T’S NOT HARD TO BE OVERWHELMED BY THE EVOLUTIONARY THEORY of origins. You know the drill: simple organisms evolved over gazillions of years, gradually increasing in function and intelligence that culminates in the likes of Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, or Rod Blagojavich.
While the evolutionary theory seems to be reinforced by most scientific pronouncements, as well as by reality television shows such as Survivor, American Idol, and The Amazing Race, in the real world something else is at work.
When a summer heat wave or a particularly threatening virus comes along, “at-risk” portions of the population are urged to take precautions—the young, the elderly, the feeble.
Why? If society is governed by the principle “survival of the fittest,” why be concerned about the weak, the marginalized, the infirm? Why not just let nature take its course?
The same with the current preoccupation with the health of the planet: you can hardly go a week without hearing about how this or that ecosystem is being threatened. Hey, isn’t that what evolution is all about? Evolve or die?
At the other end of the spectrum from those who believe that humankind is the result of an endless series of random, thoughtless acts is the philosophy embraced by people of faith: “In the beginning, God . . .” (Gen. 1:1). Rather than being accidents of nature that happened to claw their way to the top of the food chain, we agree with what the psalmist David wrote about the crowning act of Creation: “Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor” (Ps. 8:5, NRSV).*__________
Stephen Chavez is the managing editor of the Adventist Review.
