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Evolution:
The 20th Century Killer
September 1999
In 1859, Charles Darwin wrote
his treatise, The Origin of Species, and ever since
scholars and believers have debated the truth and value of
Darwin's assertion that species develop through a process of
natural selection, or evolution. Currently, many people regard
evolution as an accepted principle in the realm of science and
fail to weigh the heavy negative impact which the theory of
evolution has already had upon human life and society. Does it
matter what we believe about the origin of man? Does it make a
difference whether we believe an intelligent Creator designed
and created man and the universe, or whether creation came about
through natural or even random processes? Yes, this is a great
matter, a matter of life and death!
William Provine, a Cornell
biologist and evolution supporter, plainly states what Darwinism
means for human values, "No life after death; No ultimate
foundation for ethics; No ultimate meaning for life; No free
will." If mankind was created by natural law or by chance then
there can be no human choice, meaning, or purpose in mankind's
destiny, nor could there be a reliable moral compass to govern
the individual members of society. If Darwinism is followed to
its logical social conclusion, any course of action taken by the
strong against the weak can be justified as harmonious with the
process of natural selection. Modern human history has clearly
shown the devastating impact of the evolution theory upon
mankind.
In his book, Out of Control,
Zbigniew Brzezinski notes that the twentieth century began as
the century of promise and progress and yet it "became mankind's
most bloody and hateful century, a century of hallucinatory
politics and of monstrous killings. Cruelty was
institutionalized to an unprecedented degree, lethality was
organized on a mass production basis. The contrast between the
scientific potential for good and the political evil that was
actually unleashed is shocking. Never before did it consume so
many lives, never before was human annihilation pursued with
such concentration of sustained effort on behalf of such
arrogantly irrational goals." Wars for world or regional
domination and attempts to create totalitarian utopias caused
the deaths of approximately 175 million people in this century
of insanity. How is it that the course of human history was so
tragically directed toward the devaluing of human life on such
an immense scale?
Social Evolution
To understand the unthinkable,
the destruction of so much of humanity, it is necessary to
discover the philosophical underpinning of those who perpetrated
such destruction and horror upon their fellow human beings. The
roots of Nazism are well known to have their source in the
writings of Friedrich Nietzsche and his theory of the Superman.
Nietzsche's philosophy in turn drew from the writings of Darwin
and Herbert Spencer. While Darwin's work and conclusions were
confined to the field of biology; Spencer attempted to apply the
principles underlying evolution to other fields of science,
including the social sciences. Spencer coined the phrases
"struggle for existence," and "survival of the fittest." Yet it
was Nietzsche who most clearly articulated that evolution showed
that strength is the most desired quality and weakness the only
failing. Will Durant notes the connection in The Story of
Philosophy:
"The ethical philosophy of
Spencer was not the most natural corollary of the theory of
evolution. If life is a struggle for existence in which the
fittest survive, then strength is the ultimate virtue, and
weakness the only fault. Good is that which survives, and wins;
bad is that which gives way and fails. Only the mid-Victorian
cowardice of the English Darwinians, and the bourgeois
respectability of French positivists and German socialists,
could conceal the inevitableness of this conclusion. These men
were brave enough to reject Christian theology, but they did not
dare to be logical, to reject the moral ideas, the worship of
meekness and gentleness and altruism, which had grown out of
that theology. They ceased to be Anglicans, or Catholics, or
Lutherans; but they did not dare cease to be Christians . .
.they had removed the theological basis of modern morals, but
they had left that morality itself untouched and inviolate,
hanging miraculously in the air; a little breath of biology was
all that was needed to clear away this remnant of imposture. Men
who could think clearly soon perceived what the profoundest of
minds of every age had known: that in this battle we call life,
what we need is not goodness but strength, not humility but
pride, not altruism but resolute intelligence; that equality and
democracy are against the grain of selection and survival; that
not masses but geniuses are the goal of evolution; that not
'justice' but power is the arbiter of all differences and all
destinies. —So it seemed to Friedrich Nietzsche."
Fascism and Communism
It is against this philosophical
backdrop that the nations in the early 20th century justified
the dividing of the world into colonies. The non-white peoples
of the world became the burden of the Western nations, whose
duty it was to extend their rule to a guardianship over the
lesser, weaker nations. In the case of Germany, hegemony was
sought over the entire world because all were considered
inferior to the Aryan race. This idea influenced Kaiser Wilhelm
before World War I as it later found full expression in Hitler
during World War II. The total military and civilian deaths of
just these two wars is more than 75 million, including the
deliberate destruction of Jews and others in the holocaust, all
this justified in the name of "survival of the fittest," and the
claimed genetic superiority of one people over all others.
