Happy Birthday Charles Darwin!

Listen to today's Generations Radio Broadcast

In which Kevin Swanson thanks Darwin for eugenics, racism, nihilism, and pseudo-science!

What Led Darwin Astray? Part II

“Why is the Origin of Species such a great book? First of all, because it convincingly demonstrates the fact of evolution: it provides a vast and well-chosen body of evidence showing that existing animals and plants cannot have been separately created in their present forms, but must have evolved from earlier life forms by slow transformation. And secondly, because the theory of natural selection, which the Origin so fully and so lucidly expounds, provides a mechanism by which such transformation could and would automatically be produced…” Julian Huxley, Introduction to Origin pg 10

In his introduction to Darwin’s groundbreaking work The Origin of Species, Julian Huxley—grandson of “Darwin’s Bulldog” Thomas Huxley—praises Darwin’s contributions to evolutionary theory, and the way he knowingly contradicted the prevailing views of the 19th century church. As you read the quote above, notice how Huxley characterizes the creationism of the day (and dismisses it as a myth). First of all he correctly notes that the church was teaching a doctrine known as “the fixity of species,” an idea inherited from Greek thought, which claimed that the natural world cannot and does not change over time.

“…showing that existing animals and plants cannot have been separately created in their present forms…”

And secondly, Huxley points out that “natural selection” provides a purely materialistic mechanism for transformation. Both of these concepts (change over time, and natural selection as a mechanism for that change) ran counter to the philosophy of the English church at that time.

“Until recently the great majority of naturalists [many of whom were clergy] believed that species were immutable [unchanging] productions, and had been separately created.” Charles Darwin, Origin of Species pg. 17

After all, if species adapt and change in response to changes in their environment, wouldn’t that imply that God’s creation was somehow “imperfect?” Wouldn’t it undermine God’s sovereign governorship of His creatures, if nature were in some way responsible for sustaining the viability of a species?

The answer is both yes and no.

Before we address these questions in depth, we need to quickly dispel a common myth about modern Creationism. I’ll make this really plain and simple.

Creationists recognize that species do change and adapt.

Historically this was not the case. The 19th century church espoused the erroneous doctrine of the fixity of species. We DO NOT. It is an unbiblical idea, and no longer has any scientific credibility. There are numerous real-world examples of species’ characteristics changing in response to weather patterns, food supply, predation and other environmental pressures. But most importantly, we understand that the Biblical account—when properly interpreted—allows for such adaptation, without in any way compromising the truth of the Genesis account.

Nonetheless, many evolutionists continue to misrepresent our views. Douglas Futuyma defines “special creation” as “the doctrine that each species, living and extinct, was created independently by God, essentially in its present form” (Todd C. Wood’s “Species Variability and Creationism,” Origins 62 (2008))

In future posts we will deal with natural selection and adaptation, examining the Genesis account to properly understand meaning of the word “kind.” We will take the popular evidences of evolution and point out how they instead point directly to the Creator and affirm the truth of the Biblical account.

Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” - Genesis 1:20-22

Defend the Faith!

Greg Bahnsen was firmly convinced. The only way to successfully defeat an atheist in argument is to take him back to his foundational beliefs, his unquestioned assumptions about the world, and thereby demonstrate the folly of unbelief. This "presuppositional" approach to apologetics is consistent with the Biblical pattern (ie. Paul on Mars Hill), and is ably articulated and defended in Bahnsen's foundational book Always Ready.

Too many Christians think they have to find "common ground" with their oponent in order to bridge the gap and debate in a meaningful way. But despite their valiant efforts to muster an arsenal of "scientific facts" to counter the arguments of the evolutionist, these sorts of debates ignore the glaring inconsistencies of the atheist position, and culminate in "evidential warfare."

Pick up a copy of Always Ready and learn the Biblical tactics and tools to defend the faith against all opposition!

What Led Darwin Astray? Part I

The Galapagos Archipelago

“The natural history of these islands is eminently curious, and well deserves attention. Most of the organic productions are aboriginal creations, found nowhere else; there is even a difference between the inhabitants of the different islands; yet all show a marked relationship with those of America, though separated from that continent by an open space of ocean, between 500 and 600 miles in width.”– Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle

Darwin spent several weeks surveying these “curious” islands, venturing inland to explore and catalog the unique flora and fauna of the archipelago. At that point he was neither a committed Creationist nor a convinced evolutionist. The Galapagos Islands were the proverbial “tipping point” in his career, though it would be several years before he would formulate his theory, and write Origin of the Species. To the young adventurer, the islands were teeming with unanswered questions, some of which he recorded in his journal on the voyage back to England.

