Is evolution unproven? Yes, but the evidence strongly supports it
The [editorial] author severely misunderstands the scientific process. No one has “proven” evolution in the same way that no one has “proven” gravity or electromagnetic theory or quantum physics. Nothing in science is ever “proven” because science isn’t in the business of proving things. It’s in the business of DIS-proving. Much like a sculptor carves into a piece of stone, science improves itself by discarding bad theories and keeping those that withstand the culling blade of scientific scrutiny.Evolution has withstood over 150 years of scrutiny. Scientists all over have attempted to disprove this scientific theory since Darwin postulated it back in the late 1800s. Is evolution unproven? Yes. But there is an overwhelming amount of evidence, both experimental and observational, that supports it. If the Creationists are wrong, then all of society suffers from having a crippled view of scientific process. If evolutionists are wrong AND God believes that evolution is indeed on contrast to His will, then the evolutionists alone will have suffered.
But there is plenty of room to have both a belief in the well-supported theory of evolution AND believe in the remainder of the Bible beyond the creation myth. Besides, there are plenty of portions of the Bible that are no longer followed literally. Why should this be any different?
The author further attempts to polarize, to divide, our society on this issue by appealing to your emotions and loosely associating evolution with the moral problems society faces today. Don’t buy into it. This is a common tactic of propaganda when people are trying to control you. Stick with the facts. Stick with observable reality. No one is telling you to give up your faith, but don’t give up your ability to think rationally either.
This letter to the Editor was written by Aaron Hill and originally published in the Palladium-Item, Opinion section, on December 2, 2007. It was in response to an Editorial written by a local Young-Earth Creationist, included below:
When biblical authority’s diminished, we lose all
This is progress? We are ‘evolving’ backward without moral compass by Kenneth Riden
In the column, “When Science is Diminished We All Lose” (Viewpoints, Nov. 5), the recent Answers in Genesis seminar held at Civic Hall was charged with attempting to diminish science by misrepresenting facts.
I’m no authority, but I attended the seminar myself and there was no attempt made to refute any proved scientific fact — only the unproved claims of evolution. Which, after 150 years of intense research, is yet to be proved. Conversely, however, despite all claims to the contrary, the biblical account of the origin of the universe has yet to be disproved.
The author misleadingly states: “There is nothing inherently evil or morally wrong about evolution. It is not exclusive of atheism nor in direct opposition to belief in a higher being.”
Nothing could be further from the truth.
By its very premise, evolution stands in direct opposition to the authority of the Bible and is exclusive of the Creator-God it describes. God is not some “higher being” or generic god seeking to ride tandem with atheism on the skirts of evolution as the writer offers. He is the revealed all-powerful true and living Creator-God, Who cannot lie, and Who gave His infallible Word on the origin of the universe in the Bible (Genesis).
Evolution’s “millions of years” theory makes God a liar and the Bible an unreliable guide. Despite claims of compatibility, evolution denies biblical authority with preposterous assumptions to the contrary without a shred of provable evidence. Nonetheless, secular humanists have given evolution a free pass and an exclusive platform in our nation’s schools, where our children are taught to accept these baseless humanist assumptions on the same level as proven facts. Considering the tragic consequences of this unconscionable deception, evolution, so premised, is not only inherently evil and morally wrong, but also despotic.
Would “we all lose,” as suggested, if the claims of science in opposition to biblical authority were diminished? Evidence to the contrary is already in. When biblical authority was broadly accepted a generation ago, the two most common offenses in schools were chewing gum and running in the halls. Now our schools are verifiable war zones — where prayer is forbidden, condoms are distributed, virginity is mocked, promiscuity encouraged, sexual perversion endorsed and taught, innocence destroyed, drunkenness rampant, drugs abound, and lethal weapons are brandished daily. Our children attend at the peril of both life and soul, with nearly half becoming statistical dropouts.
Have we gained or lost? You do the math. We are evolving backwards to the law of the jungle without a moral compass to direct us.
The author asks: “What if [creationists] are wrong?” If so, nothing is lost in the end on either side. But if evolutionists are wrong, they will have an eternity without God or hope to regret it. The issue is not that “we all lose when science is diminished,”,but we lose all when biblical authority is diminished — both now and in the world to come.
Our survival as a free and a just society and hope of eternal life does not hinge on science, but on God. If we do not win the cultural war that now rages in America, all is lost. While freedom still rings, pro-God, pro-life and pro-family forces must boldly rise up and engage the false claims of evolution and the death culture that now threatens our demise before it’s too late.
Wake up America! Our nation hangs in the balance. God’s judgment awaits. We must repent or perish. Vote values first in the upcoming presidential election. Otherwise, the economy or nothing else will matter.