Worldview #5: Is Evolution a Religion?

I’ll admit, I love this time of year. No, no, I am not a big fan of the cold and snow, even though I grew up in Michigan, a place that tends to get a lot of cold and snowy weather. But what I love about it is spending time with friends and family. I enjoy all those special holiday delights that for some reason I only get to enjoy at this time of year. But most of all, I love this time of year as more people consider the birth of Christ. Yet Christmas in the USA is not what it used to be. That may be true because a lot of people disagree with the reason for the season since after all they follow a different religion, the religion of evolution (and may not even realize it)!

What evolution? A religion? You’ve got to be kidding me. People who hold to the teaching of evolution do so because either that is what they were taught in school and/or they believe it is scientific. There are 2 reasons why I believe that evolution is a religion. 

First, Webster defined faith as a “Firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” Last month we discussed how there is no evidence which exists that proves macro-evolution (evolution from one species to another: for example a bird to a dog, or monkey to a man). Meanwhile, science is the “systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation” (http://dictionary. reference.com/browse/science). 

This creates a problem for those who hold to evolution. “Since all things that begin to exist must have a cause, this means that the universe has a cause. However, a naturalistic cause for the origin of the universe cannot be confirmed observationally. Therefore, atheists believe the tenet that all phenomena have a naturalistic cause based solely upon faith in naturalism” (Rich Deem, Evidence for God).

Second, Webster defines a religion as “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.” It is hard to deny the ardor and faith which many evolutionists hold regarding their belief. It has been indoctrinating our public schools for centuries. As philosophy professor Dr. Michael Ruse at the University of Guelph in Ontario said, “Evolution is promoted by its practitioners as more than mere science. Evolution is promulgated as an ideology, a secular religion—a full-fledged alternative to Christianity, with meaning and morality… Evolution is a religion. This was true of evolution in the beginning, and it is true of evolution still today (“Saving Darwinism from the Darwinians,” National Post, May 13, 2000, p. B-3).  Note also that the definition does not necessarily involve the concept of God. Consider the following comparison between the religion of evolution and the religion of Christianity:

	Christianity[i]	Evolution
A holy book	Christianity teaches that the Bible is the Word of God and that this book teaches us what to believe concerning God and what God requires of us.	The holy book of the evolutionists is Darwin’s Origin of Species. The evolutionists believe that this book gives an explanation for the origin and development of life on earth[ii] without the need of any God or supernatural agent.
The origin of everything	Christianity teaches that in the beginning God created everything (that is, the entire universe with all its stars and planets, all plant life and all animal and human life) out of nothing over a period of six literal days.	In comparison, evolution teaches that in the beginning nothing exploded and gradually evolved over billions of years into the universe that we see today.
The origin of death and suffering	Christianity teaches that when God created everything, it was perfect. As a result of the sin of the first man, Adam, death, disease, and suffering entered the scene.	Evolution does not recognize the word sin but teaches that fish-to-philosopher evolution can only proceed via death. Hence, death, disease, and suffering are the necessary driving forces of evolution; from this concept, we get the phrase survival of the fittest.
The reason why humans are here	Christianity teaches that humans are the pinnacle of God’s creation and that they were made in God’s image and likeness.	In contrast, amoeba-to-architect evolution teaches that humans have evolved from some apelike ancestor, which in turn evolved from another sort of animal.
The future of humans	Christianity teaches that one day the Lord Jesus Christ will return to this earth and that He will create a new heavens and earth where those people who trusted Him as their Lord and Savior in this life will live with God forever.	Evolution, on the other hand, teaches that humans are not the end product of evolution; evolution will continue and humans will either become extinct or evolve into some other species of creature that will definitely not be human.
The future of the universe	Christianity teaches that the present universe will be burned up by God, and He will then create a new heavens and earth.	Evolution, on the other hand, teaches that one day the universe will reach what is called a heat death, although it is in effect a cold death, for the temperature of the universe will be just a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. This will happen when all the energy that is available to do work will have been used up, and then nothing will happen—the universe will just “be.” The time period for the universe to reach this state is almost unimaginable. It is thought that it will take about a thousand billion years for all the stars to use up all their fuel and fizzle out. By then, of course, there will be no life in the universe; every single life-form, including humans, will have become extinct billions of years previously. There will still be, however, occasional flashes of starlight in the dark universe as very large stars collapse in on themselves to form black holes. For the next 10122 (that is the figure 1 followed by 122 zeros!) years, this so-called Hawking radiation will be the only thing happening in the universe. Then, when all the black holes have evaporated, there will be darkness for 1026 years, during which time the universe will simply “be” and nothing will happen.

Therefore, evolution does not fit into the category of science since there has been no observation or experimentation of evolution taking place. However, evolution does fit nicely into the definition of a religion. It is a system of beliefs for which there is no proof. On the other hand, the Bible does teach creation which can be observed, verified, and is subject to experimentation (see http://eugenechristianchurch. blogspot.com/search/label/Worldview)! Thus, the Bible does not teach blind faith as evolution does. It teaches that we can and should place our trust in the historical individual, named Jesus Christ whose birth we celebrate this time of year.

Merry Christmas,

            Matt

P.S. a great video for more information on how evolution is a religion and the 6 definitions of the world evolution see “Evolution is a Religion-Not Science” on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RLcfwAYCjQ

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[i] Answers In Genesis, “Is Evolution a Religion?” by Dr. Tommy Mitchell and Monty White; available from https://answersingenesis.org/world-religions/is-evolution-a-religion/; Internet; accessed 25 November 2015.

[ii] I (Monty White) once knew a professor of biology who told me that he believed that Darwin’s writings were inspired and that he read from the Origin of Species for at least 20 minutes every night before retiring to bed!