When I was in high school Advanced Biology class, I remember that I was skeptical of evolution, but I never had any evidence available to me that questioned the theory. I also remember how ripped-off I felt when I got to college and found that there was plenty of evidence that called evolution into question, but that evidence had never been presented to me in high school.
What I wish I had been told about was phenomena such as the Cambrian explosion, where all modern phyla of animals appear suddenly around 600 million years ago, with virtually no trace of how they developed into the level of complexity at which they make their appearance. I wish I had been told about George Gaylord Simpson’s admission that gaps in the fossil record for evolution are “systematic and almost always large.” I wish I had been told how few transitional forms can be identified for fish, whales, and even the first vertebrates. From tunicate to amphioxus to lamprey…sounds like a leap of faith to me.
When I was in high school, Michael Behe had not yet done or published his biochemical work on the issue of irreducible complexity at the cellular level, published in his book Darwin’s Black Box. Darwin conceded that if his theory could be proved wrong at the cellular level, it would fail absolutely. Behe has been part of the Intelligent Design movement, which avoids the issue of God, but simply questions evolution as a theory.
It’s funny how our post-modernist mantra “truth is whatever is true for you, and it is bigoted to claim that anyone is wrong” quickly shifts to dogmatic modernism when the subject turns to evolution: “Evolution is true, and anyone who disputes it is wrong!”
I have no desire to bring God into the science classroom. Why should I trust the public school to get the story straight about God? What I want is to see schools present the theory of evolution, together with the honest case of scientific evidence against the theory.
You know the case against creationism is weak when all they can do is shout it down and call it names and drag religion into a debate that was supposed to be about science. Ben Stein humorously documents the head-in-the-sand strong-arm tactics of the anti-creationist crowd in his movie “Expelled!” These are not the tactics of people who have undeniable facts on their side.
The only decent scientific defense of evolution I have seen in the current debate is from Francis Collins, an evangelical Christian (of all people!) whose claim to fame is as director of the Human Genome Project. Collins discusses what I always wanted to know: what evidence is there to support evolution at the genetic level? As the amazing similarity between the marsupial and the placental dog proves, outward similarity between organisms can be deceiving. Is there a pattern of evolution at the genetic level? Collins documents patterns of vestigial DNA that do seem to argue in favor of evolution.
Collins’ language is helpful: “God could be completely and intimately involved in the creation of all species, while from our perspective, limited as it is by the tyranny of linear time, this would appear to be a random and undirected process.”
The issue is not whether God could have used fish to create frogs or apes to create humans. The issue is not whether microevolution could have occurred; microevolution is undeniable. The issue is whether macroevolution (the huge leaps between genera and particularly between phyla) could have happened without countless major interventions of God.
In the latest response from the intelligent design school, Behe affirms both a common ancestry for all life, and the chemical basis for quick mutations. But Behe denies that the basic mechanisms of life at the cellular level could be random products of evolution. Here lies the debate in the academy. Why isn’t this debate being brought down to the public school classroom? Whose interest does it serve to keep such debates from being exposed to the masses?
Fellow skeptics of evolution: we have to avoid bringing God into the science classroom. It is unnecessary, and it plays right into the propaganda of the opposing point of view. Let’s confine our efforts to insisting that all the facts be told about the theory of evolution, both pro and con. God can handle the issue of theistic proofs separately.
TOM HOBSON of Belleville, Ill., a PC(USA) pastor for 28 years, is currently serving at First Church in Herrin, Ill and as adjunct professor at Morthland College, West Frankfort, Ill.
