Gould's Got It Wrong!

    The purpose of this article is to respond to Stephan Jay Gould's recent article in Time Magazine entitled, "Dorothy, It's Really Oz" (Aug. 23, 1999 issue), where Gould released an all out assault on Creationism. I am responding in particular to three points Gould made about the creation/evolution contraversy.

    First, he maintained that no other nation in the world has endured a movement against the theory of evolution. This may be true, and probably is, however, the reason no other nation has raised objection to evolutionary teaching is that evolution is so deeply entrenched in the foundations of today's governments. Communism, socialism, fascism, and most other modern political ideas are based on evolutionary theories. Marx was a hard-core evolutionist, so for a communist or a socialist to deny evolution would be mutiny, and, to borrow an adage from the Bible, "a house divided against itself cannot stand."

    Second, Gould said that evolution "is as well documented as any phenomenon in science." This is only true if you assume evolution when you study the data. When a paleontologist finds a bone, they assume evolution when studying the fossil. They apply their evolutionary theory to the bone, come up with an age based on the theory, and then claim that their fossil proves evolution. To quote Tom Kemp, "A circular argument arises:  Interpret the fossil record in the terms of a particular theory in evolution, inspect the interpretation, and note that it confirms the theory.  Well, it would, wouldn't it?" ("A Fresh Look at the Fossil Record," New Scientist, Vol. 108, Dec. 5, 1985, p. 67) The "facts" of evolution are only facts if one assumes evolution to be true to begin with.

    Finally, Gould said that "no factual discovery of science…can, in principle, lead us to ethical conclusions…or to convictions about intrinsic meaning." On this point, Gould is just plain wrong. If evolution is true, the Christian faith is invalid. The Bible teaches of a God who loves his Creation. Furthermore, the Bible says that before Adam and Eve sinned, there was no death in the world. Evolution, by contrast, teaches that death has always been part of the picture, and that, if there is a God, He allowed things to die for millions of years before man eventually sprang onto the stage. Therefore, man's death is not the consequence of sin but just a natural termination of the life process. The two arguments are polar opposites. The "god" proposed by evolutionists (usually proposed tongue-in-cheek to silence criticism from religious groups) is not the God of the Bible. If God is the "God of Life", how could He intend for His Creation to die, especially in the horrendous ways proposed by evolutionists. Evolutionary teaching and theology (at least, Christian theology), are not compatible in any way.