Monday, September 18, 2006

I Don't Understand The Attack On Evolution

Opponents of evolution abound, but rarely do we see one who isn't religious. What I don't understand is the opposition to evolution from religious people.

The assumption that evolution is (as our dear friend the Frumteens Moderator put it) "the only existing apologetic for atheism" is obviously a non sequitor. If evolution were to be falsified tomorrow, atheists would be in the same position as believers -- they both would have no scientific explanation for how man came about. But from the perspective of someone who doesn't believe in G-d because there is insufficient evidence of his existence, he is no worse a position that I (an Orthodox Jew) am.

And that's why I don't understand the crusade over evolution. Evolution says nothing about G-d (although it does contradict a literal reading of the Torah). A believer can argue that the world was created in a way to make it appear old (although this argument does create theological difficulties) and therefore discount evolution on theological grounds.

Attacking evolution makes creationists appear desperate and foolish because anyone even minimally versed in the sciences will know that evolution is a rock solid principle. Wouldn't it be better for someone like Frumteens to just respond that evolution is scientific and is built on a different set of assumptions that religious Judaism? What is actually gained by attacking evolution?

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