Alex’s Heresies – embracing a physical reality

This is the major problem evangelists, creations and other devout religious believers have with evolutionary theory. They usually then vilify Charles Darwin and Darwinism as something from Satan.

PA PHOTO/THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

Despite the reluctance of scientists to comment on religious matters, the accidental implications of evolution have enormous implications for people’s understanding of themselves in the world and on the foundations of most religious beliefs. Moving from “God’s children” to “accidental outcome” is unpalatable for traditional religious believers. So it is not surprising that 200 years after Darwin’s birth there are concerted attacks on Darwin and vehement denials of the most diversely validated scientific theory we have today – one that is accepted by virtually every scientist working in the field of biology.

Liberal-minded believers try to accommodate evolution without losing the God’s children myth. They say that God works mysteriously through evolution processes to achieve the outcome they seek, namely special divine position of humankind. So they take evolutionary processes that provide the best explanation we have of the diversity of life and add a magical “God” factor. Unfortunately this addition is totally unnecessary as it offers nothing extra in explanatory terms nor in predictability. In fact the religious magic only complicates unnecessarily. These religious people should read the great axiom from Franciscan friar, William of Ockham, that essentially says one should minimise unnecessary assumptions.

Mark Steel writes about our accidental evolution in The Independent (article 7 Jan 2009). Also philosopher Philip Kitcher explores the metaphysical implications of evolution in Living with Darwin (see Amazon link below).

Alex McCullie