EVOLUTION IN CRISIS (5) – THE ATHEIST AGENDA
In this fifth and final edition of Evolution in Crisis, I examine the atheistic agenda that underlies the almost fanatical support of the theory of evolution. Much more detail about this, as well as the mounting evidence contradicting the theory of evolution, is contained in my book, No More Monkey Business: Evolution in Crisis, which is available FOR FREE as an eBook, for the whole month of February 2023. You can download it from this link: https://BookHip.com/RQHATGZ
Underlying the passionate belief in evolution by many scientists, and their increasingly strident defence of it as a theory despite its almost complete lack of evidence, is a distinctly unscientific philosophy; atheism. Richard Dawkins openly admitted this when he wrote:
“Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.”[i]
For those who are determined to reject the concept of a creator God, evolution offers the only reasonable alternative. Thus, zoologist Dr. D.M. Walton once wrote:
“Evolution is a theory universally accepted, not because it can be proved to be true, but because the only alternative, ‘special creation’, is clearly incredible.”[ii]
Such a claim, that belief in a creator God is “clearly incredible”, is a completely unscientific statement to make, as God lies beyond the parameters of science to detect and study. But the above sentiment demonstrates how tenaciously evolutionists will cling to their theory “not because it can be proved to be true” (as Dr Walton freely admits!), but simply because they want to believe it!
Prominent atheist, Thomas Nagel, writes:
“I speak from experience, being strongly subject to this fear myself: I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that. My guess is that this cosmic authority problem is not a rare condition and that it is responsible for much of the scientism and reductionism of our time. One of the tendencies it supports is the ludicrous overuse of evolutionary biology to explain everything about human life, including everything about the human mind …. This is a somewhat ridiculous situation …. it is just as irrational to be influenced in one’s beliefs by the hope that God does not exist as by the hope that God does exist.”[iii][Underlining mine]
Nagel’s frank admission offers a candid glimpse into the driving force behind evolutionary theory and the reason for the strident dogmatism that often characterises its proponents. The intractable promotion of evolution is fundamentally driven by an overwhelming desire for there to be no God. Inherent in this, is the desire to not be accountable to an ultimate moral judge; the desire to be a free moral agent, able to follow one’s desires without fear of ultimate consequence and retribution.
Philosopher, Dr Edward Feser, comments:
“A desire to be free of traditional moral standards, and a fear of certain consequences of the truth of religious belief, can also lead us to want to believe that we are just clever animals with no purpose to our lives other than the purposes we choose to give them, and that there is no cosmic judge who will punish us for disobeying an objective moral law.”[iv]
But it gets worse! Many evolutionists are choosing to cling to the theory, even though they know it to be scientifically impossible. Consider this astonishing admission by Dr. George Wald:
“There are only two possibilities as to how life arose. One is spontaneous generation arising to evolution; the other is a supernatural creative act of God. There is no third possibility. Spontaneous generation, that life arose from non-living matter was scientifically disproved 120 years ago by Louis Pasteur and others. That leaves us with the only possible conclusion that life arose as a supernatural creative act of God. I will not accept that philosophically because I do not want to believe in God. Therefore, I choose to believe in that which I know is scientifically impossible; spontaneous generation arising to evolution.“[v] [Underlining mine]
In other words, “I know evolution doesn’t make scientific sense, but I will believe it anyway, because I don’t want to consider that God may exist.” Extraordinary!
THE UGLY MILITANCY OF EVOLUTION
If all that creationists had to contend with was evolutionist scientists clinging to a dying theory, one could almost sympathise with the atheist’s dilemma; like a forlorn group of shipwreck survivors adrift on the ocean in a rubber dingy with a large hole! But many evolutionists display an ugly aggression towards those who believe in a Creator. For example, in 2009, Richard Dawkins posted an ugly comment on his website. He eventually removed it, but, unfortunately for Dawkins, the damage was already done. The quote was picked up by various critics, and is published in a number of online articles:
“If they’ve [the creationists] been told that there’s an incompatibility between religion and evolution, well, let’s convince them of evolution, and we’re there! Because after all, we’ve got the evidence. … I suspect that most of our regular readers here would agree that ridicule, of a humorous nature, is likely to be more effective than the sort of snuggling-up and head-patting that Jerry [Coyne] is attacking. I lately started to think that we need to go further: go beyond humorous ridicule, sharpen our barbs to a point where they really hurt. …You might say that two can play at that game. Suppose the religious start treating us with naked contempt, how would we like it? I think the answer is that there is a real asymmetry here. We have so much more to be contemptuous about! And we are so much better at it.We have scathingly witty spokesmen of the calibre of Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris. Who have the faith-heads got, by comparison? Ann Coulter is about as good as it gets. We can’t lose!”[vi][Underlining mine]
In televised interviews Dr. Dawkins presents himself as a calm, reasonable, polite person, but in comments like this, he reveals the ugly hatred of religious belief that lies just beneath surface.
