Evolution a Fact?

The other day, I decided to check out a book from the library entitled, “The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution” by Richard Dawkins, published in 2009 by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster. I didn’t borrow the book because of any great confidence in the theory of evolution, but rather to be more informed about the subject—a subject that I have been increasingly questioning.

In the book’s first chapter, the author strongly emphasizes his belief: “Evolution is a fact. Beyond reasonable doubt, beyond serious doubt, beyond sane, informed, intelligent doubt, beyond doubt evolution is a fact.” It’s as if he’s pounding his fist and yelling, “It’s true!” assuming this will make it so. He continues saying, “The evidence for evolution is at least as strong as the evidence for the Holocaust, even allowing for eye witnesses to the Holocaust.” {p. 8}

This last sentence is quite revealing of the strength of the authors belief, despite the senselessness of the statement. Can the evidence of evolution really stand up to the evidence of the Holocaust? Historians were there. Survivors exist—we have their reports. We know there was a war and Hitler and the Holocaust were major parts of it. The time period was less than a hundred years ago. Our ability to verify the events of the Holocaust by far outweighs any perceived idea that we can verify the certainty of the process known as evolution and what its full effects and limitations might be.

It seems quite arrogant and conceited for us humans, who are just barely getting a grasp on how life functions and have only created life from other life, to proclaim how life was created and how it progressed over the past 4.5 billion years. We have yet to even show a feasible method to create living things from basic materials. We have not done it ourselves, but claim that we know how life began and how it produced human beings. It’s premature and irresponsible to claim that evolution is “a fact” when we lack so much information. It is still only a theory. And it’s a theory exactly because the scientific community has accepted it as a feasible process that seems to explain many mysteries of life. But it wouldn’t be the first theory that was widely accepted by the scientific community, only to be replaced later by another.

As an example, a backyard mechanic knows a lot about how a car engine operates. He can even modify it to suit his purposes. But he would hardly be a reliable source of information about how the components of the engine were produced to assemble the engine. Perhaps he might have a few “theories” on how they were produced at the factory, but having never stepped foot in such a factory, his theories may well be like trying to hit the bull’s eye on a target after being blindfolded and spun around.

Scientists are in a similar position: they know a lot about how living things function and can do wondrous things by manipulating DNA and such. But only having the broken and aged remnants of the creation of life, they are in no position to declare with any certainty the actual process through which life started and progressed on this planet. Life produced by evolution is a theory that is working for them, but not something we can declare as a fact.

Breastfeeding Controversy

I read today about some controversy and debate about breastfeeding in public. Unfortunately, it seems that most people involved in the debate seem to forget there are more options than opening up in front of everyone or hiding in the bathroom to nurse the baby. That’s the source of the debate: one extreme against the other extreme.

When my wife breastfed each of our four children, she covered herself and the baby with a baby blanket while the baby was feeding. There was no problem being in a public place, at church, in the car, at home with others around, and so on. And now, years later, our daughter went a step further: she designed her own nursing cover that has a loop to go around the back of her neck to keep the cover where she wanted it. What a simple solution that avoids all the controversy and even legal issues!

Every woman should be free to nurse her baby if she chooses; in fact I encourage it. At the same time, anyone dealing with body parts that are normally inappropriate to display in public, should be discrete regarding when, where, and how they do it. So nurse your baby, but be discrete. It’s not much different from the guy who is fixing or checking his zipper—be discrete!

Women and Mothers

I guess I was a little sexist today. I let a lady, with her young son, in front of me in line. She seemed a little surprised, but was thankful, since she was apparently somewhat in a hurry. I joked that it was a Mother’s Day gift, almost as if to excuse myself. But the truth is I would have done it anyway; it was mainly that she was a mother, with a child, who seemed to be in a hurry. I understand the challenges of raising children and dealing with their moods when they are tired etc. The child still seemed to be doing well, not tired and whiny—but it didn’t matter.

Her surprise led me to wonder if it is rare that someone would be kind and let her ahead. I had to wonder, are there not still men who, out of respect, would let her ahead? Are there not still men who open doors for ladies? Has all the talk of women’s rights and “equality” led men to leave women to fend for themselves? Is this what women want? I doubt it. I also doubt that all the men who respect and honor women are gone. But unfortunately, it does seem we are an endangered species.

As with other species nearing extinction, we must make efforts to keep the species alive. The best place to start is when they are boys. We need to teach boys to respect and honor girls and women, not as some inferior beings in need of pity, but as special co-partners in life. It is women who carry the children we bring into the world. It is generally women who devote the most time to raising them. It is women who bring more kindness, love, and beauty into the world.

Celebrate the special and unique attributes of womanhood. And to all the women who hope to be mothers, to all those who are preparing to be, and to those who already are mothers:
Happy Mother’s Day! Thank you for your special contribution.