Take a look around………. at the amazing world that we live in. Blue skies, sun, rain, snow, and the incredible variety of life.
If you ask a statistician to calculate the probability that this world could happen, he would consider the size of earth, its distance from the sun, the temperature of our sun, the presence and size of the outer planets, solar radiation and thousands of other variables to calculate the probability of a blue planet where life is possible. Then he would multiply in the chance of the accidental assembly of billions of strands of DNA(one for each species), each unique, each with hundreds of billions of chemical bonds. He would then multiply in the probability that somehow………….life just happened. He would come up with a number that would represent the probability that our world, and the incredible variety of life in it, happened, all on it’s own…….by random accident. I don’t know what that number is, but my reading says that it is a vanishingly low probability……low enough that it is statistically impossible.
If you ask a creationist how we got to where we are, he would say that an omnipotent supernatural creator operating outside of the constraints of our understanding did it all. The statistician would reply………..”that’s impossible too!”.
So, based on our current understanding, we……..and the world we live in……. are impossible.
And yet, here we stand.
How do we deal with this impossible reality that we live in?
We come up with ideas to bridge the gap between what actually is……….and what is possible. These ideas, out of necessity, are based on assumptions. The two leading ideas are Darwinian evolution and intelligent design. For now, I’m ignoring ideas that are further “out there”…..like “it’s all a giant communal hallucination……..we are all avatars in somebody else’s cosmic video game”. Watch “The Matrix” some time.
The creationist and the Darwinist begin with different assumptions. Both require us to accept things that are unproven. In a word……..both require acts of faith. In a way, both are religions.
The creationist assumes the pre-existence of a very powerful creator who is not constrained by what we call science. The Darwinian assumes the pre-existence of an inhabitable earth and the pre-existence of life. Creation doesn’t address where the creator came from. Darwin doesn’t address where the earth came from and where life came from. By any analysis, both ideas leave huge gaps. Each side says that the other side’s gaps are fatal.
And so, we are free to choose. But we have to either fill in the gaps………or ignore them. Sadly, almost to a man, we choose to ignore them. Creationists ignore the question of where God came from. Darwinists ignore the questions of how a cloud of interstellar dust became inhabitable and how life began.
Why? Because there is no clear answer to these questions based on our current understanding. We have no universally accepted guidance to go on.
So……….ultimately, we decide based on what we want.
The creationist wants an orderly world that doesn’t end in the grave…….and accepts the creator and the rules that go with it.
The Dawinist wants a world where he (or she) is at the top of the intellectual ladder…….a world where no other being can tell him what to do…….and is willing to accept absolute death after 75 years to get it.
The creationist wants paradise and will subject himself to the dominion of a vastly superior being to get there.
The Darwinist wants to BE the supreme being and will accept physical death with nothing beyond her death as the price for dominion.
In a word, we choose between eternal existence, subservient to a creator and a temporary existence where we are the boss.
But what is the truth?
I choose creation and specifically Christianity because, it works. It requires humility, generosity, and love. If we all follow the two central rules of Christianity: love God and love your neighbor, this world will be much improved. If we choose Darwin, we all get to do whatever serves us best. We can help our fellow man or we can kill him…….whatever gets us and our progeny ahead. Whatever spreads our DNA the furthest.
We are a long way from a pure Christian society. But, as a goal, “love your neighbor” appeals to me more than “spread your DNA as far as you can”.