Thursday, February 26, 2009

The evolution of evolution



This year we celebrate the bicentenary of Charles Darwin's birth. Already the BBC has lauded the father of the theory of evolution. Originally propounded as a scientific theory to explain the diversity of species, the evolution bandwagon is now steered by humanist "We don't need a God" fundamentalists. That's what I mean by the evolution of evolution - people take the theory, and from it extrapolate an absolute world-view that does not incorporate the Divine.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a theistic evolutionist at all. I believe in Elohim the Creator. Yes, I go along with a six-day creation, and probably a young earth too. Now - this is my serious point. Christians and Atheists spend all their time arguing about creation vs evolution, intelligent design vs blind watchmakers, etc... We never seem to get past this first hurdle in our amicable debates.

However, the Lord Jesus said that he should be the "stone of stumbling and the rock of offence." If people find anything offputting about the Christian message, it should be the works and words of the Messiah. Shakespeare had it right - "All the world's a stage / And all the men and women merely players". Therefore when the principal actor (indeed, the author Himself!) steps front-stage, we shouldn't be distracted by the origins of the props and stage furniture. Instead we should be concentrating on what He says and does. This is the essence of the play, all else can only be peripheral...