ANOTHER VIEW
Creating a Debate about Evolution (Part One)
Where did we come from? Is it slime plus time, or something a little more divine? In recent months this question has forced its way back into the public sphere through several notable court cases across the country where Intelligent Design (ID) proponents have sought to get legal permission for government schools to allow science teachers to debate the strengths and weaknesses of the theory of Darwinian evolution. This theory teaches that all plant and animal species have slowly come into existence from a single common ancestor developing over vast amounts of time through random mutation and natural selection. In short, we humans are completely unplanned results of impersonal, random forces. The Intelligent Design camp (who evolutionists unaffectionately think of as stealth creationists) has labored to build a strong case that, first, Darwinian evolution as a purely scientific theory has real flaws and second, evolutionism as an ideology is being used, for example, by Richard Dawkins, who holds the seat of evolutionary biology at Cambridge University, to undermine and attack all religious faith.
It doesn’t take long before the water in this debate gets very murky. Are Intelligent Design proponents always Christians or even religious? Is the theory of evolution under attack only from people who take issue with its philosophical and religious implications? Do adherents of Darwinian Evolution always embrace atheism? It seems the answer to all these questions is no. Anthony Flew, poster-boy atheist for several decades, recently admitted that DNA is too complex to have evolved randomly and must have some kind of intelligent designer. Dr. Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, says he believes that Darwinian Evolution is the best explanation we currently have for the origin of species, but considers himself a devout Christian. Dr. Francis Crick, co-discoverer of DNA, after contemplating the improbability of life ever starting, concluded that intelligent aliens must have “seeded” the earth with life to sort of kick-start evolution. Christians who believe in evolution, atheists who believe in creation, the lines are very blurred.
So what’s the problem? One problem seems to be that evolution has become a dogmatic ideology, where no dissent is allowed. This became apparent in 2004 when Dr. Richard Sternberg, editor of a Smithsonian-related science journal, allowed the publishing of an article questioning Darwinian evolution. He quickly came under fire because he chose to allow free debate and dissent and eventually felt forced to resign as editor. The university environment is often equally intolerant, where only tenure can protect against job loss for those who dare dissent. Question the reigning orthodoxy and watch out for the Darwin inquisition.
The whole debate needs a fresh air of honesty. Otherwise science suffers, not to mention the frightening implications of a world ruled by people who not so privately disdain the majority of superstitious humans who still believe “creation myths.” Darwin may have been totally right, okay, where’s the evidence? Let the theory stand or fall based on its scientific virtue, not because of its supposed philosophical or religious implications. The Intelligent Design proponents may be right. At least their theories should be tested in the full scrutiny of professional peers. Otherwise science ceases to pursue the truth; it becomes a means for people to manipulate the truth for their own philosophic preferences. To be continued.
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