Defeating Darwin

By Michael Griego on May 27, 2016 • ( 0 )

Evolution is wildly distorted by Christians, agnostics and atheists alike. These distortions, whether intended or not, are too egregious to ignore. Time to fess up. ♦

Talking about evolution is like talking about politics. It’s full of biased opinions and honest (and dishonest) distortions and manipulations that get repeated and lead to honest misunderstanding and confusion.

And that can happen when one is only talking about politics and Abraham Lincoln!

As for this topic of evolution, let’s make this simple.

If you “believe in evolution” can you agree with these 4 statements?

I believe that evolution from molecule to man is a single process that can be illustrated by dog breeding or finch-beak variations.
I believe that fossil evidence confirms the Darwinian process of step-by-step change.
I believe that monkeys can eventually type Shakepeare’s ‘Hamlet’ if they are aided by a mechanism akin to natural selection.
I believe that science isn’t saying anything about religion when it says that we were created by a purposeless material process.¹

If you believe any one of these statements, you’ve got some explaining to do.

All of these beliefs are egregiously false.

Many ordinary people, regardless of their religious beliefs, are confused about these statements and variations of them. Many smart people in all fields of science, business, education, religion, and government fail to see one big truth: that what is being presented to them as “scientific fact” consists largely of an ideology that goes far beyond the scientific evidence.

It’s time to fess up and acknowledge that our high school and college education didn’t encourage us to take a skeptical look at the claims of Darwinian theory.

This subject has for too long been protected from critical thinking by law and academic custom.

Truth Be Told
In his easy to understand guide for Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds, Berkeley’s Boalt Law School professor, Phillip Johnson, lays out first-rate advice on avoiding common traps and mistakes in discussions about evolution and grasping the basic scientific issues without getting bogged down in unnecessary details that can distort.

His whole effort is not just to defeat a bad theory, but to defeat it the right way – by opening minds to the truth.

The Darwin Lobby’s Propaganda
First, Johnson points out that the Darwin lobby has successfully stereotyped opposition to Darwinian evolution as little more than religious fanaticism.

They’ve been at it for years.

He cites the 1955 play turned 1960 movie, Inherit the Wind, as a masterpiece of propaganda, promoting a stereotype of the public debate about creation and evolution that gives all the virtues and intelligence to the Darwinists.

Based on a real-life legal case in 1925, two great lawyers argue for and against a science teacher accused of the crime of teaching evolution. The storied case became known as the Scopes Monkey Trial, named after the teacher defendant. (For more information see Biblical Viewpoint 10-31-14, Monkeys on Trial)

In essence, once upon a time, the story says, the world was ruled by cruel religious oppressors called Christians, who tried to prevent people from thinking and living happily ever after. Liberation from this oppression came via Darwin, who taught us that our real creator was a natural process that leaves human reason free to make up new rules whenever we want.

Actually, there is nothing wrong with its basic story of liberation. That story itself becomes a vehicle of oppression, however, when it invites the people with power to cast themselves as the liberator. As Johnson points out, it’s like the dictators of the former Soviet Union calling themselves the champions of the poor working man.

They actually have the power to tell people to shut up.

For those fighting for a fair hearing it’s an uphill battle. Darwinists can use their control of the microphone to cast their opponents as religious dogmatists regardless of what the opponents are actually saying. If critics object to the teaching of philosophical doctrines as scientific facts, the microphones say they are trying to prevent students from learning. If critics attempt to tell the other side of the story and bring out evidence that the textbooks ignore, they are accused of trying to insert religion into the science curriculum in violation of the Constitution.

Sound familiar? Why do we go along with it? Even non-believers are sharp enough to know bullying when they see it?

Have the Facts Right?
Charles Darwin spent 5 weeks on the Galapalgos islands in 1831. He noted that certain creatures across the islands (finches in particular) were similar from island to island but perfectly adapted to their environments (short beaks, long beaks, etc.) It made him wonder that these creatures were all descended from the same lineage. He articulated his theory in his 1859 book Origin of the Species.

He speculated that if all of life originated from a single species, then we would find evidence around the world of transitional forms between differing developing species. We have not. In fact we find whole species remains buried together (buried quickly and fossilized).

He speculated that only the strongest species would survive. True enough. But also that these survivors would transform to other kinds: whales to hippos, dinosaurs to birds, fish to reptiles, monkeys to man, etc. There is absolutely no evidence in almost 200 years of intense searching that supports this theory. This survival of the fittest notion gets blended with time – billions of years (you need billions to justify speculated changes). Then add speculation that things improve over time rather than deteriorate, that material randomness produces genius creativity, then finally add time assumptions in fallible dating methods, and the table is set for misinformation and indoctrination.

But if you question it, they will change the subject and point to studies of fly mutations and cellular variations. Good science – just micro, not macro-evolution. And the switch goes unnoticed. Non one ever calls out the distinction. But if you question it they’ll claim creationism and discount the argument as religion and non-science.

The tide is changing though as awareness of the flawed theory is growing among a questioning generation and an uneasy scientific community. Give it a little time, but Darwin’s defeat is coming.

¹ Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds, by Phillip E. Johnson, InterVarsity Press, 1997, p. 11.

Note: For more see Access Research Network (www.arn.org)

Do you really believe in Darwinian evolution?
_________________________
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. – 2 Corinthians 4:4