpose, evolution is a fact. If you’ll forgive the idiomatic language; to deny the veracity of evolution is akin to denying the sky is blue. For rational people, it is insufficient to state that “I just know.” The grand difference between this subjective feeling and science is that a scientist can demonstrate for everyone why he or she knows. I fail to understand why this is so difficult to comprehend, but I think America’s religiosity – in an agrarian age was perhaps once a strength – has now become a gigantic albatross; one that threatens to undermine the scientific foundations of our industrialized society. Thanks for allowing me to rant!
Dear Craig,
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right, there is no evidence whatsoever against the perfect Darwinian model of evolution. Then again, what would happen if we found something whose existence couldn't be explained by evolution? Like a very small protein and acid structure with the ability to inject it's genetic material into a cell? I really don't think society could take it, I mean, after all everyone knows that if we ever found such a thing then the only logical step would be to not explore the implications of it and simply act as if it exists separately from all other organic matter, but then we would stop being true scientists because a true scientist doesn't sweep things under the rug just because they go against common belief.
yours truly,
Dmitri Iwanowsk
February 11th, 1892
that's because the theory of relativity can be accepted without renouncing ones religion
ReplyDeleteAre we drawing a distinction here between religious fundamentalists and religious people by and large? Because there are plenty of religious people who have no problem with evolution and who have accepted it without renouncing their faith. The Church of England happily accepted Darwin very early on, and the Catholic Church is happy with it too. Plenty of religious people have worked in the field of Evolution. The only problem area - and it is a BIG problem area - are the religious Right of America and Muslim extremists.
ReplyDeleteI should just add that I don't understand the Creationist vs Evolution conflict either. Its obvious Creationism is wrong. What I am taking issue with are some of the statements made here.
Also, could you explain how 'geology, anthropology, sociology, chemistry, astronomy ... would all come crumbling down if evolution were proved false'? I am particularly baffled as to how astronomy would come crashing down as astronomy predated evolutionary theory by thousands of years. How does Evolution effect our understanding of the planets/ stars/ formation of galaxies etc? The Nebula Theory of the formation of the Solar System, for instance, was developed over a hundred years before Darwin by Emmanuel Swedenborg, so its patently obvious that Astronomy is not dependent upon Evolutionary Theory.
As for Geology, well as we know, Charles Lyell established that the world was older than 6000 years before Darwin, so I don't see how this follows either.
As for Chemistry, the basis of modern Chemistry was founded by Robert Boyle who lived a century or so before Darwin as well.
As for Psychology, Evolutionary Psychology would come crashing down, but that is only one part of Psychology. Seems like a strange set of statements to me, but I would be happy to know more.
Dmitri – I'm not sure what point you're making. You're obviously talking about viruses and probably HIV, which are being studied intensively by scientists, both for medicinal purposes and to discover their origins. That's hardly what I'd call "sweep things under the rug." Quite the contrary. Scientists don't do that - sweeping things under the rug is religion's specialty.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of the HIV virus and sweeping things under the rug, I was alarmed to discover the other day that there is in fact no scientific document proving that the HIV virus caused AIDS. Did you know this? I was shocked.
ReplyDeleteOh and I didn't read this in some crackpot religious website but in an interview with Lyn Margulis in a reputable science magazine. Worth checking for verification.
Amazing article. Simple and to the point. I am sick and tired of arguing with creationists. :(. They hardly listen to the points we mention and they keep insisting that we listen to them. And they also say that we take decisions based on emotions where as they do it using logic. Sick people. We all know that it is the other way around.
ReplyDelete