Monday, July 11, 2005

Evolution and Religion

The Catholic Church now says that it accepts evolution but with the caveat that it cannot ignore that there was a guiding hand. I find the whole argument amusing on both sides.
First, the fundamentalists who believe every word of the Bible is true, except for the first miracle at Canaa, where Jesus didn't turn water into wine, but rather grape juice. To them, the world was created in six days. Now imagine, God is telling Moses how the universe was started. "Okay, about 15 billion years ago, it all started with this big bang, from which all matter originated and . . . " Moses, who possessed at best Bronze age technology, asks, "Wait a minute, what's a billion?"
You see the problem here. Is it any less miraculous to take 15 billion years, versus six days? I am amazed that anyone would want to limit God and his capabilities by saying that it was only six days.
But to examine evolution, 15 billion years is really too short for just random chance isn't it? I mean, the first stars had to form, fuse hydrogen into helium, and a few heavier elements, then go supernova, and repeat the process several times to create the mix of elements that presently exist. How long is the shortest life of a star?
On our particular level, I have to wonder about the evolutionary value of appreciation for beauty.
Drive the Going to the Sun road at sunrise, and you will have the equivalent of a religous experience. Why do we appreciate that? The fact that appreciation of beauty is so widespread appears to discount the randomness of a genetic mutation that would appreciate it.
But hey, I am just a dumb lawyer, driving down the highway of life with the top down and the tunes loud, having a great time.

1 comment:

Steve said...

Wulfgar - Well said!