Untangling the Misconceptions About Evolution
Some people in America have a lot of erroneous ideas about what Evolution is. They think it's a religion, an ideology, a moral judgment, or an evil plot to turn them away from God.
Well, evolution is none of those things and through this lens I hope to show what evolution isn't and explore why so many conservative Christians have such hatred for this one particular scientific theory.
Contents at a Glance
- Evolution is Not a Philosophy, Not a Belief System, nor a Moral Code: Evolution is Just a Natural Process
- Evolution is Not The Same as Social Darwinism
- What Makes Us Human?
Evolution is Not a Philosophy, Not a Belief System, nor a Moral Code: Evolution is Just a Natural Process
Science is Based on Empirical Observations
Evolution is just a process by which change occurs in nature. The process of evolution was deduced by interpretation of evidence that holds up to empirical scrutiny.
Evolution is like many other natural processes which are deduced by interpretation of evidence. A couple of other processes we have deduced from evidence found in the natural world are erosion and eutrophication.
Evolution has no moral bias, any more than erosion or eutrophication do. Evolution is an explanation of a process which takes nothing into account but the physical evidence and only that evidence which holds up to careful scrutiny.
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Evolution is Not The Same as Social Darwinism
Misuse of Darwin's Name Created the Confusion
There seems to be some confusion, especially in the conservative Christian community, between the Theory of Evolution and Social Darwinism.
"Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" which came out in 2008 was a film created to arouse anti-science and anti-evolution sentiments among viewers. To that end the film purposely confused the meaning of Social Darwinism and the Theory of Evolution implying that the Theory of Evolution caused the Holocaust and created communism. The writers of "Expelled" didn't come up with the idea that the Theory of Evolution and Social Darwinism were one and the same. That particular misconception has existed for some time and some natural confusion is completely understandable. However, they used and built upon the misconception for their own purposes.
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What Makes Us Human?
Divine Nature or Ourselves?
Some believe that if man evolved rather than being created it would negate our humanity. They believe that we would have no basis for morality if we evolved and were not created. What do you think?
If evolution happened and happens does it make man less human and special than if he were created by an outside force?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byYes, it is because we were created in God's image that we are human and thus contain some of the divine.
mysticmama says:
Evolution and God do not have to be oppossing forces, only organized religion want that. I believe are souls or our spirit selves are in fact made in "gods image" not our physical temporary human shells.
I also believe that evolution is an accurate discription of how our human bodies evolved on this particular plane of existence. Now the reason I said no is because of the way the question is written, so yes we are created in Gods image, but we are humans only because our spirits chose to be human in this carnation, and yes we are what and who we are no matter how we got here or anywhere else. :-)
Posted May 23, 2009
Spook says:
Tough one to answer. What I really think is that we are just men and therefore we have no real comprehension of anything about God, but we think we do. In other words, one of Gods days, may be millions of years of our days? Something like that anyway and will leave it at that.
Posted May 15, 2009
No, we are what we are no matter how we got here.
jrnjames says:
Evolution complements reincarnation. For millions of years animals have been the vehicle for mans Awareness [conscious mind/spirit] to travel in and reincarnate from one animal species to another, as the animal body dies. To finally becoming the Awareness [conscious mind/spirit of human animals.
Posted October 20, 2009
Flynn_the_Cat says:
How does being made make us better than making ourselves? And more - cannot evolution be considered an outside force?
Posted July 03, 2009
dannystaple says:
Each and every person is as great as they try to be, as great as they allow themselves to be through their thoughts and experiences. And as terrible as they can be, with, on the most part, only themselves to blame.
Posted May 09, 2009
Why I Think Christian Fundamentalists Hate the Theory of Evolution but Not Other Scientific Facts
What do fundamentalist Christians and other religious fundamentalists have against the theory of evolution? Why do they seem so upset by the very idea of evolution? Evolutionary theory contradicts the literal story of Genesis as found in the Bible. However, a lot of scientific knowledge contradicts parts of the Bible. For some reason, scientific knowledge or facts which contradict literal interpretations of parts of the Bible other than those in contradiction to Genesis in particular simply don't fall under fundamentalist Christian fire.
The Theory of Evolution evokes extreme emotions in fundamentalist Christians and other religious fundamentalists for some reason. They openly express disdain, fear and outright hatred of everything to do with the Theory of Evolution.
Fundamentalist Christians in America feel so strongly about the Theory of Evolution that they throw fortunes at getting it stricken from existence. The Christian Right in America lobbies aggressively to get evolution removed from public school curricula. Fundamentalist Christians have even created "Creation Museums" to counter the theory of Evolution at the cost of millions of dollars. The Christian Right in America is very upset with the Theory of Evolution.
