Is Evolutionary Theory Harmful?
62What has evolutionary theory done?
What if I were to tell you that there is a theory out there that has lead to movements that have killed millions of people and have oppressed thousands more since its inception. Because it has devalued human life so much people like Joseph Stalin have gone on killing sprees, Adolf Hitler has used it to to promote his "master race" which, during World War II lead to the killing of 6 million Jews and around 11 million people in total. Or how about Francis Galton's horrible eugenics ideas? This poisonous theory is known as Evolution. It's idea of the "survival of the fittest", if applied to human beings, makes all human life no better in any way from that of a snail leaving its slimy trail across my driveway. While I have nothing against snails, they are not to be compared with human beings created in the very image of their creator.
Many atheists have wanted to put an end to all organized religion in general and Christianity specificially, being the world's biggest "religion". They say this because they believe that organized religion has caused all the wars and social injustice man has experienced throughout history. While I do not defend any injustice that so called Chirstians have caused throughout history, I wholeheartedly disagree with the assumption that religious belief has caused all of the hatred and violence that human beings have experienced. Once again, atheistic evolutionary theory has lead to most of the horrors of the past century and without the Christian religion in the picture could lead to more and more atrocities in the future.
It is my hope in my next blog to talk about the major contributions of Christianity throughout its 2000 year history and to compare that with the contributions of atheists. We will see which one of these belief systems offers the most hope for a needy humanity.
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It depends on what your definition of evolution is. If you mean adaptations of a species in order for that species to survive in a changing environment, I would agree. But where is the fossil evidence of one species evolving into another? The evidence just isn't there.
Also, I agree that God and real Science can go hand in hand. That which we call Science today started because men of Science believed that God created laws and an orderly universe that could be discovered.
Evolution says we are the same as dogs, cats, apes, lions, tigers and bears, etc. . . Evolution is actually the dehumanizing of human beings. It is behind a lot of things that are happening in the world today.
Ever noticed on TV how many com mercials there are aimed toward saving cats and dogs that have been abused or abandoned? Then try to remember the last time you saw one advocating for people who are hungry, homeless, etc. . . The ads for animals are posted much more than ads for people.
You are right about evolution dehumanizing us. It denies who we truly are, a special creation of God, created in His image.
I would like to point out that the atrocities of the world cannot be blamed on evolution just as they cannot be blamed on religion. Both are belief systems, and it is the person that chooses to interpret and act upon them. Evolution is theory, it is humans that manipulated that theory to aid in their evils.
I agree with you that the atrocities of this world are caused by people but the evolutionary theory has become more of a worldview for many of those who believe in it. And in their worldview, they use the evolutionary theory to deny the existence of God, particularly the Christian God who has made man in His own image. Man is no longer anything special. From there it is only a step away from not valuing human life and dignity.
There is no "atheistic evolutionary theory" as there are also theists who accept the theory of evolution. In other words, it does not inherently belong to either viewpoint.
My reason for using the term "atheistic evolutionary theory" is to separate those who have used the theory as a philosophy of life to deny the existence of a God.
However, having said that, this doesn't take away from my belief and that of thousands of others that the whole theory itself is flawed.
I do agree that religious belief has not caused much of the hatred and violence in the world. Just as I do not agree Hitler and his belief in evolution was the cause for all the deaths in his regime.
What people choose to use is an excuse for their actions has nothing to do with what they know. We know a gun can kill a person but the majority of us choose not to kill someone over whatever.
The choice is always ours.
Excellent hub and your points are well made!
While it is true that Hitler was responsible for what he did himself, ideas are powerful things that can be used for evil as well as good. The concept of evolution is a powerful, and flawed theory that many have used for evil. Thanks for your comments.
Let us, for a moment, agree with what you are arguing and that the theory of evolution is indeed a harmful theory. What does that say? Does that, in any way, change how humans got here? Even if it contained the most harmful ideas in the world, it would not change our past. Why does this point ("harmfulness") need to be made so frequently?
