The Rise of Darwinism And Its Implications for Society Monarch Creation Ministry August 2006

2 Evolutionist Richard Dawkins: Innocent children are being saddled with demonstrable falsehoods. Its time to question the abuse of childhood innocence with superstitious ideas of hellfire and damnation. BBC TV Special

Resolution of the National Academy of Sciences Religion and science are separate and mutually exclusive realms of thought whose presentation in the same context leads to misunderstanding of both scientific and religious belief.

4 Evolution = Science Creation = Religion

5 The Basis of Modern Science n Materialism: the view that the material world is all there is; there is no existence beyond this present life n Naturalism: the view that all things have a natural cause, especially the origin of the universe and nature

6 Evolutionist Richard Lewontin: We scientists have a prior commitment to materialism [and] we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.

7 Evolutionist Michael Ruse: Either humankind is in a state of original sin or it is not. If it is, then there was reason for Jesus to die on the cross. If it is not, Calvary has as much relevance as a gladiator's death in the Colosseum.

8 Romans 1:22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools…

How did we get to this state of affairs? Early Signs of the Religion vs. Science Conflict

10 The Renaissance (Early 14th to 16 th Centuries): Two Streams of Thought n An attempt to return to Biblical Christianity: The Reformation.

11 The Reformers n Martin Luther, Germany n John Wycliffe, England n John Huss, Germany n G. Savonarola, Italy n H. Zwingli, Switzerland n John Calvin, Switzerland n John Knox, Scotland

12 The Renaissance (Early 14th to 16 th Centuries): Two Streams of Thought n An attempt to return to Biblical Christianity: The Reformation. n The humanistic side: The Age of Rationalism or The Age of Reason.

13 The Age of Reason n Emphasis on humanism rather than on God. n Thinking modeled after ancient Greece & Rome. n Renaissance philosophers believed society could turn people away from evil. n Humanistic thinking even affected theologians of the time.

14 RENAISSANCE REFORMATION CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS SCIENCE FOUNDED UPON BIBLICAL CONCEPTS REBIRTH OF LEARNING RETURN TO BIBLICAL CONCEPTS

15 Some Christian Scientists n Lord Kelvin: Thermodynamics n Louis Pasteur: Immunization n Robert Boyle: Chemistry n James Clerk Maxwell: Electrodynamics n Isaac Newton: Laws of Motion, Calculus n Gregor Mendel: Genetics n Michael Faraday: Electromagnetics

16 Some Christian Scientists n Georges Cuvier: Anatomy, Paleontology n Matthew Maury: Oceanography n Blaise Pascal: Hydrostatics, Barometer n James Joule: Thermodynamics n Leonardo da Vinci: Hydraulics n Francis Bacon: The Scientific Method n Johann Kepler: Astronomy

17 William of Occam (14 th Century) n Beginning of the division between science and theology n Natural knowledge (science) vs. revealed truth (theology)

18 RENAISSANCE SPLIT BETWEEN SCIENCE & THEOLOGY REFORMATION CHRISTIANSCIENTISTS SCIENCE FOUNDED UPON BIBLICAL CONCEPTS

19 Rationalism 17 th – Late 18 th Centuries n Everything can be explained by mathematical laws n Yet its not possible to be certain of anything n To become rational only requires education Rene Descartes

20 Rationalism 17 th – Late 18 th Centuries n Knowledge is power. n Reason vs. ignorance, superstition, & uncritical acceptance of authority. n Worship of reason. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

21 The Rise of Materialism (17 th century) n All is material. n Everything can be explained by scientific laws. n Humans dont have a spiritual nature. Thomas Hobbes

22 RENAISSANCE SPLIT BETWEEN SCIENCE & THEOLOGY REFORMATION CHRISTIANSCIENTISTS SCIENCE FOUNDED UPON BIBLICAL CONCEPTS HUMANISM ALL IS MATERIAL; WORSHIP OF REASON MATERIALISM & RATIONALISM

23 Empiricism 17 th Century - Present n Experience is the most important source of knowledge n Cannot base decisions on other sources, such as the Bible or governmental authority David Hume

24 RENAISSANCE SPLIT BETWEEN SCIENCE & THEOLOGY REFORMATION CHRISTIANSCIENTISTS BIBLICAL BASIS OF SCIENCE BEGINS TO ERODE EXPERIENCE IS SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE MATERIALISM & RATIONALISM EMPIRICISM

25 The Enlightenment 18 th Century n An emancipation from superstition and prejudices of earlier times; n The achievement of concordance with fact and reason; n New theories to explain heaven and earth; n Once people became enlightened societys problems would be solved.