However, this philosophical
madness was not limited to the German nation but was the source
of the majority of the multitude of wars in the 20th century.
Almost as tragic as the world wars are the deaths of nearly 60
million people as Communist states sought to create and control
perfect socialist societies. Lenin, Stalin, and Mao all believed
that strength and power were essential to survival and should be
used ruthlessly, even against their own people. It was the
consolidation of Communist rule, rather than the civil war that
created the Communist government, which brought the majority of
these deaths through forced collectivization of society,
elimination of opponents, and manufactured famines in areas of
resistance. Again, "survival of the fittest" was appealed to for
justification as the weakest of society were sacrificed to
ensure the continued dominance of the strong.
Even today with the grim
histories of Fascist and Communist regimes, the same story of
man's inhumanity to man has been replayed in a smaller but no
less inhuman fashion in Bosnia, Rwanda, Cambodia, Kosovo and
other places. Even in the richest of nations, the United States,
the principle of "survival of the fittest" can be found
pervading its institutions, particularly the financial,
industrial and political segments of society. While a democracy
ostensibly provides protection and opportunity to all of its
citizens, in fact the rich and influential exercise a
disproportionate influence to secure power and control to
themselves. The fact that the rich are getting richer is
reflected in a U.S. News and World Report editorial:
Despite the economic boom,
poverty rates have dropped only a smidgen and the number of
people living in extreme circumstances—less than $6,750 a year
for a family of three—has actually increased from 13.9 million
in 1995 to 14.6 million in 1997. One in every 5 youngsters is
still poor, compared with 1 in 7 in the 1970s.
Just as in the United States
itself, the world is experiencing a growing gap between the rich
and poor, and that is a poisonous mix. That is going to create a
crisis in the future
— warning of
potential anarchy in Africa as well as Russia…. The United
Nations has issued a stinging report….It says that even as
corporate executives, scientists, entertainers, and others are
now forming a "global professional elite," inequality is rapidly
increasing within many countries. The income gap between the top
and bottom fifth of the world's population has more than doubled
since 1960.
Personal Amorality
Personal experiences of many
individuals also corroborate the sad influence of the evolution
theory. For example, Provine's statement above about the meaning
of Darwinism for human values was challenged by a young listener
who said:
"My background is murder and
rape. I once thought that was okay, because who cared about
life?" But now he went on, he had come to realize that "life
does matter" and "there are absolutes." The man's words were a
stunning reminder that the origins debate is not merely
academic; it involves the most fundamental principles by which
people live and die.
Does it Matter?
Does it matter then whether we
believe in creation or in evolution? Based on the overwhelming
historical evidence alone we answer emphatically, YES! The
theory of evolution has had an extraordinarily adverse impact on
mankind and should be committed to the dust bin of history. Let
us reexamine the scriptural testimony which the theory of
evolution was meant to replace:
1. "And God said, Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness." Genesis 1:26
Man was created in the mental and moral likeness of God, with
ability to reason and to exercise his free will to choose right
or wrong. Man exists on a higher plane than the animals and "a
little lower than the angels." Man is responsible to the Creator
for failing to observe his law.
2. "For as all in Adam die, even
so all in Christ shall be made alive "All that are in their
graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth." 1 Corinthians
15:22; John 5:28-29
Adam's fall into sin affected the entire human race. It is
through Adam that mankind inherited sin and death. Jesus tasted
death for every man that all might have an opportunity for
fullness of perfect life. Contrary to evolution man will have a
return from death.
3. "Thy kingdom come, thy will
be done in earth, as it is in heaven." "And hast made us unto
our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth."
"And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
Matthew 6:10; Revelation 5:10, 20:4, 6
The faithful church is privileged to reign with Christ for the
thousand years of judging and blessing mankind in the kingdom.
The purpose of the Millennial Age is to teach every man the law
of God that at its close the will of God will be done on earth
as fully as it is now done in heaven. Those of mankind who are
shown to be incorrigible, who will not obey Christ will be cut
off from life in the second death.
What a contrast is shown when
the principles of life in the scriptures are compared with the
effects of the theory of evolution on mankind! Evolution held
out the hope of mankind ever rising to higher levels, but this
dream turned out to be a nightmare. The scriptures have always
exercised an uplifting influence upon man, whereas evolution has
degraded him. Belief in the intelligent Creator and Designer of
all things is indeed a matter of life, and belief in the
evolution theory a matter of death!
"And this is life eternal,
that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom thou hast sent." John 17:3 |
