Evolution, in all honesty, is no less a theory than Newton’s Laws of motion. In reality, the only reason it has not been considered a law is that no one can show you in real time the speciation of say, an ape into a human being. But just because you cannot see something happen does not mean it exists or not; Christians should understand that concept best of all.
The theory of evolution can best be compared to a very large and complex puzzle depicting the planet with over 5,000 pieces, nearly complete, save five or six missing pieces. While most reasonable people feel safe assuming that the puzzle does indeed depict a planet (that the evidence provided points toward evolution’s legitimacy), there are a couple of diehards that refuse to give in and will use any uncertainty or loose seam, no matter how meaningless or negligible, to pervade further doubt. “Maybe it’s a dog,” they’d say, “you can’t know for sure without the remaining pieces!” Yes you can — it is called deductive reasoning.
Ultimately, however, even if you admit that evolution cannot be proven fully and only partially, that partial argument has greater evidentiary fortitude than its counterpoint, creationism. And that is undeniable. The number of holes that could be punched into Christianity are so numerous they seem endless. First, there is the issue of different biblical translations; second, the different books and their legitimacy (such as the Vulgate versus NIV or King James); and even if you get past that you still have to contend with different interpretations of the faith, as well as different religions entirely. I am afraid the statement, “I have faith” just won’t hold up in the court of valid arguments. Besides, if you are arguing with an atheist what meaning does that even have?
One might even say that those who argue for creationism or its doppelganger, intelligent design, realize how tenuous and flimsy their arguments for these beliefs are.
It is important to note that intelligent design hasn’t gone through the peer review that hard science has. Interesting — so apparently those who support intelligent design either fancy themselves too superior to submit to that crazy field of science or they recognize that what evidence they do have is relatively shaky and generally built off of conjecture, faith and interpretation. Unfortunately, feelings don’t mean much in the way of hard evidence in the scientific field.
The real issue is that people believe evolution precludes God, and it does not. In fact, anyone who is knowledgeable about both the Bible and Darwin’s theory could easily bridge the perceived gap between them. But that is the issue; antagonists of evolution base their arguments on ad hominem approaches and ignorance. Statements that claim the theory of evolution or natural selection led to Hitler’s genocide or eugenics do not make any sense when attempting to dismantle the theory itself. OK, so Hitler exploited a theory and used it to substantiate evil, kind of like how Christians back in the day used the Bible to rationalize slavery. I guess if you are going to claim that argument is valid, that because evolution has been used to substantiate evil, then the Bible and the Christian faith will have to run with it. Attacking Darwin personally says nothing of the validity of his work. A president is not ineffective as a head of state simply because he had an affair, just like an inventor’s invention is no less functional or useful simply because he was a racist. Who honestly expects to be taken seriously with arguments like these?
These are nothing more than angry cheap shots, attacks, vacuous accusations that hold no bearing on the theory itself. They are invidious and meant to force people into a discriminatory corner with passion and a serious paucity of evidence.
At the end of the day, creationism stems from a religion and has no place in the scientific classroom. Teach creationism and all that jazz in an appropriate environment, a religious setting where faith is the name of the game and undeniably concrete genetic evidence is not. What the public actually knows about evolution is overwhelmingly minute compared to what it thinks it knows, and even less substantial when compared to what is actually known about the process of natural selection and speciation. If you want to be taken seriously when ranting against a theory as well fortified and uniformly supported as evolution, you are going to have to do better than faith, personal attacks and the Bible. You will at times be speaking to people that give no credence to those things, and so if you have nothing else to offer you cannot expect to be persuasive.
Try actually reading “On the Origin of Species,” not a biased critique by some errant and frustrated naysayer. Then go back and examine the Bible and discuss your issues with a qualified theologian with a doctorate and an understanding that expands beyond a strictly English translation for the good book. You might be surprised.