26 Uniformitarianism 19 th Century - Present n All geologic processes took vast amounts of time. n The present is the key to the past. n No Genesis Flood. James Hutton Charles Lyell

27 RENAISSANCE SPLIT BETWEEN SCIENCE & THEOLOGY REFORMATION CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS BIBLICAL BASIS OF SCIENCE ERODING MATERIALISM & RATIONALISM EMPIRICISM UNIFORM- ITARIANISM PRESENT IS KEY TO PAST: NO GENESIS FLOOD

28 Darwinism Present n All plant and animal life evolved gradually from a few common ancestors; n Natural selection; n Vast amounts of time required. Charles Darwin

29 RENAISSANCE SPLIT BETWEEN SCIENCE & THEOLOGY REFORMATION CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS MATERIALISM & RATIONALISM EMPIRICISM UNIFORM-ITARIANISM DARWINISM SCIENCE FOUNDED UPON EVOLUTION NATURAL SELECTION NO NEED FOR A CREATOR

30 Naturalism 1890s - Present n Knowledge is acquired through the senses n Everything people do is determined by heredity or the environment n Physical world emphasized; supernatural excluded Jack London

31 RENAISSANCE SPLIT BETWEEN SCIENCE & THEOLOGY REFORMATION CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS MATERIALISM & RATIONALISM EMPIRICISM UNIFORM-ITARIANISM DARWINISM SCIENCE FOUNDED UPON EVOLUTION NATURALISM NO GOD

32 Romanticism Late 18 th – Mid 19 th Centuries n Feeling emphasized over reason; n Individuality & impulse preferred over self discipline; n Individual rights; n Nature viewed as living. Edgar Allen Poe

33 MORAL RELATIVISM NO ABSOLUTES ROMANTICISM FEELINGS NATURALISMDARWINISM NO GOD EVOLUTION BY RANDOM PROCESSES

34 Moral Relativism n No absolutes – truth relative; n Each person operates by his/her own moral code: Whats right for one person isnt necessarily right for another. Jean-Paul Sartre ( ) (Existentialism)

35 A man who has no assured and ever present belief in the existence of a personal God or of a future existence with retribution and reward, can have for his rule of life, as far as I can see, only to follow those impulses and instincts which are the strongest or which seem to him the best ones. The autobiography of Charles DarwinThe autobiography of Charles Darwin

36 Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. [NAS]

37 The Lie Humanism, with evolutionism as its platform. 2 Thessalonians 2:10b-11 They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.

38 Is evolution a theory, system, or hypothesis? It is much more …. Evolution is a light illuminating all facts, a trajectory that all lines of thought must follow. Teilhard de Chardin Teilhard de Chardin

39 Modern Spokesmen n Carl Sagan n Isaac Asimov n Stephen Jay Gould n Richard Dawkins n Michael Ruse

40 Carl Sagan ( ) The cosmosthe physical universe "is all that is or ever was or ever will be."

41 Isaac Asimov ( ) I am an atheist, out and out.... I do not have the evidence to prove that God does not exist, but I so strongly suspect he does not that I do not want to waste my time.

42 Stephen Jay Gould ( ) Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact.

43 Richard Dawkins (1941-) "It is absolutely safe to say that, if you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid, or insane...."

44 Michael Ruse (1940-) I am sorry to be so rude about this (not that sorry!), … I really want to believe. I find the goodies offered by Christianity extremely attractive. But I am d---d (again!) if I am going to sell my evolutionary birthright for a mess of religious pottage.

45 Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, and good evil, who put darkness for light who put darkness for light and light for darkness, and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. and sweet for bitter.

Results of Evolutionism The Fallout on Modern Culture

47 The Church n Abandonment of Scripture as final authority –Theistic evolution replaces Biblical creationism –Divinity of Jesus questioned –Focus on social justice rather than sin –Foundational doctrines laid aside n Result: a subtle form of moral relativism has found its way into our thinking.

