Child actor Kirk Cameron grows up, meets Jesus, and becomes a proselytizer for Christian fundamentalism. He teams up with Ray Comfort, preacher-man who holds science suspect along with anything else he hasn’t heard before, and together they have made a name for themselves as evolution-antagonists extraordinaire. As far as I can tell, proselytizing against evolution is as big a gig for them as proselytizing for Jesus. Or, maybe they see it as one in the same. Regardless, the duo is coming out with a republication of Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species. Why, you ask would a couple of guys dedicating their life to fighting the forces of evolution want to reproduce the enemy’s chief propaganda piece? Why, because they are including a 50 page introduction to the book, rife with every reason to not believe in evolution that we Christians have come up with over the last century and a half. Oh, this is embarrassing.
the cheesiness factor is impressive
My first introduction to this duo came one evening as I sat at the edge of the Grand Canyon watching the setting sun. From behind me came an awkwardly hobbling man, obviously nervous and unsure of himself. Curiously, he sat down beside me, tingeing the scenery with the frustration of interruption. From nowhere, he plainly asked me how I thought the canyon “got there.” I, being no expert on the subject but vaguely recalling the generally accepted theory, muttered something regarding the river basin and millions of years of wear and tear. He had a sad look on his face, and asked another couple questions, quickly changing subjects to evolution and age of the earth. I realized I was failing every question, as his face grew more and more sad for me, and it occurred to me what was happening: I was being tested. And I failed. This man was trying to decide if I was a Christian or not based on my answers to his questions about evolution and earth-age. Taking Genesis allegorically, as I tend to do, put me in the “out” camp. Before I could explain myself, he handed me a CD with the words “Ray Comfort” printed across the front and told me I should give it a listen, I suppose in lieu of conversation. On my drive back home the next day, I played Ray’s CD and heard all about Hell. I learned that people how don’t believe certain things about Hell and evolution are going to Hell. I learned that if more pastors would just talk about how awful Hell is, and that most people are going to burn forever, then nobody would be roasted. I even learned that I was going to Hell. I was a sinner in the hands of an angry creationist. I smiled that morning as I drove with the morning sunrise in front of me, displaying God’s handiwork as the background noise-preacher told me I was going to Hell believing in evolution instead of Hell… or something like that.
Ray Comfort is not afraid to use bananas to explain why you are going to hell if you are ridiculous enough to believe in evolution
For the life of me, I don’t get how you can read the Bible and think it’s telling you that evolution is false and you can go to Hell for rejecting God by believing in science. In fact, I’m reasonably certain you cannot have an educated understanding of Scripture and buy that. If I could go back, I would have loved to ask the CD-packing proselytizer which creation account he believed in: the Genesis chapter one version of creation, an adaptation from Babylonian creation myths, or the Genesis two version, the likely older Israelite version? Or, if he wanted to ram the two accounts together in literalistic fashion, I would have liked to ask him just how Adam was able to name every single creature on the planet without leaving the Garden, all in the handful of hours between his awakening and the creation of Eve (with time left for a good nap in between). It would have been interesting, but too bad; I expect I know how he would have responded anyways.
Last year, I finally got around to reading Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species (or as little known fact, if you care about the correct title it’s, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life). It’s a genius read. In fact, I was surprised to learn that most of the commonly used counters I learned as a child in anti-evolution apologetics classes (such as the lack of transitional fossils or the lack of use for a non-viable transitional eye) were actually derived from Darwin himself. He brilliantly anticipated nearly every objection we can come up with and answers them before they arise… which always makes me wonder if guys like Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron read the book before writing a 50 page intro/rebuttal for it using, seemingly unbeknownst to them, arguments Darwin will pummel on the following page. It is true that Darwin began his career as a seminarian but dropped out to explore the world due to his growing fascination with biology and geology. Emerging away from theism, Darwin ended his life at most an agnostic, and most likely an atheist (though there exists a fashionable myth in Christian circles of a deathbed recanting of evolution). The Origin of Species, contraire to the impulses of Ray and Kirk, does not attempt to explain the origins of the universe, nor does it even say much of evolution. It is chiefly concerned with the vehicle of natural selection, and Darwin does a marvelous job of documenting his claims with the Galapagos plant and animal life.
And about the Hitler claim: is it true that Hitler used evolutionary theory as a basis for genocide? Yep, there’s no getting around that fact. But is it also true that he used Christianity (especially a belief in a Calvinist-style predestination to a literal Hell for people who don’t believe like us) to condone the genocide far more than he ever used evolution? Why, yes that is true. So if we want to pretend we are tossing out evolution because a manipulative despot used it for his own maniacal ends, we had better be ready to toss out Christianity as well (or patriotism, prisons for terrorists, preemptive defense, and a host of other things Hitler found legit).
And with the publication of Origin, Christian fundamentalism came alive with, finally, a clear enemy to fight. In fact, many sociologists date the birth of Christian fundamentalism at 1859, with Origin’s first publication. Before this date, Christian’s were free to have no certain view on the depictions of creation according to Genesis. But no longer. After 1859, battle lines were drawn between two camps of Christians. One camp would begin to see it as the division of educated Christians and backwater fundamentalist morons. The other camp would come to see it as the division between the deceived and irreverent liberals versus the Bible-believing faithful. From there, it became easier and easier to draw the camps around other items that would tell the pontificator if the other was in or out of my club. Over time, the muddy collection of divisive items were divided up between the battle sides until believing one item (say, creationism instead of evolution) meant you most likely believed the same as me on a host of other items as well (Biblical plenary inspiration, or modern day abortion and gay marriage debates). Don’t we all love a good fight against another side which is clearly uneducated or godless, depending on how you swing? For my own faith, adopting an evolutionary view of the earth and its species has done nothing but enhance the wonder I have with God, and I don’t know how I ever saw it differently. It is the though of reverting to a steadfast, anti-science fundamentalism that scares me for those of us involved with religion. Fundamentalism on the left and right has been responsible for a host of atrocities in the world, and more atrocities are sure to come.
So until the day comes when fundamentalists of one persuasion or another finally blow up the world, if you want a book that could greatly encourage, enrich, and enhance your faith, I recommend Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species.
Posted by taddelay 
