Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Are Darwinian evolution's days numbered?

Here's an interesting story on the events which are working to undermine Darwinian naturalism -- the belief that the universe and all that exists, including you and me, developed through a random, chance, materialist process -- and the mechanism for that theory, the gradualism of natural selection. What's conspiring to discredit Darwin's theory are scientific discoveries of the last several decades.

For many this is an arcane, obscure, philosophical debate which occasionally hits the mainstream media in disputes between parents and school officials over the teaching of evolution in the schools.

However, what's at stake is much deeper and more earthshaking than that. Darwin provided a scientific justification for the scientific materialist philosophical perspective that the material is all that exists. There is no overarching meaning and purpose to the universe. There is no God. The implications are felt in all areas of life including ethics, morality, education, and law among others. The impact of evolutionary thinking on morality is nothing is fixed and knowable. It's all personal preference at best. If there is a moral standard, it's evolving. (How often have I heard that the family, marriage is an evolving social construct rather than rooted in the mind of God and our human nature.)

When Darwin's theory is fully discredited it will have wide ranging implications -- the rest of the super structure will fall.

Again, ideas have consequences for good or for ill.

1 comment:

lloydletta said...

This is nonsense. You are using the same old creationist arguments against the use of the Scientific Method, which does not allow the use of the supernatural (which by definition does not follow natural laws).

The theory of evolution has stood the test of time, but has moved beyond just Darwinian mechanisms. Recall that Darwin wasn't aware of genetics or cell structure when he devised his theory.

Accepting evolution as likely does NOT need to threaten belief in God. One's relationship with God is a spiritual, not a physical issue. There's also not a good way using scientific methods to prove or disprove the existence of God. That is something people take on faith.

The article you link to is a "God of the Gaps" argument. It is not an article that suggests the theory of evolution will be overthrown soon.