“When I see these Islands in sight of each other, and possessed of but a scanty stock of animals, tenanted by these birds, but slightly differing in structure and filling the same place in nature, I must suspect they are only varieties…If there is the slightest foundation for these remarks, the zoology of Archipelagoes will be well worth examining; for such facts would undermine the stability of Species.” - Charles Darwin (The Beak of the Finch, Jonathan Weiner, 1994)

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Interesting sidenote:
Darwin did not initially base his theory of natural selection on the varied bills of the Galapagos finches—he didn’t consider his finch specimens to have much merit, so he failed to catalogue them by island, thereby rendering them useless for scientific evaluation—but rather on the variations he observed between the mockingbirds that inhabited the islands and those of the mainland. The popular story about the finches is a myth.

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So, what happened on the Galapagos islands that so drastically altered Darwin’s views on the “origin of species?”

To find the answer, we must return to England and examine the state of the church. It was an age of compromise and doubt, the deadly kindling which sparks the flame of error and eventually, cultural demise.

Come back soon for the continuation of this article.

"There Is No Controversy..."

In an interview with Owen Bennett Jones (BBC News), Richard Dawkins responded to a question about Darwin and evolutionary theory being contraversial. He made the following comment.

He [Darwin] is controversial amongst people who don't know anything, but if you talk to people who are actually educated, he's not really controversial. There's no controversy about the fact we are cousins of monkeys, cousins of cows, cousins of aardvarks. That's completely non-controversial among anyone who knows anything about science.

This is what we have come to expect from Dawkins--from most evolutionists in fact. Their faith allows no room for alternative explanations. And they're certainly not allowing any "outside influences" to enter their schools (that's why only the people who attend government schools are considered "educated" in Dawkin's view).

After all, why teach kids anything but the truth? Right?

What Should You Teach Your Children About Charles Darwin?

"In 2009, the eyes of the world will turn to commemorate the anniversaries of the births of the two most influential men of the last one thousand years — the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. No two men of the past millennium have done more to shape the thoughts of mankind or to affect the political and social destiny of nations than Calvin and Darwin — the former for the glory of God, and the latter for unimaginable evil..."

Read the entire article by Doug Phillips

"The Ghost of Darwin" by Ken Ham

On February 12, 1809, in the modest town of Shrewsbury, England, Susannah Darwin gave birth to her now-famous son Charles in their family home called The Mount.

Darwin’s Presence Where He Was Born

That was [200 years ago today], yet as you walk through the town of Shrewsbury, you sense Darwin’s influence (his “ghost”) all around. Darwin Street, Darwin Terrace, Darwin House, Darwin Gardens, and the Darwin Shopping Center are just a few of the landmarks that honor and immortalize this man.

“I don’t believe in ghosts! But the ghost of Darwin is a very real phenomenon nonetheless.”

Before patrons enter the town library, they are greeted by a statue of an older Darwin and a plaque, which informs them that this is the very building where Darwin received his education.

As area students enter their modern school, they see a prominent statue of a young Darwin, with sculptures of various animals he saw on the Galápagos Islands, which he used to support his idea of natural selection.

Darwin’s ghost also inhabits the classrooms of this school. There students are taught that Darwinian evolution is indisputable fact—the same fact that is taught in secular schools around the world.

Shrewsbury is also gearing up for major celebrations in 2009, the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his famous work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. However, town officials are not just gearing up for 2009. With the prospect of ongoing financial development through the promotion of Darwin’s roots in Shrewsbury, they commissioned a 90-page, 30-year strategic plan centered on celebrating and commercializing Darwin.1 His ghost will become even better known and celebrated (not just in Shrewsbury, but around the world) and will be the focus for tourists visiting the area.

Isn’t it ironic that Darwin—a man who popularized a philosophy destructive to the foundations of the church—was honored by the Church of England by being buried in the foundations of the building? His grave is in the actual floor of Westminster Abbey in London, England

Darwin’s Presence in the Church

The really sad aspect of all this is that Darwin’s ghost has invaded the church. Hundreds of thousands of churches around the world have adopted Darwinian evolution and reinterpreted the history in Genesis to fit with Darwin’s anti-Christian beliefs. Theistic evolution (the belief that God used evolution) has become a dominant position in much of the church in England and has spread from there around the world... Read more

Welcome

There is a tremendous controversy raging today - perhaps more violently now than it has for the last 150 years - between the self-proclaimed scientific elite of our day and Bible-believing Christians who firmly uphold the authority of the Genesis account.

We must not stand idly by.

Welcome to Confronting Darwin, a blog dedicated from the outset to the Biblical understanding of origins, and to the Creator who continues to sustain and sovereignly direct the universe He has made.

Though this blog is not intended to be the "one-stop-shop" for Creation research, I intend to use it as a platform to voice some of my own thoughts, as well as those of more qualified men, on the issue of origins, "evolution," natural selection, adaptation, mutation, speciation...etc. from a distinctly Biblical perspective.

I pray this will be a source of encouragement for you. Drop by as often as you like!