Someone has sent me a link to an interesting article on the British Council website. It notes with some evident alarm that 16% of Londoners believe in ‘creationism’ (sic) and virtually throws up its hands in horror when it reports that in the North of England some 25% of people said that they had “no understanding or had never heard of evolution” (no reference to ‘evolutionism’ I note!).
The stated aim of the British Council’s Darwin Now project is, “to stimulate involvement and debate on the subject of evolution”. Given, that their view is that, “the contribution … Darwin has made to evidence-based science fundamentally underpins modern biology and is of huge importance”, the ‘debate’ shouldn’t get too far!
On holiday this year I read a book by James Le Fanu, a medical GP who writes for the Daily Telegraph. Called Why Us? and sub-titled “How Science Rediscovered The Mystery of Ourselves”, Dr Le Fanu’s book is written from the position of a scientifically aware, dispassionate observer. He may or may not be a Christian but he certainly distances himself strongly from the ‘creationist’ position. He looks at how little all of the scientific discoveries of the last 150 years have told us about what really makes us who we are. Like the boy shouting, “the emperor has no clothes”, he comprehensively debunks the idea that we are really very similar to ‘our primate cousins’. In the process he fundamentally challenges the basic notions of the theory of evolution. It is a fascinating read – and no I am not on commission!
Reading this book again raised for me the question as to why the theory of evolution has taken such a hold on the scientific community – even if its details have yet to be impressed on the population as a whole. Surely it could not be as Dr Le Fanu asserts that in the absence of any better alternative science has grasped at the only available theory? Surely it couldn’t be a case of ‘anything but God’?
The Bible has a very direct take on this, “For since the creation of the world [God’s] invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools … who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator”, Romans 1 vs20-25.
Dr Le Fanu makes a point that should be obvious to all, that we are so much more than just a collection of atoms or the product of our DNA. I have a soul that makes me who I really am and it is this that makes a human so much more than just a species of ape. In the same way the universe and all around us screams of the existence of a creator God. There is an innate longing in each one of us to relate to such a being. We know this – we are just too frightened to acknowledge it!
The wonderful news of the Bible is that this God wants to relate to us and has sent His Son in order that we might do so. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”, John 3 vs16.