As I noted the other day, February 12, 2009 was the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, and also this year is the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species, which was sub-titled The Preservation of the Favored Races In the Struggle For Life. In addition to the comments I made the other day, I would like to highlight some more of the problems of the evolutionary dogma.
Outside of Scripture, Darwin’s magnum opus, The Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection, could well be the most significant literary work in the annals of recorded history. In other words, this is not some minor issue. Sir Julian Huxley called the evolutionary dogma it spawned “the most powerful and most comprehensive idea that has ever arisen on earth.” [1]
The twentieth century cannot be comprehended apart from the intellectual revolution the theory produced. The far-reaching consequences of what I would call a cosmogenic myth can be felt in “virtually every field––every discipline of study, every level of education, and every area of practice.” [2] The most significant consequence, however, is that it undermines the very foundation of Christianity. If indeed evolution is reflective of the laws of science, then Genesis must be reflective of the flaws of Scripture. And if the foundation of Christianity is flawed, the superstructure is destined to fall.
The supposed death of God ushered in an era in which humans proclaimed themselves sovereigns of the universe. Nowhere was this more evident than at the Darwinian Centennial Convention, which celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s The Origin of Species. With great pomp and ceremony Sir Julian Huxley, the great-grandson of Thomas Huxley, boasted,
“In the evolutionary system of thought there is no longer need or room for the supernatural. The earth was not created; it evolved. So did all the animals and plants that inhabit it, including our human selves, mind and soul, as well as brain and body. So did religion. Evolutionary man can no longer take refuge from his loneliness by creeping fro shelter into the arms of a divinized father figure whom he himself has created.” [3]
What the real bottom line here? It is that humanity’s newfound autonomy sacrificed truth on the altar of subjectivism. Ethics and morals were no longer determined on the basis of objective standards, but rather by the size and strength of the latest lobby group. With no enduring reference point, societal norms were reduced to a matter of preference. I would go as far as to say that Darwinian evolution is the root problem of a post-modern world.
I talked about this and many other things with my guests Dr. Jay Richards, Dr. Jonathan Wells, and Dr. Stephen Meyer on the February 12th and 13th editions of the Bible Answer Man broadcast, which you can access off our Website at www.equip.org . I also recommend the following resources which can be purchased as a package at our Website or by 1-888-700-0274, these resources are
1. Essay’s of a Humanist, (New York: Harper & Row, 1964, 125, quoted in John Ankerberg and John Weldon, Darwin’s Leap of Faith (Eugene, Ore: Harvest House, 1998), 39.
2. Michael Denton, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis (Bethesda, Md: Adler & Alder 1985), 15.
3. Julian Huxley, Associated Press dispatch, Address at Darwin Centennial Convocation, Chicago University, 27, November, 1959. See Sol Tax, ed. Issues in Evolution (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960), 252, quoted in Henry M. Morris, That Their Words May Be Used Against Them (El Cajon, Calif.: Institute for Creation Research, 1997), 111.