So why do fundamentalist Christians feel threatened by that particular theory - evolution - but not by other scientific theories of natural processes such as erosion, eutrophication, or genetics? Why aren't they laughing at people and calling them stupid for accepting the theory of plate tectonics, too? Why don't fundamentalist Christians attack people for accepting geometry, geology, meteorology, and chemistry?
Why are fundamentalist Christians so focused on only those scientific schools of thought which contain elements contradictory to the literal interpretation of Genesis but not those which contain elements contradictory to other portions of the Bible?
My theory is that the book of Genesis deals with the nature of man himself and the nature of life. It defines man as a divine being created in God's image and sets him above all other thing excepting God himself. The Genesis story in the Bible leads to the
idea of man possessing a soul, given to him by God.
The Theory of Evolution places humanity as part of the world which gave him life and identifies mankind as a species of animals. That is counter to the nature of man described in Genesis.
People have strong emotional feelings about the divine nature of man, made in God's image. If pi is a tiny bit larger than exactly three or if science shows that the world has never been covered by a global flood, nothing about the nature of man is called into question.
So it all boils down to self-image. Anything that threatens long-held ideas of self-image will create a strong emotional impact and create a backlash, much as the Theory of Evolution has among fundamentalist Christians and other religious fundamentalists.
Weigh in with Your Opinion on Evolution!
The theory of Evolution says nothing about the origin of life, only the origin of variation between species. Keeping that in mind, how would you answer?
Do you accept evolution as a valid scientific theory as to why so many varied species of life exist on earth?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byYes
Mark says:
Why would any thinking person not accept evolution as a valid "theory"? The problem is that those who are against religion with rabid emotion get very angry when concepts such as "you can't have a watch without a watch maker" are introduced. I have an engineering degree with a specialty in electromagnetics and I enjoy being a skeptic within both the religious world and the scientific world. On several occasions when I was poking at some of the problems with the current theory of evolution I was asked "are you a religious fundamentalist?"
That was a very odd question and a clever diversion from the discussion at hand. Why would someone just assume that I'm religious just because I'm challenging the weaknesses of a currently popular scientific theory?
There is a lot more emotion and religious doctrine flowing within the "scientific" community these days than they are willing to admit. You can see it in the anger that is generated whenever evolution theory is challenged. Why would any thinking and emotionally mature person get angry over a challenge to any scientific theory? Isn't that what science is supposed to be about?? Perhaps what they claim to be "science" has become more of a religion for them? You should switch hats for a while and challenge this phenomena and see where it leads intellectually.
Posted August 09, 2009
Flynn_the_Cat says:
Your question is misleading :D
As the cause of the variation of species, yes, of course, - s the cause of life, no, as obviously evolution works on what already exists. That life could have arisen by natural means? Yes, I believe so, but it does not mean the same thing as evolution.
Posted July 03, 2009
mysticmama says:
Though Evolution in and of itself does not prove the origin of life, molecular science does, as well as bio-physics & partical physics. Recently a 47 million year old fossil of the so called "missing link" between human & primate was found...proving beyond a doubt that humans are related to lemurs. The reality is that science proves that evolution is real and also proves that God exists...of couse organized religion is against both because then who would give them money, lol
Posted May 23, 2009
No
spirituality says:
No, evolution isn't the origin of the variety - it's a description of the process of change. Natural selection is obviously a fact, but the question is: where does the new come from? Where does the variety come from? the word 'evolution' is not an explanation of how that has happened.
Posted July 07, 2009
Webcodes says:
I believe in microevolution, but definitely not evolution as the origin of life. A watch has a creator, how much more complex we are than a watch to say that we just evolve.. A watch did not just form out of the blue!
Posted June 15, 2009
Cari_Kay says:
My graduate studies in the natural sciences heavily involved the theory of evolution. It's a theory and hasn't been proved to be more at this point. I had a few profs that suggested it was fact but, for the most part, everybody else accepted it for the theory it is.
Posted March 15, 2009
Treasures-By-Brenda says:
I would say that I do not have any strong beliefs in this matter. However, I tend to agree with what Mike had to say...what did life start from?
Brenda
Posted March 11, 2009
MikeMoore says:
I'm not religious, and I believe in evolution, but does evolution explain the ORIGIN of life? I don't really think so. For evolution to work, you need something to evolve. Where did that FIRST life form come from? How did it just appear. I think that the theory of evolution and religion can go hand-in-hand. One theory does not discount the other. Hope that made sense.
Posted March 11, 2009
Teaching Evolution
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More Reading on Darwin and Evolution
Why Evolution Is True
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Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives
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The Origin Of Species: 150th Anniversary Edition
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Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution
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Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design
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Teaching About Evolution in Schools
Does Teaching About Evolution in Schools Cause Kids to Become Atheists?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byYes, once you believe evolution happened you can no longer believe in God.
