Why You Just Can't Sell Evolution to Some People

Evolution is a tricky thing to sell to some people. For them, the concept of evolution flies in the face of the things they hold most dear in the same way that human cloning, gay marriage, and the designated hitter rule does. And I would say that for most of us, our beliefs are more tightly held than whatever the facts may be.

In fact, the strongest argument against the idea of simple, non-living matter organizing into a living thing and adapting over generations into an immensely diverse biosphere dominated by intelligent beings is that so many of these intelligent beings are unwilling to accept the facts at hand. It also doesn't help that so many evolutionists are condescending, dismissive, and prone to send mixed messages by using words like "developed," "designed," and "adapted" in ways that personify the actions described, making them sound like the works of a creator.

I am a believer, and for me the absence of the Creator from the theory of evolution doesn't bother me. It doesn't mean a creator wasn't involved, just that His involvement isn't necessary to explain evolution. Scientists would tell you that because of this Occam's razor¹ suggests that there isn't a creator. However, Occam's razor judges ideas not by the merit of their arguments but by the necessity of their assumptions. Occam's razor then can negate itself because it too is an assumption. More simply: one doesn't need a creator to explain why the sum of one and two is three, but that doesn't mean that one plus two equal something else; and, the fact that their sum does equal three doesn't mean you should assume that there is no creator. Furthermore, all science is tentative, so supporters of creation should relax. Not only does evolution NOT require the non-existance of God or His works, the scientific understanding is likely to "evolve" again. Any argument against it will need to evolve too, and I certainly don't believe that eternal truths evolve.

However, I appear to be in the minority. It seems to me most people have chosen a camp and closed their mind to the plausibilities of the other side. Mostly people emulate the newly-converted Darth Vader when he says: "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy." What we need is an Obi-Wan Kenobi to remind us all that "only a sith deals in absolutes."²

1 Wikipedia explains Occam's razor better than I could.

2 Which itself is an absolute, but don't get me started. However, I think his most profound advice also applies: "Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."

Just a Thought

Remember when George Lucas made the Special Editions of the original Star Wars films? Lots of people thought that they were cool, but there was a certain segment of die hard purist Star Wars fans that thought altering the original films was sacrilege. Pay no mind to the fact that it was the very creator and mastermind of Star Wars himself making the changes that he wanted to make. No, Star Wars was what they thought it was and not even George Lucas could be found infallible if he tampered with their sacred canon.

Now, consider the following situation. Someone is letting you live rent free in a decent place. They are paying all of your utilities. Cable bill? Don't worry about it. Phone? No worries there either. Security? They've got you covered. The place is furnished and they let you come and go, any time you wish, day or night.

Now consider this. They own the place and your are there at their pleasure. Say they don't want to pay for the deluxe cable package any more. They're going to cut out Showtime to save a few bucks. The feng shui of the place is out of wack and they need to move the couch by the window and the TV closer to the cable jack. The phone is leaving the end table and getting mounted on the wall so you don't trip over the cord. It's all their stuff, so they can pretty much do what they want with it right?

You, however, have a fit. You liked the TV where it was. You liked the couch where it was. You don't want to get up to answer the phone. And how are you going to watch Californication now? So, you rant, you rave, you complain to all your friends. Who's the jerk here, freeloading you or your fickle benefactor?

Now, I know that Facebook has a reputation for moving everything around just when you get used to where they moved it the last time, but why do people complain when they do? Facebook is free and does so much for you. How else would you have discovered your love of pretend farming or your talent for virtual organized crime? How else would you have reconnected with that awkwardly shy guy that sat behind you in your high school trig class? How else would you find out that the girl who broke your heart fifteen years ago has now gotten fat? And who could you poke all day with impunity? No one asked you to take advantage of all this stuff that Facebook brings you and most of it is at no cost to you. Get over yourself, people. Much like George Lucas has every right to do whatever he wants with his films, Facebook pays for all of this and if they want to put your notifications in the other corner they should have the right to do so without 350 million people whining about it.

Here I am, getting all preachy and condescending again. My bad.