Darwinian Faith vs. Intelligent Faith

April 06, 2005

Monte Kuligowski

The debate over the theory of Darwinian evolution vs. the revived theory of intelligent design is predictably causing an emotional big bang in scientific and academic circles. Darwinism begins with the premise that God doesn’t exist or the idea of an intelligent Creator isn’t compatible with scientific inquiry (Never mind some of history’s greatest scientists believed in God). The Darwinist begins with the assumption that God had nothing to do with the creation of the worlds and of life itself. Everything must be explained by natural process because the supernatural doesn’t exist. Darwinism rests upon faith in a blind chance phenomenon which is capable of producing and sustaining life. Proponents of the theory of intelligent design point to observable laws, like entropy, and to the complexities of life and conclude that creation and life were designed by a higher power.

The AP recently quoted Barbara Forest, a university philosophy professor and leading critic of intelligent design, as saying, “It is at its bottom a Christian religious movement.” Every Christian, of course, believes, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1: 1). So does every religious Jew. And countless citizens who are neither Christians nor Jews also believe that God is the author of life. Intelligent design is more than a Christian religious movement; it is at the very constitution of what makes us a nation. If it’s a movement, it’s certainly not a new one.

Consider the words of our Declaration of Independence. The parchment might be old and frail, but it still contains the bedrock faith of our great nation. When breaking away from Great Britain, the old guys in knickers and wigs understood that the laws of nature were given by “Nature’s God.” They felt justified in declaring independence because they based their quest upon something objective and superseding, not upon an impersonal cold, material world. Nature wasn’t their God; rather, nature was subject to God. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights . . . .” The framers of our country pledged their lives “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence . . . .” The creators of our country relied on the Creator of the universe.

Our founders certainly didn’t rely on the theory of Darwinian evolution for their protection (even though evolutionary theory had been around since ancient Greek philosophy and Darwin’s grandfather also promoted the theory). The theory can protect no one.

The only “natural laws” enacted in its congress of chaos are laws of a purposeless universe and life. Its maxim, “survival of the fittest,” has lead to unmitigated cruelty by calloused individuals believing they will escape judgment. The unborn, the weak, the infirm and the elderly are vulnerable impediments in the hands of those who have run to the theory’s natural consequence: the subjective value of human life.

The theory of evolution has wreaked more havoc upon Western civilization than any other dogma of man. It replaced moral absolutes with moral relativism; purpose with emptiness; accountability with a false freedom; self control with self seeking; hope with despair; true freedom with an oligarchy; spiritualism with materialism; biblical authority with human authority (humanism); and the dignity of men with the abasement of animals. That such a contrary theory has come to reign as king in the academic world should cause us to pause; because the ramifications are far-reaching – and disastrous.

Many years ago, Abraham Lincoln aptly noted that the philosophy in the schoolhouse in one generation will become the philosophy of the culture in the next. The engine of our society was never meant to run on an empty philosophy disguised as science. John Adams said that, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Darwinism attempts to tear down religion and to the degree that it has, it has torn down the pillars of our culture.

No matter how you slice it, theories of origin require faith, not scientific proof. No one was there to see non-life evolve into life by a blind material process or to see God create the worlds and all living things by the power of his word. And insufficient evidence exists to produce an objective finding through the scientific method. The problem for Darwinism is that the limited observable evidence (and common sense) doesn’t lead people to the scientific conclusion that Darwinian evolution is true. For many scientists, the evidence tends to show that the theory is false. That’s why some have abandoned the corroding shipwreck of Darwinian “science,” realizing that much more faith is required for this theory than for the theory of intelligent design.

So long as theories over the important question of origin require faith, scientists would do well to accept and promote a theory that is actually compatible and able to support our free society by providing hope, purpose and accountability for the citizenry (including the school children who are forced to learn it).

Darwinism excludes the supernatural realm and then looks to unintelligible, lifeless matter for understanding. Intelligent design acknowledges the handiwork of an intelligent Creator. If the Creator is able to create and sustain all things, it stands to reason that he is able to protect and bless our land. What also follows is the fact which makes Darwinists cringe: men are accountable to God.

OpinionEditorials.com Darwinian Faith vs. Intelligent Faith – Kuligowski

4 Comments

Add a Comment