[I came across a
business card sitting in a shop that provided the reader with a link to a movie
about how evolution fails as a theory. Naturally, I swiped the card so that no
one else would be annoyed with this bullshit. The documentary – and I use that term loosely – Evolution vs. God can be watched here.
If you have a high tolerance for stupidity, please watch. This blog is a
reaction to this movie.]
“Science has proof without any certainty,
Creationists have certainty without any proof.” Ashley Montague
What is evolution?
Evolution is the genetic adaptation of organisms to their environments that
results in heritable changes over time. Organisms that have unfavorable genetic
adaptations eventually die off never to be seen again and/or are displaced by
those with favorable mutations which may come to be regarded as different
species. This is a reliable scientific theory (stronger than a hypothesis)
pulled together from not just one field of science but from many fields of
biological research. Though we have no direct evidence of one animal becoming
another animal, we do know for certain that our planetary life forms do adapt to
their environments. It is why bugs become resistant to exterminating chemicals
in much the same way followers of organized religion have grown immune to
logic. The construction of evolution as a factual concept is about as close to
fact as an idea can be without direct evidence, so you'd think the idea of
evolution would be no big deal.
The controversy
surrounding the idea of evolution stems from the insistence of Western religious
fundamentalists (whom I sometimes lovingly refer to as Fundies) that the origin
of life on Earth is the product of divine intervention, as literally (or near
literally) described in the Bible. Apparently, Fundies are upset over the idea
that man evolved out of some primordial muck, while mysteriously being okay
with the idea that God made humans from dirt. It seems to upset them to think
of mankind as glorified apes, which I think we'll all agree are smarter than
dirt. Still, their panties bunch up real tight when you mention evolution.
As everyone knows,
or should know, the trouble really started in 1859 when Charles Darwin
published "On the Origin of Species." Even though Charles was an
agnostic, the Fundies felt his theory left no room for the divine creation of
human beings. They began to worry that such a theory may then be applied to the
entire universe. Understandably, the Fundies went ape-shit.
A few things have
changed since 1859 and the 1925 Scopes Trial that convicted John T. Scopes of
teaching evolution to his students. The problem faced by Fundies in those
subsequent years was that science marched on, gathering more and more evidence
to support Darwin's claim. Many creationists came to abandon Bible literalism
in the following years in order to reconcile faith and science, what with the
science being so damn overwhelming and all. Unfortunately, the less rational
Bible literalists who were traditionally drunk with power over the ignorant
prior to 1859 would eventually find a way to regain some of its former glory.
In recent years,
the battle over evolution versus creationism has begun anew. A breed of
creation "scientists" have evolved from the ashes of defeat who are
attempting to use scientific findings to support their claims of God's direct
creation of the universe and human beings, or at the very least provide an
educated rebuttal to evolution such as it stands. Whereas they formerly
despised science for revealing how the world works and possibly denying the
existence of a god, they now want to use their former enemy as proof for what
they've been claiming all along. Fundies seem to have adopted and adapted the
attitude that if they can't beat 'em, join 'em. It's as if they're now saying,
"Look! Look! See how complex and incredible the universe is? It had to be designed by (our) God. We told
you so!" That's right. The universe is so incredible that only a
super-powerful and vain pugilist could have caused them to lose their simian
minds.
I will grant that
evolutionary science is not yet complete and has not yet answered how life
began or provided us with a direct glimpse of one species becoming another. It
is possible that certain ideas within the field of evolutionary science are
incorrect. But that's the great thing about science. Once we find out what
doesn't work, we're that much closer to figuring out what does work. Because of
this, the scientists who wish to believe in a god while also believing in such
ideas as evolution are by-and-large Deists or agnostic. Scientists who wish to
remain theistic also turn towards the notion that evolution is in fact true,
but that evolution is guided by God’s hand. Heck, even Pope John Paul II
admitted as much as does the current pope, Pope Francis. The Fundies on the
other hand are just looking for facts to support their views and disregard
everything else.
