I have noticed a lot more hubbub about the concept of intelligent design verses evolution recently. It really seems strangeStrange: we are all strange, so it is no surprise that strange happens.. I thought that little feud had died down around the end of the Scope Monkey Trials. But apparently Creationism, or Intelligent Design if you prefer, seems to still hold enough sway that it can raise controversy. Or perhaps it’s getting some of its sway back. Either way, you have Creationists laying out certain arguments based on “scientific evidence� and Evolutionists responding with sarcasm, insults, and generally irrational behavior. Then it sort of degrades into a hissey cat-fight reminiscent of children squabbling. Or perhaps those are just certain individuals on both sides, but they are making both schools look downright juvenile.
The way I see it, the argument shouldn’t even exist. Science purports to make logical inferences based on the observable universe. If the observable evidence seems to suggest that the universe is the result of random chance and is billions upon billions of years old, I say run with it! You observe the crap out of that universe and see how the evidence holds up your argument! We know its going to change. People’s model of the universe has been changing radically for thousands (or, you know, millions) of years. Its not likely that’s going to change anytime soon.
Religion, or more specifically, Christianity, on the other hand, is based on Faith. The belief that there is substance beyond the tangible, observable, universe, and that the belief, or faith, in God and his power is its own proof. Christians were commanded by Christ in the Bible to be a force of good and change in the world. Its much more likely that the world would believe their message if they actually ignored their detractors, did their job, and didn’t spend their time arguing about minutia and trivialities.
Likewise, the scientific community would be more respectable if they spent their time observing data and testing hypothesis and less time zealously arguing their hypothesis with people who aren’t likely to accept them anyway. Its not going to destroy society if not everyone believes in the Big Bang or Natural Selection, and science has always been at its most useful in its practical application, not in its theorization. Cure a disease or two, guys.
If all the Christians spent their time administering to the needs of the downtrodden and giving hope to a hopeless population, and all the scientists spent their time discovering ways to overcome disease, poverty, and world hunger, I think we’d probably all be a lot better off. Its not as relevant how it started as it is that we keep it going.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 2nd, 2005 at 2:17 am and is filed under Comics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.