The Current Controversy Over Evolution

What Would Darwin Do?

Nov 10, 2008 Kathy Schlossmacher

In 1859 Charles Darwin knew that his work Origin of Species would cause a stir. But did he think that over one hundred years later the argument would loom as large?

Despite the time and space between the development of the theory of evolution and the present day, the controversy continues to rage in the US. Schools battle over whether the theory should be taught, many people admit to not even believing in evolution or in accepting only a form of it. Some folks are outright creationists believing that the world is only a few billion years old and that God worked God's magic of creation in seven days. Others suggests a God as a first cause that got the ball rolling in the realm of creation. Still others liken the six days to six events whose time is indeterminate. Some people have even suggested that evolution is a reduction of life to materialism that Charles Darwin was a nut and that evolution is an atheistic religion that exists to glorify science.

What is Evolution About?

The truth is that evolution is the basis of all biological theory, It is how we understand the nature of life. It cannot be reduced to the old "I didn't come from monkeys argument" because the theory itself suggests only that we share a common ancestor with apes, not that we derived directly from them. The theory holds that there exists a tree of life from which all things branch out. As such all life is connected, developed from what came before.

The problem with evolution lies in the fact that it usurped humanity's central place in the universe. The existence of humans is no longer the reason for creation as it appears in the Bible. Creation becomes a natural process, filled with adaptations, selections and natural development.

The Controversy Rages

The controversy continues in court cases that often argue that other options must be taught in the schools alongside evolution. Some suggest a Creation Science course or an Intelligent Design course. While neither of these is based upon any real science, both ideas suggest that the argument from divine design can be approached scientifically using some of the arguments addressed above. The courts have consistently overthrown the idea that evolution not be taught and that the above theories can't be taught because they are not science despite their titles.

Can one believe in a personal loving God and still believe in the science of evolution? Is to do so an action that twists around both the belief and science to something that is at best unrecognizable and at worst totally absurd?

Is this a Personal Choice Issue?

In some respects we can choose what is to be believed. For some people the dichotomies of both can exist side by side in a comfortable arrangement. For others serious investigation of the theory requires that faith and belief be suspended. Yet, can there be personal choice when it comes down to what is taught in American schools? It is sad but true that this theory is the cornerstone of biology and our students need it to understand basic biological sciences and that it is not the job of a science teacher to nurture a religious belief.

Can the Two Ideas Share the Same Sense?

There is one commonality between the mystery of God's creation and the mystery of evolution. That is the mystery of wonder. Despite the focus, it is impossible to deny that nature is a wonderful, powerful, awe inspiring essence. When one thinks of what came together, whether through divine design or evolving molecules, to create one person, standing in one place at one time, taking in all the beauty of that place, one cannot help but be engaged by the wonder and mystery of it all.

Do we need a god to appreciate this fact? Has society possibly outgrown the need for a mysterious god as personal and loving as that god may be? Can't society recognize the wonder and mystery that exists in the idea of what an evolving world means for all of that society?

Our world is changing and evolving every second with new growth, new species and sadly even extinctions. It is the natural way, not necessarily a god like way, but a natural. Isn't that in the end all Charles Darwin was trying to tell us.

The copyright of the article The Current Controversy Over Evolution in American Affairs is owned by Kathy Schlossmacher. Permission to republish The Current Controversy Over Evolution in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Charles Darwin

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