Evolution is A Worldview Not a Science
Scientists will tell you that evolution is as much a part of science as the laws of physics. My son’s high school biology teacher announced at the beginning of the school year that the class would study evolution because, “you can’t study biology without studying evolution.” Such is the academic training that educators receive in a world dominated by evolutionary thought. More recently, Bill Nye (aka “the science guy”), suggested that teaching creation harmed kids, and he said, “Evolution is the fundamental idea in all of life science, in all of biology.” As one who studied biology without studying evolution at all (and millions have), I find these statements completely false. One does not need to learn evolution to learn about anatomy, reproduction, photosynthesis, growth, cell structure, agriculture, and many other biological topics. What is really going on here is that manipulative educators are seeking to divorce children from their parents’ religious beliefs about the world and reality. Why would they want to do this? Answer: To substitute a religion of their own.
The word “evolution” simply means change, and evolutionists will intentionally obscure its meaning to promote their worldview. Who would argue that change occurs in biology, after all? Certainly no one is foolish enough to debate that. Simple change, however, is not what is up for debate. What is up for debate is whether such change could explain the origins of life, humanity, and just about everything else in the universe. It is a question of origins, not a question of simple change; it is a question of worldviews/philosophy, not a question of science.
Evolutionists want to explain the origin of all things in a naturalistic way, and this is where we have a fundamental disagreement. Either all things can be explained naturalistically or not. If all things can be explained naturalistically, then that necessarily removes the idea of God, Satan, angels, demons, and spirits. Atheists are keen to toss out all of these items. In addition, however, they toss out purposes, consciousness, freedom, morality, and ultimately humanity, because if all things can be explained naturalistically, then these phenomena are all mere illusions. However, if all things cannot be explained materialistically, then the presumption of materialism is not only out and out false, but also deceiving, dangerous, and harmful.
Consider that under such a view, purposes, consciousness, freedom, morality, and humanity become nothing more than products of nature, and if these notions are just products of nature, then they live and die with nature. If they are created by nature, then they are subject to evolutionary forces, and if they are subject to evolutionary forces, they are subject to change; they cannot be constant; they cannot be absolute. This means that from generation to generation morality changes, consciousness changes, humanity changes, freedom changes, and life’s purpose changes. Nothing is fixed; all is in flux–there is no truth, morality, or freedom.
We should be clear that this is not science, but a worldview. It is an effort to shape the thinking of man in a particular way—in a way that excludes God and other absolutes that would govern man’s thinking, decisions, and actions. Evolutionary Biologist Richard Lewontin in an article entitled “Billions and Billions of Demons,” (New York Times Book Reviews. 9 Jan 1997. Online.) acknowledged such when he said:
Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated justso stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door. The eminent Kant scholar Lewis Beck used to say that anyone who could believe in God could believe in anything. To appeal to an omnipotent deity is to allow that at any moment the regularities of nature may be ruptured, that miracles may happen.
The problem is that their commitment to materialism destroys relationships: families, churches, societies, and governments. It denies that absolute and objective morality exists. It causes individuals to place trust in ethical and political systems that historically have resulted in the senseless extermination of millions of people. It results in an abandonment of the notion that there is a real, objective, and absolute purpose to life, which psychologists tell us is necessary to wellbeing. Their worldview is harmful to our lives!
Materialism teaches that human persons are nothing more than animals that may be manipulated to satisfy the ends of those in political power. It destroys the fundamental basis of equality and respect for other humans—that they are persons made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27). It denies that God authored a book, the Bible, by which we may be successfully guided through life to eternal fellowship with Him and with one another. It denies the reality of sin and the need for a Savior, the existence of heaven and hell, and the notion that human persons are beings created to be eternal.
Materialistic evolution is without a doubt a competing worldview to Christianity; it tells us where we’ve been, where we’re going, and how to get there. That is not science; it is an irrational commitment to a view of the world that is fundamentally flawed because it does not represent the realities of morality, freedom, the dignity of humanity, and purpose of life. David prayed to God, “Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man” (Psalm 108:12).
Contrary to Bill Nye’s claim, it is our contention that belief in materialistic evolution hurts children, adults, families, churches, and societies. This issue of the Christian Worker is designed to show just that. I hope that you will read it reflectively, and with a passion to undo in the lives of your children and grandchildren what the educational system is seeking to do to them today.