📄The Areopagus Update – March/April 2019
How Did We Get Here… And Why Does It Matter?
A recent article in The Epoch Times featured the headline, “More Than 1,000 Scientists Dissent from Darwinism.” Written by Ivan Pentchoukov, the article focuses on two of the most influential proponents of modern Intelligent Design theory, Jonathan Wells of the Discovery Institute and Michael Behe, a professor of biological sciences at Lehigh University and the author of Darwin’s Black Box (1996) and The Edge of Evolution (2007), two of the premier I.D. books of the past 25 years. Behe’s latest book, Darwin Devolves (2019), is particularly significant as it appears to destroy the last vestiges of Darwinian legitimacy.
As the article notes, the growing list of scientists who have signed the dissent statement come from all over the world and hold degrees from some of the most prestigious universities. Signatories must hold a doctorate in a scientific field or hold a doctor of medicine degree and serve as a professor of medicine.
Simply stated, the document declares: “We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.”
One would assume that such a statement would be respected in the academy that prides itself on “academic freedom,” but in fact the opposite is true. As in many areas of modern life, those who dissent from the dominant dogmas of secular humanism are not simply challenged but ostracized. As a result, thousands are reluctant to express their views for fear of destroying their careers.
For Christians, the theory of naturalistic evolution is not an option. But many – including most Roman Catholics and mainline Protestants along with a growing number of evangelicals – opt for theistic evolution (a.k.a. evolutionary creationism) as a safe middle-ground.
But three factors need to be considered. Philosophically, there is nothing about TE that is incompatible with Christian faith per se. After all, if that was the means by which God chose to eventually produce all life forms including human beings, so be it. However, scientifically, the burden of proof is the same for TE as for naturalistic evolution: i.e., a startling lack of plausible evidence. Furthermore, TE is difficult to correlate with a high view of Scripture and the Genesis creation account in particular.
Join us for our upcoming Areopagus Forums, including two presentations by Dr. Tom Woodward of the C. S. Lewis Society entitled “Darwin’s Last Stand: The New Evidence That Shatters the Credibility of Evolutionary Theory.”
Finally, for those who question, “Why does this really matter?” the answer should be obvious: Because Truth always matters, and in this case the Truth and credibility of Scripture – and hence the Christian faith in general – is at stake.
Also in this issue… 50 Recommended Films! by Jefrey Breshears