In recent years we have witnessed an increasingly militant campaign by atheistic evolutionists to not only defend their theory, but to aggressively promote it within the media and to persecute those within the scientific community who voice any kind of dissention. The influence of this atheistic movement extends to many universities and many forms of media. A recent example helps to illustrate the point.
Dr. Günter Bechly, a respected German palaeontologist, had a successful academic career. He had published numerous papers in prestigious, peer-reviewed journals, and was a curator at Stuttgart’s State Museum of Natural History. All was going well for him until 2016, when he publicly declared his rejection of the theory of evolution. He became affiliated with the Discovery Institute, an online hub of intelligent design advocates, aimed at defending the concept of intelligent design and pointing out the flaws in evolutionary theory. He also took part in the making of a documentary film entitled “Revolutionary” that presented testimonies of scientists who are abandoning the theory of evolution.[vii]
Evolutionists took exception to Dr. Bechly’s public dissent regarding evolution, and placed pressure on the editors of Wikipedia to delete his Wikipedia page, on the grounds that he could no longer be considered a serious scientist. In October 2016, Wikipedia complied, and removed his page.[viii] The extraordinary thing about this episode is that Wikipedia has decided that Dr. Bechly can no longer be considered a “proper” scientist, solely because he now publicly admits belief in creation. This is despite the fact that he has several species named after him and also that he has a high academic citation ranking (in what is called the h-index).[ix] (Dr. Bechly now has a page on the German Wikipedia site, de.wikipedia, but still, at the time of this book’s publication, no page on the international English Wikipedia site).
Sadly, Dr. Bechly’s experience is not unique. In the opening chapter of my book, No More Monkey Business: Evolution in Crisis, I cited the recent case of Dr. Gavriel Avital, the chief scientist for the Israeli Education Ministry, who was sacked for voicing his doubts concerning the validity of the theory of evolution.[x] Similarly, the 2008 documentary film, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed”[xi], showed interviews with a number of scientists who had been sacked from various positions because they expressed their disbelief in evolution.
Not only is the academic world rife with prejudice against those who dare to speak up against evolution, but the atheist movement has been extremely aggressive in using the courts to suppress the rights of creationists to express their viewpoint, even to the point of forbidding school teachers and university lecturers from offering a creationist model as an alternate theory. Dr. John G. West, with the Discovery Institute’s Centre for Science and Culture, stated:
“Darwinist efforts to use the courts, the media and academic tenure committees to suppress dissent and stifle discussion are in fact fueling even more dissent and inspiring more scientists to ask to be added to the list [of dissenters].”[xii]
While evolutionist documentaries are given prime time coverage in media outlets, material produced by creationists is often subject to censorship and shockingly disparaging campaigns. For example, the 2008 documentary, “The Privileged Planet”, was a beautifully produced creationist film documenting the extraordinary evidence for intelligent design, based upon the highly improbable “coincidence” of life-permitting factors that enables our planet to be life-permitting.
Creation Ministries International describes the horrible campaign that was waged by atheists against the film:
“The Smithsonian Institute in the United States had initially agreed to provide a private screening, but then attempted to cancel it following widespread protests. Atheist groups organised campaigns, encouraging people to send e-mails, write letters and make phone calls opposing its showing. An e-mail was sent to the entire department of anthropology at George Washington University warning everyone not to watch it. Money was even offered to the Smithsonian if they agreed not to show it. Dr Gonzalez himself received much criticism, leading to his promising career at Iowa State University coming to an abrupt end and his being denied tenure—a situation which can have grave implications for a person’s future in academia.”[xiii]
This represents a blatant shutting down of dissenting viewpoints by the atheistic evolutionist movement. The British Humanist Association, as another example, has successfully lobbied the British government to censor any mention of creationism or evidence of intelligent design in any classes in state schools, even in Religious Education classes.[xiv]
These kind of draconian measures, are accurately described by Dr. Henry Morris as “the long war against God”.[xv] Dr. Morris is absolutely correct. There is a spiritual battle taking place in our world. Underlying this ugly, hostile persecution and censorship of Christians by evolutionists, is a dark spiritual opposition to the rule of God and his claim upon our lives. It is an intransigent unwillingness to recognise his rulership over us, and to proclaim ourselves as kings, instead.
