Causa Unus

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned... For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. - Romans 5:12,17



Since Charles Darwin penned On the Origin of Species there has been great debate over how to reconcile evolution with the world's dominant religions. To many, the idea that life on earth has evolved over the course of millions of years seems to directly contradict the biblical account of creation. To others, it is simply a matter of interpreting Genesis metaphorically. The six "days" of creation could mean six "epochs" and not six 24 hour days. One could argue, from either point of view, at great length. We could examine the original Hebrew in the text. We could study how the word yom (Hebrew for day) is used in other parts of the Old Testament. We could argue that the bible is inerrant and therefore discount evolution altogether. We could, but I am not going to.

First, let's give a quick summary of what evolution is. Evolution is a "change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift." Over time, these changes have caused forks in the genetic road, leading to the diversity we now see around us. I won't go into more detail than this for several reasons. First, the vast majority of educated people on this planet already understand evolution and are comfortable with its claims and supporting evidence. Second, those who do not believe in macro-evolution generally are coming from a background that makes weighing scientific data virtually impossible. At some point in the future I do plan on addressing specific issues that Creationists bring up, but not now.

Without trying to be overly curt, the simple fact is that the Theory of Evolution is true. There is no controversy. We have multiple dating methods that are used to cross-check readings. We have an intact fossil layer, with organisms becoming decreasingly complex the further down you dig. We have found millions of fossils, tens of thousands of intermediate fossils, and have the DNA readings to tie them all together. There may be disputes about specifics, but the overall theory is sound and established.

Despite the mountains of evidence, there are well organized groups, mostly fundamentalist Christians, who are aggressively fighting to have the opposing biblical story of creation taught in schools. They have written books, appeared on TV, and even made a movie with Ben Stein. They have set up web sites and colleges, they have lobbied schools and various governments. They are very passionate and they are very wrong. Well, sort of. Their science is without a doubt wrong. Their opposing "theory" is not even a theory at all, since you cannot develop a theory on nay-saying and a lack of opposing evidence. They are wrong about everything scientific, make no mistake. They are right about one thing, however. They recognize that the biblical account of creation is incompatible with evolution. What's more, they recognize that evolution shatters the central tenet of Christianity.

Life has evolved, from simple to complex, over the course of millions of years. Man has evolved from simpler primates, who in turn evolved from simpler mammals. On and on, back hundreds of millions of years. The problem is then, that there never was an Adam. Nor an Eve. There was no first man, created out of the dirt and no first woman, created from that man's rib. Interpret Genesis how you want, literally or metaphorically, but you need Adam and you need Eve. You need them to be tempted and you need them to sin. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" Rom 5:12. Without Adam's sin, there was no fall and no original sin to be passed on to the generations. Adam's sin, biblically speaking, is our sin. Without Adam, we have no origin for sin, no first cause. We have no sinful nature and no death. No fear of God's wrath, no Hell, and no need for a savior.

Quite simply, the evolution of life on this planet by process of natural selection is ruinous to the central tenets of not just Christianity, but many of the world's religions. However you choose to interpret your holy text, the simple fact is that it can't stand up against real and tangible evidence. You can go to a museum and see transitional fossils. You can study various dating methods and test them yourself. You can see how DNA ties all life together in a complex tree. You can observe the fossil layer and see that the theory stands. The same cannot be said about faith.