No, it doesn't change the way we got here. But it does change its adherents idea of what they are: A special creation of Divine Designer. You might ask the question: "What does it say if much of the world believed that a certain race was inferior."? Would it make them inferior? No, but it might change how most of the world treated them. Atheistic evolutionary theory gives us a wrong perception of mankind, which has lead mamy people to do harmful things. This is the danger.
And the reason it is stated so frequently is that evolutionary theory is stated so frequently as absolute truth, in the media and in the classroom. Someone has to speak out against it.
I see what you mean for tyrants and evils dictators but how does it work for everyday lives? The theory of evolution is accepted as a biological framework by which we explain the history of life but not as a guidebook for human behaviour (although it can tell us a lot about why we behave the way we do). For people's daily behaviour they draw from worldviews like humanism or one of the many western or eastern religions.
I think the main problem religious people have with the theory of evolution is that it changes the position of humans. Isn't relating the theory of evolution to evilness just one of the many angles of attack? You're free to express whatever opinions you have but I'm not convinced that society at large is experiencing daily problems due to the theory of evolution.
To start with, just because evoultion is accepted as fact by most scientists does not make it true. Science used to believe a lot of things that are considered false today. For example, Science used to accept the theory of the spontaneous generation of certain life from non-living matter. This was believed along side heterogenesis, the belief that one form of life derives from another such as bees coming from flowers. That is no longer accepted as fact. Now the Science of abiogenesis is still searching for how life can come from non life.
This to me is a fatal flaw in evoulutionary theory. Where does life come from? How can you have evolution if there is no life to evolve? You still need faith to believe that the vast array of multi-celled organisms with all of their complexity and design have just happened over a course of billions of years. Did they come from lifeless matter?
And you are right. Evolution does change man's perceptions of humans which is precisely what makes it a dangerous, flawed theory. Of course there are other influences that affect the behavior of humans including false religions and "atheistic humanism." But that doesn't mean that the theory of evolution isn't having some devastating effects. Indeed there are many humanists who deny the existence of God and use evolution to explain existence.
If you look at the evils brought about by especially the three monotheistic religions I doubt that evolution has "caused" anything like the devastation caused by religion.
It is not possible to link causally the ideologies of Hitler and Staling to the theory of evolution. They had evil and harmful intentions and used some aspects of the theory to justify what they were about to do anyway.
But a nice try!
Evolution on the other hand has brought about great benefits for humanity especially in the field of medicine. In fact, look around the world today and you see evolution at work.
Love and peace
Tony
This argument to answer "Is Evolutionary Theory Harmful?" can go back and forth forever. You can find a lot of things and ask if they are harmful. The question is, first of all, is it true or false. Then, if you can answer that, then you can ask if it's harmful. If something were true and it is harmful, then there's not much you can do about it. However, if something were false and it is harmful, then that's a different story. An example is "Are little green men on the moon fact or fiction?" Well, if we teach that they are, this could lead to harm in some ways. So ask "Is Evolution Fact or Fiction?" Yes, it is fiction and teaching it has caused detriment in society in various ways. In and of itself evolution is merely an outdated theory that has been disproven but like many things it can be used for evil purposes. I think your hub topic is very good and gets us to start thinking from different angles.
First of all, thanks to both of you Tony and Rob for reading and commenting on my Hub. To answer Tony, I did another Hub on the positive things that Christianity has done and continues to do for the world. On the other hand, I cannot agree from my study of evolutionary theory that it has caused anything of benefit and yes has caused much harm because it devalues humanity and the place that God has given to us in the world as those created in His image. And I agree that I need to write another Hub to more closely look at how Hitler and Stalin were influenced by evolution. I cannot put it here in the comment because it would be another Hub in and of itself. Rest assured, I will do that.
In answer to Rob, you are correct in saying that a theory, if true is merely something we have to acknowledge. However, as you have pointed out and I implied, it isn't true and is merely being blindly accepted by many people just because someone with "credentials" says it is fact. That makes it quite harmful indeed. Thanks again and God bless!
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Wintermyst 16 months ago
I believe in God, and I believe in evolution. Just because man evolved, doesn't mean God doesn't exist. Evolution can be proven, man came second, religion third. God was always first. God and science can go hand in hand. Good story though.