Jeremy Rifken, the American evolutionist and atheist, in his book, “Algemy“, wrote:
“We no longer believe ourselves to be guests in someone else’s home and therefore obliged to make our behaviour conform to a set of pre-existing cosmic rules. It is our creation now; we make the rules, we establish the parameters, we create our own world; and because we do, we no longer have to justify our behaviour. We are the architects of the universe, we are responsible to nothing outside ourselves, for we are the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever!”[xvi]
This is why those who have rejected God will oppose his representatives with equal vigour. Jesus warned that this would be the case:
“If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” (John 15:20)
EVOLUTION AS RELIGION
Make no mistake; belief in evolution is a religion. Evolution is not an unbiased scientific theory, but a whole belief system based on the premise that there is no God and that we are masters of our own destinies. For atheists, evolution is the new god that has replaced the God of the Bible. Evolutionist philosopher, Teilhard de Chardin, wrote:
“[Evolution] is a general postulate to which all theories, all hypotheses, all systems must henceforward bow and which they must satisfy in order to be thinkable and true. Evolution is a light which illuminates all facts, a trajectory which all lines of thought must follow.”[xvii]
Underlying this attitude is what can only be described as a philosophy of pantheism; belief in, and worship of, a semi-conscious divine power that is at work within the “evolutionary universe”. Jeremy Rifkin, once again, states:
“Evolution is no longer viewed as a mindless affair, quite the opposite. It is mind enlarging its domain up the chain of species[xviii] … In this way one eventually ends up with the idea of the universe as a mind that oversees, orchestrates, and gives order and structure to all things.[xix]” [Underlining mine]
Here is the religious philosophy of evolution in all its glory. It is a belief in the “mind” of the universe to create life in its own image. It is a belief in a Star Wars-like power that pervades the universe and implements its sub-conscious will upon the physical world. This quasi-religious underpinning of evolutionary theory, at least by some, reveals that when the true God is removed from consideration, mankind has an inherent need to replace him with something less offensive to our own self-proclaimed sovereignty. An impersonal pantheistic power is seen by some as far more tolerable than a God who demands our repentance and our worship.
A BATTLE OF TWO RELIGIONS
Thus, the evolution / creation debate is not, at its heart, a clash of two scientific theories. Nor is it, as evolutionists would have us believe, a dispute between science and religion. Fundamentally, it is a clash between two diametrically opposed religious worldviews. On the one hand, there is Evolution, with mankind as the supreme ruler of creation, benignly assisted by an insipid, nebulous, cosmic power. On the other hand, there is Christianity, with God as the sovereign King over creation, and mankind subservient and accountable to him.
Richard Bossard, an outspoken atheist and evolutionist, stated:
“The day will come when the evidence for evolutionary theory becomes so massively persuasive that even the most fundamental Christian warriors will have to lay down their arms and surrender unconditionally. I believe that day will be the end of Christianity!”[xx]
Contrary to this view, however, the tide of the battle has turned in the opposite direction. Today, more than ever before, there is significant and growing evidence contradicting evolutionary theory and supporting the biblical account of creation.
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[i] Dawkins R., The Blind Watchmaker, Penguin, London, p. 6, 1991
[ii] D.M. Walton, London Times, August 3, 1929, cited by Bolton Davidheiser, “Evolution and Christian faith”, Grand rapids, Baker Book House, 1969, p.155.
[iii] Nagel, Thomas, The Last Word, pp. 130–131, Oxford University Press, 1997. Dr Nagel (1937– ) is Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University.
[iv] Edward Feser, “The Last Superstition”, St. Augustine’s Press, 2008, p.31
[v] Wald, George, “Innovation and Biology,” Scientific American, Vol. 199, Sept. 1958, p. 100
[vi] Originally posted by Richard Dawkins on his website. It has subsequently been removed, but unfortunately for Dawkins, the damage was already done. The quote was picked up by various critics, and is published in a number of online articles. For example: “Is Richard Dawkins Really That Naive?”, by Massima Pigliucci, on https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/rationally-speaking/200904/is-richard-dawkins-really-naive.
[vii] David Klinghoffer, “Meet Gunter Bechley”, https://evolutionnews.org/2017/12/meet-gunter-bechly/
[viii] https://www.haaretz.com/science-and-health/scientist-comes-out-against-evolution-loses-wikipedia-page-1.5466166
[ix] https://www.haaretz.com/science-and-health/scientist-comes-out-against-evolution-loses-wikipedia-page-1.5466166
[x] John F. Ashton, “In Six Days: Why Fifty Scientists Choose To Believe in Creation”, Green forest, AR, Masterbooks, 2001, p.22.
[xi] Directed by Nathan Frankowski, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed”, 2008.
[xii] John G. West, quoted in “Over 500 Scientists Proclaim Their Doubts About darwin’s Theory of Evolution”, https://evolutionnews.org/2006/02/over_500_scientists_proclaim_t/
[xiii] “No Coincidence”, an online article on creation.com/no-coincidence
[xiv] Statham, D.R., Evidence for Creation now banned from UK religious education classes; creation.com/creation-religious-education
[xv] Henry Morris, cited in “No Coincidence”, an online article on creation.com/no-coincidence
[xvi] Jeremy Rifkin, Algeny (New York, Viking Press, 1983), p. 244
[xvii] Cited in “Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution: Theodosius Dobzhansky, 1900-1975,” by Francisco Ayala, in Journal of Heredity(vol. 68, no. 3, 1977), p. 3.
[xviii] Jeremy Rifkin, Algeny (New York, Viking Press, 1983), p. 188.
[xix] Jeremy Rifkin, Algeny (New York, Viking Press, 1983), p. 195.
[xx] Quoted by Ken Ham, on the “Caister Seminar, UK 1996” audio tapes by Ken Ham, distributed by Creation Science Foundation.
