the blogsphere today and came across this post from Hamous in which he was disturbed by the apparent lack of sensitivity to the mauling death of a young girl by a pit bull. There was some discussion about the reasons society has gone down this path, the path of making all life equal, human life just one of many. As I was preparing for class, I found this in my library and it made me realize that the root of the phenomenon is the teaching of evolution without a Deity to give order to chaos.
Another Reason
One good reason for accepting divine creation of the cosmos is that it results in human dignity and happiness, whereas the results of the evolutionary hypothesis are dark, sinister, and deeply troubling. Scientists, after all, gather evidence for their theories by conducting experiments and finding out what works and what doesn’t.
Does evolution then “work� Does it result in psychological and sociological health and happiness? It is a well-known if seldom-mentioned fact of history that Darwin’s survival-of-the-fittest and materialist evolutionary conjectures, seized upon by Karl Marx, provided the foundation for both Hitler’s Holocaust and Stalin’s genocide.
In America, Darwin’s influence has been more subtle, but think of it in this way: What would you expect of a generation that had been taught evolution from their earliest schooldays? If Darwin is right, we are nothing but accidental by-products of evolutionary dust on an insignificant world lost somewhere in the vastness of a hostile universe and doomed to perish in a short period of time. We are nothing more than a match that blazes for a moment, then is extinguished forever. We are without any divine guidance, without any moral absolutes. We have no spirit and no soul, therefore we become obsessed with our bodies, obsessed with pleasure. All we are, as the song says, is “dust in the wind.â€
What does such a belief do to optimism and hope? To moral values? To the sanctity of life? To human dignity? To the sacredness of home and family? To law and order?
Dostoevski once remarked that if God is dead, then everything is justifiable; philosopher Ravi Zacharias put it like this, “There is nothing in history to match the dire ends to which humanity can be led by following a political and social philosophy that consciously and absolutely excludes God.â€
If, on the other hand, creation is true, then we are formed by a loving God in his own image, the crown of his creation and heirs of eternal life through his Son, Jesus Christ. We are people of dignity and worth, surrounded by a fantastic universe that he made for our enjoyment. We are guided by sound moral principles leading to human health and happiness, and we are comforted by all the promises in the book he has given. We have hope even during life’s darkest hours, and we have value beyond that of any other living creatures.
Which option seems most sensible to you?
Morgan, R. J. 2000. Nelson’s complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) (160). Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville
Catholics may look at the theory of evolution a bit differently than some Protestant Churches, although I readily admit I don’t know their standings. As a scientist myself, I can see the science behind the theory. And it is still a theory. As a Christian and a Catholic, I look at it this way – if Darwin’s theory of evolution is true, it could have only happened with God’s intervention. That Divine spark that made us human was God’s and God’s alone. It could not be otherwise.
To me, the guys that think there is no science contained in the origin of life theory we term evolution are no closer to the truth than those that think it is pure science. One ignores proof of some aspects of the science, the other makes leaps of faith greater than is required to believe that someone was behind it all. I think that is what the intelligent design guys are trying to get across, at least when it isn’t a diversion to teach what they think is literally stated in the Bible. I think that if there were some softening or flexibility of the atheistic portion of the theory as currently taught, it would serve our society well.
I love the, “Divine Spark” theory. That’s how I’ve always seen it, understood it and believed it. If you have ever held someone as they left this earthly plane to return “home” to God, you can actually see and feel the Divine Spark depart and it is an indescribable experience – much like birth. (I experienced this with each of my parents.) The Divine Spark is both a tangible, measurable fact and miracle – combine the two and there is LOVE.
One of the fiction books I read recently, Brother Odd by Dean Koontz, talks about this. “Souless” life. Man may be able to create life someday but will it have a soul?