48 The Devaluation of Life: A Culture of Death n Abortion n Euthanasia n Eugenics

49 Embryonic Recapitulation n The Gill Slit Theory n Haeckel claimed human embryo has gill slits, a remnant of evolution Ernst Haeckel

50 Embryonic Recapitulation n The fundamental law of biology. n Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. Ernst Haeckel

51 Haeckels Drawings

52 Haeckels Law and Abortion n The message of Haeckels embryos persists: the fetus isnt human yet, so aborting it is justified. n Birth control was nothing more or less than the facilitation of weeding out the unfit. Margaret Sanger

53 Euthanasia n Survival of the fittest? n Helping the evolutionary process by not burdening those who are most fit? Jack Kevorkian

54 Eugenics Eugenics Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life

55 Eugenics n Helping the evolutionary process? n Giving the more suitable races or strains of blood a better chance of prevailing speedily over the less suitable. Francis Galton

56 Animal Rights and Evolution There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental faculties.... The difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind. Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man

57 If were not created in the image of God n Man has no special status, but is just a little higher on the evolutionary ladder than animals; n Therefore animals should have many of the same legal protections as humans.

58 Animal Rights Advocates: nLnLnLnLegal rights for higher animals, including legal personhood; nTnTnTnThe right to have lawsuits filed on their behalf; nCnCnCnCompensatory damages for medical expenses; nPnPnPnProvision for a comfortable retirement; nCnCnCnConstitutional rights.

59 Animal Rights Advocate Steven M. Wise: … the universe was not designed at all, much less designed for humans. Rattling the CageRattling the Cage

60 Outlook on life: If the universe is without design or purpose n Man is an accident in space. n Hopelessness, depression, suicide: If we came from nowhere and are going nowhere, whats there to live for? n Life then has no meaning. Drugs offer a sort of substitute religion for people looking for some meaning in life.

61 It was because Darwinian theory broke mans link with God and set him adrift in a cosmos without purpose or end that its impact was so fundamental. Michael Denton, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis

62 Its Not My Fault If evolution is true then were just helpless products of random processes, and we arent responsible for our actions. n Homosexualitya product of evolution n Alcoholbad genes n CrimeViolence, then, is natural to man, a product of evolution. P.J. Darlington

63 Environmentalism and Evolution If God is not the Creator, we owe our allegiance to Mother Earth.

64 Environmentalism and Evolution n Gaia hypothesis: the earth is our Mother and is a living entity which should be revered. n Global warming: the earth- atmosphere system evolved over millions of years and is fragile; we need to pass laws to restore it.

65 Romans 1:25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie [Gr. the lie], and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator who is forever praised. What is the lie? Humanism, with evolutionism as itsHumanism, with evolutionism as its platform. platform.

66 The Three Great isms of the Twentieth Century Darwin Nietzsche Hitler:Nazism Mussolini:Fascism Stalin & Mao: Communism Marx

67 The Basis of Our Thinking

68 Dr. Henry Morris: Evolution is not merely a biological theory of little significance. It is a world viewthe world view diametrically opposing the Christian world view. Therefore Christians ignore it or compromise with it at great peril!

69 Michael Ruse: Evolution is a full-fledged alternative to Christianity.

70 What constitutes a religion? n A set of beliefs (materialism, naturalism) n Holy writings (The Origin of Species) n A prophet (Darwin) n A promise of reward to the faithful (sexual freedom; humanistic utopia) n Faith (in the power of random processes) n Proselytizing (media & universities).

71 It takes faith to believe that: n A cosmic egg suddenly materialized out of nowhere & caused a Big Bang; n Evolution happened in spite of impossible odds; n Somehow evolution circumvented the second law of thermodynamics; n The creation has the appearance of design without a Designer; n Conditions just happened by chance to be right for life on earth.

72 Evolution is a Religion

73 Darwinism (Evolution) is a Religion It takes a lot more faith to be an evolutionist than a creationist. Evolutionists must believe that everything somehow created itself out of nothing, and for no apparent reason.

74 Genesis 3:5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

75 The Challenge n It is our responsibility as parents to teach our children to follow God: Teach them to your children and to their children after them. (Deut. 4:9) n Part of this responsibility involves showing them how God is Creator, and the fallaciousness of the religion of evolution.

76 THE END Monarch Creation Ministry

77 RENAISSANCE SPLIT BETWEEN SCIENCE & THEOLOGY MATERIALISM & RATIONALISM EMPIRICISM UNIFORM-ITARIANISM REFORMATION NATURALISM CHRISTIANSCIENTISTS SCIENCE FOUNDED UPON EVOLUTION DARWINISM