An Evolution Revolution

I think evolution is a valid explanation for life on Earth, and I feel that creationism was an idea presented to give man comfort in justifying the unexplainable. The two ideas ARE NOT compatible, as evolution is firmly rooted in science and creationism is an idea unsupported by anything except the words of the men who wrote the bible.

I was born and raised Christian and remember exactly when I accepted Jesus as my personal savior. Since then, I admit I have strayed away and no longer consider myself a believer. My views on religion are quite radical, and I don’t feel that the intention of this debate is to change anyone’s believes. In fact, I feel that such debate is futile because belief in evolution or creationism is personal. In any case, I feel that organized religion is created/ designed to give people comfort and put people at ease. This being said, it is my opinion that creationism was written in the bible by leaders of religion to “control the masses”. Thus, I find that there is no support for creationism except as a way to rationalizing mans existence. Studebaker admits himself that “our reasonable deductions about the design of the universe, or history, and of morality can bring non-believers to the point of seeing their need for Christ and placing their faith in Him…” (Studebacker, in Bump 263).

As Brad firmly stated, you either believe one or the other, and there cannot be a mix between the two. My belief on evolution is that we originated from a simple life form. From a single cell, we evolved into complex life forms. According to creationism, God “created” life (humans, birds, plants, animals, etc). Those who feel that both ideas are compatible argue that Good took a hand-off approach. That is, God created basic life forms and then let go and let nature take its place (evolution). However, I feel that this is not possible.

In previous posts, I mentioned the possibility of life in other planets. I feel that it is very plausible that there is life in other places that we just don’t know about. Humans developed higher rational functions and have the ability to think. With our rationality, we seek to explain things in logical methods. Keats describes this rational process in his poem, writing, “the on the shore of the wide world I stand alone, and think…” (Keats, in Bump 250). Evolution is a theory that some what explains how we came to be. The other theory is creationism. I feel creationism gives people comfort and allows them to not worry about their purpose in life. I read an article about how religiously devout people are happier than those who do not belief. Whether we agree that a God exists or not, I can argue that those who believe in God are comforted by the notion of their “strong” faith and that some higher being is in control.

We have discussed this idea of control in previous discussions. I cannot stand losing control over my future. I am a believer that the things I do and the choices I make affect what ultimately happens to me. For some, religion gives them that sense that someone else is in control and has their best interests in mind. Evolution, on the other hand, introduces the notion that human life occurred by chance, and many people cannot accept that their existence is attributed to an accident or a chance.

I do not believe that creationism and evolution can coexist. You either believe think that “God created man in the image of himself” or that life on earth and elsewhere is because of chance and we evolved from simpler life forms (Genesis 1:27, in Bump 231). There is no middle ground. For now, I feel that the institution of religion is too strong to totally rule out creationism, but an evolution revolution is eminent.