The theory of Evolution teaches some interesting things, and a great number of people have adopted an evolutionary mindset in the past century or so. One of the main tenets of this “scientific” theory is the survival of the fittest (an idea borrowed from Herbert Spencer). That is the strong survives having developed the necessary qualities to live and thrive in this world. This red tooth and red claw mentality are that the weak dies by way of necessity, since they have not developed that which thrives in competition.
Another important teaching this theory promotes is that we all share a common ancestor. Any differences are minor, but that which relates us to all other living things are tantamount. I ran into this when one of my kids was little and their science teacher told them they were related to worms, trees, and other creatures.
In other words, we all came out of the same primordial soup. One part of the soup cannot act as if it is not really a byproduct of it. What created the “soup” we don’t know. In fact, we can’t know, we weren’t there. As a result, various hypotheses are offered to solve the lack of knowledge on our part; to fill in the gap so to speak.
- One is that an unknown consequence of the “Big Bang” produced the necessary chemical agents (once things cooled down enough, that is) to form the building blocks of life. A single cell organism wiggled its way free from the slime and evolved into a greater version of itself, so on and so forth, until we ended up with a wide spectrum of life millions of years later.
- Another popular theory that is gaining ground in various scientific circles is the idea of life being planted on this planet by a highly intelligent alien civilization. Using meteors as celestial sperm, these rocks implanted with life-giving agents are propelled through space, collide with a known planet, and eventually life evolves into being (read here and here ).
Are people the product of evolution? Are our ancestors really a lower form of mammal? Did we evolve into the current state we are in? Are we still evolving? Is it correct to say that we are nothing more than animals with no ultimate purpose for being?
A Problem with Application…
What I find amusing is the glaring inconsistencies in evolutionary thought that people seemingly pass over. That is to say, the teaching is not applied to real life scenarios in a coherent fashion.
For example, if survival of the fittest is true, then why should we be upset when one organism dominates another? Why do we try to counter (interact and abate) the activity of one being eliminating another?[i]
Take for instance the battle waged against pesky insects. In nearly thirty states the Emerald Ash Borer beetle has decimated the Ash tree population (read here).
Isn’t this an example of one being showing itself stronger than another? Well then, why is there such an effort to stop or at least curb this little bugger from living? Rather than allowing “evolution” to take its course, people are attempting to stop it!
What about environmentalists attempting to reduce carbon footprints and the production of “greenhouse gases”? CO2 is supposedly a huge threat that needs to be reduced, even though various studies have shown that an increase in CO2 benefits vegetative growth, allowing crops to yield more produce. Methane gas is another greenhouse gas that’s a no-no (read here). A suggestion to reduce methane gas and its “harmful” effects on our planet that is gaining acceptance by some, is the reducing cow farts. No that’s not a joke. A serious environmental/political effort has been begun to stop what cows do naturally (read here).
Questions that Ought to be Answered…
Which really raises another question in my mind: If evolution is true, then why are so many supposed believer’s in practice deniers? If you believe evolution is just natural selection in motion, then why not let this creature dominate another creature? Why not allow animals to practice flatulence in peace without changing their diet?
Moreover, if evolution is true and mankind is the product of that natural process, then why is there always an effort to stifle human living? We put no trespassing signs on certain “endangered species.” We go to great efforts to limit our “footprint” on this planet. We assume that equality should govern all areas of life, all the while evolution theory teaches the opposite. We suppose that right and wrong are categories that need to be defined and lived by. That the strong should not dominate the weak, that tooth and claw do not really define reality, when they in fact do define reality (according to evolution theory)?
All the while, I laugh at the absurdity of it all. If evolution is true, then why do we desire to design how things work? If evolution is true, then why do we pursue placing order in this world? If evolution is true, then why do we spend so many hours attempting to correct its course?
I have an answer and its really simple…it is false. If evolution were true, then reality as a whole would not make sense. Reality does make sense, and we as human beings constantly attempt to make further sense of it.
ENDNOTES:
[i] Regarding this type of activity Charles Darwin wrote in, “Nevertheless so profound is our ignorance, and so high our presumption, that we marvel when we hear of the extinction of an organic being; and as we do not see the cause, we invoke cataclysms to desolate the world, or invent laws on the duration of the forms of life!” Charles Darwin, Origin of the Species By Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life, Reprint 1859 (Alachua, FL: Bridge-Logos, 2009), 95.
Whether or not Darwin aimed his words against the Christian faith, in particular the global flood (Gen 6-8), as the beliefs ignorant people push, I cannot say. To be sure, he and others like him (Sir Charles Lyell for instance) had a great disdain for biblical teaching, but regardless of his original intention I see no problem with attributing this “ignorance” of which Darwin speaks to the environmentalists of our day. Assuming what they do not in fact know, they attempt to invent laws to stifle what is going on in the world, as if natural selection only applies to a segregated portion of the planet’s life forms; rather than all.
Kristafal's Musings 