|
Religious opponents of the scientific theory of evolution frequently point to some of its still–hotly debated details as proof that the theory is not a credible explanation for the great diversity of life. The credibility of ideas, opinions, and scientific theories from individuals or groups depends on the accuracy of those they have made in the past.
Proponents of evolution theory offer strong scientific empirical
evidence that has been gathered and analyzed since Charles Darwin first
proposed his theory 150 years ago. The theory claims life began as a
one-celled bacterium and evolved by natural forces over a 3.5-billion
year period. Each person can assess the credibility of this evidence
for him- or herself.
Religious groups offer different explanations but most claim a Great Spirit created the universe and life on Earth for its own reasons. In order to test the credibility of these claims, each religion should be requested to peacefully compete with others to establish its bona fides as the one that accurately describes the supernatural world and has special influence with the Great Spirit. How to accomplish this? How to get the attention of the world?
Competitive reality shows are all the rage. These shows offer some respite from the daily news accounts reporting all the gory details of natural disasters, disease epidemics, and atrocities committed during human conflicts. Using one of the popular TV reality shows as a model, I’m sure our brilliant scientists, theologians, scholars, and philosophers could devise a series of public competitions between religious groups that would be determinative in deciding the winner. With much of the world’s population experiencing food shortages, disease epidemics, earthquakes, tornados and cyclones, identifying the one religion that can really bring us supernatural assistance would be helpful indeed. In the final episode, just as a suggestion, the group that could persuade the Great Spirit to quickly grow new limbs on amputees, in a scientifically controlled setting, while being viewed by the whole world would, of course, be crowned the winner and their particular explanation for how life began would surely be accepted by all.
On reflection, I don’t hold out much hope these events will ever be held because, in my opinion, no group will come. To avoid revealing their impotence to their current members and future prospects, religious groups usually assert the Great Spirit prohibits requests for provable favors and considers the requests sacrilege. It has always been a mystery to me why a Great Spirit from a supernatural world, with all its power, only grants favors or punishments in our natural world that could reasonably be judged by humans to be the result of natural forces. New limbs quickly acquired by a long suffering quadriplegic, viewed contemporaneously by billions of people, would unquestionably be proof of a deliberate act by a supernatural force and not by any natural one.
Since these events will likely never be held, we are stuck with deciding for ourselves, using available evidence to determine which alternative for how life got here is the more credible, a religious one or the scientific one.
Settled Science is my attempt to explain to non-scientists how a large majority of scientists think our universe formed, how life began, and how man evolved with a brain that invented a supernatural world to help him cope with the very dangerous natural one.
|
|
|
(0 vote)
