Every so often there appears in print an article that reveals the inner turmoil of the evolutionary believer who has faithfully devoted his life to following the precepts of Darwinism and to passing on the faith to future generations, only to see no fruit from his labors. Such is the case expressed in a short viewpoint article in the British journal The Lancet by Australian R.V. Short.1 In this psalm of lament entitled “Darwin, have I failed you?” professor Short confesses his sadness at not being able to convert any of the 150 medical students enrolled in his class on human evolution from their misguided religious beliefs to his own religion of Darwinism.
Despite having the advantages of unopposed authority as the instructor, editorial control over the course content, the power of the grade book, and the expressed intent to “correct the misconceptions” of his students, there were no changes in the beliefs of his students when measured by comparing answers to an anonymous questionnaire given before and then after the class was completed.
Almost tearfully professor Short observes, “To my utter dismay, there were no statistically significant changes in any of the answers to any of the questions.” Sensing that he had fallen short in gaining converts for the Darwinian faith, he says, “I was shattered.” But taking solace from the knowledge that he had “sown a few seeds of the truth” during the class, professor Short invokes the Darwinian confession of faith, solemnly intoning, “I believe in the truth of evolution and still regard it as the most exciting fundamental concept that underpins the whole of biological thinking.”
While Short feels he failed Darwin, the truth is that Darwin has failed us. In the 145 years since the publication of Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species, the precepts of biological evolution have been adopted, in large part, by those who have no other faith, no other way to understand how the world came to be, why it is the way it is, and where it is going. In a sense, biological evolution is the faith of religious orphans. Aside from failing to provide clear and convincing evidence of the truth of the spontaneous formation of life and of molecules to man evolution, Darwinism has failed to provide any foundation for human morality and justice.2 Hitler, Stalin and other tyrants used Darwinism to justify untold human suffering and the pursuit of ultimate power.
Darwinism has failed to provide purpose and value to individuals, hence the “right” to kill unborn children by abortion and perhaps soon the “right” to practice euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. It has also failed as a basis for just government, economics, politics and human freedom, and it has failed to provide peace both individually in the human heart and in society as is clearly seen in the continuously growing prison inmate population and ongoing conflicts in every part of the globe.
We have not failed Darwin; he has failed us.
1 Short, R.V. “Darwin, have I failed you?” The Lancet 343:528-529, 1994.
2 Johnson, P.E. Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds. InterVarsity Press, 1997.