The position of these
new creation scientists is untenable on a number of grounds: First, the
appearance of complexity in the universe does not necessarily mean it is complex. Complexity is only relative
to one's degree of understanding. [I take a lot of flack for this assertion,
but it’s true.] Two, the possibility that life arose by chance only points to
the possibility that an extraordinary event has taken place. In the event that
the cosmos was designed by a being or beings more intelligent than we are only
tells us exactly that. Evidence of design does not indicate the level of power
or knowledge the creator or creators possess, nor their degree of
"goodness." Also, if someone did create a universe just right for sustaining
life, then it stands to reason that life is quite possibly the rule and not the
exception. Even if evolution were false, it still would not mean we arrived
here by the hand of any god.
All this aside, Fundies
wish to assert that they know their god was responsible for the world. This
stems from a desire to claim special knowledge and assert power over other
people, which is what this whole issue is really about. Fundies want their
thoughts of our origins taught in public school either as an opposing theory to
evolution or in place of evolution while completely ignoring the competing
creation accounts from other religions. For Fundies who are trying to establish
dominion inAmerica, this issue
is critical to their success. The "evolution vs. creationism" debate
is an artificial argument created by those who want to spread their own
religion. There is no objectivity in their views or science that backs up their
claim. This is the logical outcome when the truth is not what Fundies are
actually after. Organized religion isn't nearly as much about knowing the truth
as it is about people trying to control one another and you don’t need to be a
psychologist to figure that out. Would people like Osama bin Laden and Bush Jr.
need to invoke God's name to make their cases for war if this weren't the case?
Fundies know that getting their religion into public schools will bring them closer
to turning America into a theocracy, having access to and indoctrinating a wide
base of impressionable youths. As history has shown, theocracies have been
nothing but fun for the whole family. (Of course, by “the whole family,” I mean
just the men seeing how women are nothing more than cattle.)
Very unfortunately Fundie
creation scientists have built a certain measure of clout, for instance, once being
able to persuade the Kansas State Board of Education (KSBE) to hold “science
meetings” to determine whether or not creationism should be taught alongside
evolution or to perhaps throw out evolution altogether. During these particular
proceedings Fundies will only point out which scientific facts appear to
support their beliefs while ignoring what other evidences there might be of any
other god or of evolution. History has shown this to be a step in a very dark
direction. In fact, the last time this happened, Europe was drenched in the
blood of non-believers. What does not seem obvious to the KSBE is that
creationism is simply bad science devoid of any testable data and not open to
peer review in scientific journals. As it is, America is falling behind as a
leader in scientific advancement and will come to suffer dearly in the global
economy if religion is allowed to assert its influence in the classroom.
Teaching mysticism as science fact will only exacerbate America’s fall from
scientific leadership.
If the Fundies want
creationism taught in school, I really am fine with that. All they have to do
is prove that the conclusions about life on Earth – conclusions drawn from facts
over multiple disciplines – is completely wrong and that their evidences do not
point to the existence of any other god(s). Oh, I would also ask them to
provide evidence for a man and woman spontaneously popping into existence.
How life began on
Earth, how it got here is an interesting question but not an important one. We
need to deal with the fact that we are
here so that we can all figure out where we're going – if we're going anywhere
– and how to get there without causing our own extinction. Too bad religion
tries to answer the question of how
we got here in order to explain why
we are here, and thus try to control everyone. Problem is, the why of life is a rhetorical question as
asking why we are here implies some intelligence behind our existence. If
you’ve even seen Keeping Up With The
Kardashians, you know there is no intelligence behind our existence.
So the next time
you run into a creationist, make sure you're driving a bus. As they lie wounded
and bleeding and they ask you why you would do such a thing, be creative. Tell
them that you running them over would help make the world a better place but
that you have no evidence to support your claim. They will gladly croak having
identified with your special brand of reasoning. But take heart; the facts do
take precedence on some stages, most importantly in court. That’s basically
what happened in Dover, Pennsylvania in 2005 where U.S. District Judge John E.
Jones III ruled in a court ordered challenge to evolution that the Intelligent
Design “theory” was in fact not science. That which makes more sense to you, evolution
or creationism, will depend upon objectivity, not faith.
What follows is a link to the closing
arguments delivered by Pedro Irigonegaray, an attorney for the proponents of
evolution, to the Kansas State Board of Education in May 2005 during a modern day Scopes trial. I applaud the science coalition who held these hearings in
contempt. I couldn’t agree more with Mr. Iregonegaray words. (It’s lengthy but
worth it.)
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