I just posted this over in the Creation and Evolution forum, but thought it was relevant here as well:
I have been listening to a very interesting lecture series on the history of the theory of evolution. In it, the professor discusses the ebb and flow of the religious debate from even before Darwin with the discovery of the vast age of the earth, etc.
More to the point, he discusses the anti-evolution movements in America during the 20th century, which basically took place in two waves, one in the 1920's, and the current one, which started in the 1960's. While there were a variety of factors involved, including what was happening within the religious communities themselves, I found one major factor very interesting: the culpability of certain militant atheists.
The First Wave:
As most know, there was not a major religious outcry at the time Darwin first proposed his theory, just some fairly sedate debate. In fact, Asa Gray, a devout Christian, was one of Darwins strongest proponents in the U.S.. The trigger in the 1920's, though, was when more and more evidence for HUMAN evolution began to be produced. Up to that point, many Christians accepted the concept of an old earth and even evolution of plants and animals with relative ease, but maintained the idea that humans were specially created. It was when it began to be discussed in terms of humans to a greater extent that a movement developed to oppose its teaching. This led to the Scopes trial and this led to the banning of the teaching of evolution in many schools. This seemed sufficient, and the anti-evolution fervor died down to a great extent.
The Second Wave:
This wave all started with the centennial celebration of the Origins of Species in 1958. It was a major event, with magazine covers, lectures, etc. It became a major topic of conversation. As a result, there was pressure on the Federal Government to begin to override the states watering down of science and it ordered the development of new textbooks that began teaching evolution once again. At the same time, while evolution was all the rage, a couple of atheists, Julian Huxley and GG Simpson (and, to a lesser extent, Mayr), began to preach a religion of philosophical naturalism. Yes, they actually used the term religion for their own approach, although they meant it as in counterpoint to true religious belief. They began using evolution to support their naturalistic atheism, asserting loudly that all morality and ethics could be determined through rational knowledge. They viewed evolution as a progressive process and preached it as a foundation of their naturalistic philosophy. And it was not long before the entire concept of evolution became associated with atheism in a way that it never had before.
This was also at a time of greater compulsion of public education and the rise of fundamentalism as a force in American religion. These three factors then hit the fan at the same time. Kids in droves were coming home from school with these new textbooks discussing evolution just as the militant atheists were preaching this new ethic of knowledge, and when Fundamentalism was on the rise. While the mainstream Protestant denominations basically stood on the sideline, the evangelicals, pentecostals and other fundamentalist groups got themselves organized for an all-out war. The war was against this newly developed view of evolution as atheism that was being promoted by many prominent atheists themselves.
And, so we began to see the school battles, the Creationist ministries, etc. Further, the new anti-evolution movement went even further than the original objections. It began to argue against ANY evolution, even for plants and animals, and even revived the concept of a young earth!
All very sad, if you ask me. And I see that much of the blame has to be laid at the doorstep of some of these militant atheists who created the very strawmen that we now oppose. While this is no longer being preached by atheists, the unfortunate use of evolution to support their political and social agenda at the time has stuck. Evolution has been touched with the Tar Baby of atheism, but it was the atheists themselves who did this to a great extent.
The question for us Christians is whether we will buy into the Atheistic misrepresentation of evolution, which only does damage to Christianity itself.
I have been listening to a very interesting lecture series on the history of the theory of evolution. In it, the professor discusses the ebb and flow of the religious debate from even before Darwin with the discovery of the vast age of the earth, etc.
More to the point, he discusses the anti-evolution movements in America during the 20th century, which basically took place in two waves, one in the 1920's, and the current one, which started in the 1960's. While there were a variety of factors involved, including what was happening within the religious communities themselves, I found one major factor very interesting: the culpability of certain militant atheists.
The First Wave:
As most know, there was not a major religious outcry at the time Darwin first proposed his theory, just some fairly sedate debate. In fact, Asa Gray, a devout Christian, was one of Darwins strongest proponents in the U.S.. The trigger in the 1920's, though, was when more and more evidence for HUMAN evolution began to be produced. Up to that point, many Christians accepted the concept of an old earth and even evolution of plants and animals with relative ease, but maintained the idea that humans were specially created. It was when it began to be discussed in terms of humans to a greater extent that a movement developed to oppose its teaching. This led to the Scopes trial and this led to the banning of the teaching of evolution in many schools. This seemed sufficient, and the anti-evolution fervor died down to a great extent.
The Second Wave:
This wave all started with the centennial celebration of the Origins of Species in 1958. It was a major event, with magazine covers, lectures, etc. It became a major topic of conversation. As a result, there was pressure on the Federal Government to begin to override the states watering down of science and it ordered the development of new textbooks that began teaching evolution once again. At the same time, while evolution was all the rage, a couple of atheists, Julian Huxley and GG Simpson (and, to a lesser extent, Mayr), began to preach a religion of philosophical naturalism. Yes, they actually used the term religion for their own approach, although they meant it as in counterpoint to true religious belief. They began using evolution to support their naturalistic atheism, asserting loudly that all morality and ethics could be determined through rational knowledge. They viewed evolution as a progressive process and preached it as a foundation of their naturalistic philosophy. And it was not long before the entire concept of evolution became associated with atheism in a way that it never had before.
This was also at a time of greater compulsion of public education and the rise of fundamentalism as a force in American religion. These three factors then hit the fan at the same time. Kids in droves were coming home from school with these new textbooks discussing evolution just as the militant atheists were preaching this new ethic of knowledge, and when Fundamentalism was on the rise. While the mainstream Protestant denominations basically stood on the sideline, the evangelicals, pentecostals and other fundamentalist groups got themselves organized for an all-out war. The war was against this newly developed view of evolution as atheism that was being promoted by many prominent atheists themselves.
And, so we began to see the school battles, the Creationist ministries, etc. Further, the new anti-evolution movement went even further than the original objections. It began to argue against ANY evolution, even for plants and animals, and even revived the concept of a young earth!
All very sad, if you ask me. And I see that much of the blame has to be laid at the doorstep of some of these militant atheists who created the very strawmen that we now oppose. While this is no longer being preached by atheists, the unfortunate use of evolution to support their political and social agenda at the time has stuck. Evolution has been touched with the Tar Baby of atheism, but it was the atheists themselves who did this to a great extent.
The question for us Christians is whether we will buy into the Atheistic misrepresentation of evolution, which only does damage to Christianity itself.