No, evolution is just another science subject like any other.
greeneto says:
Ironically, creationists who play the prejudice-pandering "atheist card" are shooting themselves in the foot. They are the ones who are all the time in their rhetoric saying things like "If you accept evolution, then you must reject God" or "evolution is an atheist attack on religion" - they are banking on a fallacious argument using anti-atheist prejudice to attack the idea of biological evolution, telling everyone (including their own kids) that either you stick to the particular religious beliefs that are unscientific and anti-science, or if you accept evolution then you must reject religious belief altogether. So they hardly have any room to complain when a lot of their children as they get older and go to college and learn enough about the science to realize that biological evolution really is based on the relevant scientific discoveries end up have a crisis of faith - precisely because that is what their parents and other people in their church have been telling them. They've been told that if they accept the science that creationists despise, then they must reject religious belief, so that's what a lot of them do.
The fallacy, of course, is double: (1) First of all, fundamentally, evolutionary science is no more, and no less, contrary to belief in God that is, say, meteorology, or medical science, or chemistry. What is, simply is. If reality is genuinely contrary to theism, then the creationists are right, but in fact they are not right enough, because they're not being consistent, because they're accepting the natural processes of meteorology and medical science and chemistry and so on, while still believing in God. If they accept the legitimacy of science at all, then according to the philosophical basis of their own argument they should reject their belief in God. (2) Second, just because one thing implies another thing that you really don't like (say, for example, atheism), that does not in any way imply that the first thing is not true. So the "atheist card" creationist use to attack evolution is a fallacy, that is really just the same thing as saying "If X is true, then Y is also true, and I really don't like Y, so I'm not going to accept X." However, whether or not we like the implications of X, this has absolutely nothing to do with whether X is true or not. Our personal desires do not dictate what reality is. Creationists are using the premise that their personal desires determine what the truth is, and that premise is completely wrong.
Posted May 16, 2009
MobyD says:
No. But it is possible that someone who learns about evolution in school might come to doubt people spouting creationism, intelligent design or whatever other scheme is being promoted by anti-evolutionists. This could cause the student to begin questioning the anti-evolution crowd, which could lead to questioning religious beliefs in general. This is not necessarily a bad thing, although it is the anti-evolution crowd's biggest fear.
Posted March 26, 2009
Kylyssa says:
Evolution is just another subject to learn about in science class. Why would it affect a child's belief any more than learning about any other science subject would?
Posted March 23, 2009
Read About Evolution on Wikipedia
A Basic Run Down of What Evolution Is
In biology, evolution is change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. Though changes produced in any one generation are normally small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the population, a process that can result in the emergence of new species. The similarities among species suggest that all known species are descended from a common ancestor (or ancestral gene pool) through this process of gradual divergence.
The basis of evolution is the genes that are passed on from generation to generation; these produce an organism's inherited traits. These traits vary within populations, with organisms showing heritable differences (variation) in their traits. Evolution itself is the product of two opposing forces: processes that constantly introduce variation, and processes that make variants either become more common or rare. New variation arises in two main ways: either from mutations in ge...
So What Do You Think?
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Reply
- LearningIsFun LearningIsFun Nov 13, 2009 @ 7:55 am
- Doing our Dinosaur Discovery project with the children left us in no doubt that evolution is a fact. I'm glad you raised the issue though and I think in the States its more of a discussion point than over here in the UK where evolution is pretty much accepted.
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- Webcodes Webcodes Jun 15, 2009 @ 12:03 am
- Thank you for the discussion. 5*.
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- Janiece Janiece Jun 1, 2009 @ 8:24 am
- Very nice lens! 5 stars
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- BevsPaper BevsPaper May 24, 2009 @ 8:34 am
- Good thought provoking lens! I think it is possible to believe in both. One is science and in my opinion does not take away from God's creation of life itself. I've often wondered if the humans that are spoken of in Genesis Chapter One are evolutionary man - the people evolving from earlier creation into pre-Neanderthal and beyond. Genesis Chapter One speaks of many humans having dominion over the other creatures.
Genesis Chapter Two speaks of ONE man and ONE woman created in God's likeness and put in the Garden of Eden. Couldn't that explain the difference of what we think of as "Cavemen" or pre-historic men and what seems to be the sudden appearance of men who are more like what we are today? And if there weren't already some sort of "evolutionary" humans on earth - how is it that Cain found a wife in Nod?
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- mysticmama mysticmama May 23, 2009 @ 4:06 pm
- Wonderful fun :-)
Though I personally believe in both evolution and "God" as in the source of all energy in the universe, not the guy in the clouds lol...It saddens me how organized religions use the idea of "God" as an excuse for hate, war, terrorism...money, power & greed...and repress scientific proof because then they would lose the power to manipulate the masses and profit from it.
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