Darwin on the Right: Why Christians and conservatives should accept evolution

Scientific American ^ | October 2006 issue | Michael Shermer

[PatrickHenry]

According to a 2005 Pew Research Center poll, 70 percent of evangelical Christians believe that living beings have always existed in their present form, compared with 32 percent of Protestants and 31 percent of Catholics. Politically, 60 percent of Republicans are creationists, whereas only 11 percent accept evolution, compared with 29 percent of Democrats who are creationists and 44 percent who accept evolution. A 2005 Harris Poll found that 63 percent of liberals but only 37 percent of conservatives believe that humans and apes have a common ancestry. What these figures confirm for us is that there are religious and political reasons for rejecting evolution. Can one be a conservative Christian and a Darwinian? Yes. Here's how.

1. Evolution fits well with good theology. Christians believe in an omniscient and omnipotent God. What difference does it make when God created the universe--10,000 years ago or 10,000,000,000 years ago? The glory of the creation commands reverence regardless of how many zeroes in the date. And what difference does it make how God created life--spoken word or natural forces? The grandeur of life's complexity elicits awe regardless of what creative processes were employed. Christians (indeed, all faiths) should embrace modern science for what it has done to reveal the magnificence of the divine in a depth and detail unmatched by ancient texts.

2. Creationism is bad theology. The watchmaker God of intelligent-design creationism is delimited to being a garage tinkerer piecing together life out of available parts. This God is just a genetic engineer slightly more advanced than we are. An omniscient and omnipotent God must be above such humanlike constraints. As Protestant theologian Langdon Gilkey wrote, "The Christian idea, far from merely representing a primitive anthropomorphic projection of human art upon the cosmos, systematically repudiates all direct analogy from human art." Calling God a watchmaker is belittling.

3. Evolution explains original sin and the Christian model of human nature. As a social primate, we evolved within-group amity and between-group enmity. By nature, then, we are cooperative and competitive, altruistic and selfish, greedy and generous, peaceful and bellicose; in short, good and evil. Moral codes and a society based on the rule of law are necessary to accentuate the positive and attenuate the negative sides of our evolved nature.

4. Evolution explains family values. The following characteristics are the foundation of families and societies and are shared by humans and other social mammals: attachment and bonding, cooperation and reciprocity, sympathy and empathy, conflict resolution, community concern and reputation anxiety, and response to group social norms. As a social primate species, we evolved morality to enhance the survival of both family and community. Subsequently, religions designed moral codes based on our evolved moral natures.

5. Evolution accounts for specific Christian moral precepts. Much of Christian morality has to do with human relationships, most notably truth telling and marital fidelity, because the violation of these principles causes a severe breakdown in trust, which is the foundation of family and community. Evolution describes how we developed into pair-bonded primates and how adultery violates trust. Likewise, truth telling is vital for trust in our society, so lying is a sin.

6. Evolution explains conservative free-market economics. Charles Darwin's "natural selection" is precisely parallel to Adam Smith's "invisible hand." Darwin showed how complex design and ecological balance were unintended consequences of competition among individual organisms. Smith showed how national wealth and social harmony were unintended consequences of competition among individual people. Nature's economy mirrors society's economy. Both are designed from the bottom up, not the top down.

Because the theory of evolution provides a scientific foundation for the core values shared by most Christians and conservatives, it should be embraced. The senseless conflict between science and religion must end now, or else, as the Book of Proverbs (11:29) warned: "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind."

[Dimensio]

Still I am relating what I read from the 1970's.

Carbon dating has never been able to yeild a date of "millions" of years. You are either not remembering accurately, or the source of your information was lying to you.

And you've provided NO "proof" of the monkey-man theory yet either.

Absolutely no scientific claims are proven. You have been told this before, so your statement is wholly irrational.

[Coyoteman]

- My bad, I thought you were still harping about the mollusk.

Did you get the post I sent your way last night about radiocarbon dating freshwater mollusks found in limestone-rich water?

There have been so many posts (well over a thousand now) that its sometimes hard to keep track.

Anyway, I have read some of the original articles (most are in Radiocarbon), and can help you understand some of these anomalous results if you like.

[presently no screen name]

While you choose to remain ignorant

That is a personal inflammatory remark! I DEMAND AN APOLOGY!

[Coyoteman]

This thread is devolving again time to bail out for the night ===> Placemarker <===

[Dimensio]

- The MYTH of evolution

Please demonstrate that the theory of evolution is a "MYTH".

TRUE Biblical based Christianity/Christian Faith.

Please demonstrate that Christianity is "TRUE". Also demonstrate that the theory of evolution does "diametrically oppose" Christianity.

[PatrickHenry]

Everything is wonderful, placemarker.

[presently no screen name]

While you choose to remain ignorant

That is a personal inflammatory remark! I DEMAND AN APOLOGY!

[Dimensio]

My statement is true. You have made false claims on the subject of evolution, demonstrating that you willfully refuse to educate yourself on the subject. You then believe that because you have chosen to ignore information on the theory of evolution that no information exists.

You have also claimed that Warrior of Justice is "right all the time", even though he has made a demonstratably false claim.

[Dimensio]

- Nah, it means it a MYTH.

Please demonstrate that the theory of evolution is a "MYTH".

[Dimensio]

I apologize for stating that you are willfully ignorant. This does not change the fact that you have repeatedly made demonstratably false claims.

[presently no screen name]

I know. Zillion. That's a word I never use. Let me use it in a sentence. You were wrong a zillion times tonight. :)

[presently no screen name]

While you choose to remain ignorant

That is a personal inflammatory remark! I DEMAND AN APOLOGY

[Dimensio]

I have provided an apology.

[Dimensio]

- Because there is NO UNIFORMITY to the evo-MYTH. There many, many versions.

Please explain what you mean by this with specific examples.

And the dates and evidence are "up-dated", i.e. changed/TAMPERED WITH from time to time.

When and how has this occured? Please provide specific references.

Remember that skeleton from Africa that was supposedly the fossil remains of the "mother of all human life"?

What about this?

Nevermind that verifiable history says that the CRADLE of Civilization, the beginnings of man are in The fertile cresent, ie.e PERSIA.

You are suggesting that humans as a species did not exist until civilization existed. There is no evidence to support your claim.

- I already dealt with the DNA question. DNA does NOT support evolution because there are differeing views within the evo-MYTH community as to the details of this particular part of the MYTH. And, AGAIN, MANY SCIENTISTS do not fall for the evo-MYTH.

You are again providing vague assertions without any specific claims. How, exactly, does DNA evidence "not" support the theory of evolution? What do you mean by "differeng views"? Give an example of "differing views". Merely claiming that there are "differing views" does not show that DNA evidence falsifies the theory of evolution.