Ignorance is bliss! This certainly applies to all religions fundamentalists who profess that God created the universe and the multitude of plants and animals which inhabit it. In fact, the theory of evolution demands a new theology, that our present preception or idea of God evolve; otherwise, those religions which we hold true will surely die in the face of their own fallacious foundations!

The idea of God as creator is pure primordial fantasy, an ancestral fiction, the origin of which may be traced to the earliest beginnings of culture when ignorance and superstition ruled human nature. To define God as creator of the Heavens and Earth, as a supreme being and divine authority is fanciful, if not erroneous. A more proper definition is in order and should be sought by theologians. Perhaps merely to define God as love is enough, for what could possibly be more divine than people worshiping and loving all of nature and humanity!

Indeed, the idea of God is not singular nor constant but itself has evolved. Just look at the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead which prescribes prayers for eternal life to a multitude of gods and goddesses. Then consider sun worship where in life itself may be sacrificed to bring better harvest or well being to the multitude of faithful devotees. These are but preludes to that Judeo-Christian faith which evolved through the sands of time as man sought to describe, understand and define that which is divine.

The theory of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin in contrast to the superstitious belief in creation by divine authority is perhaps the greatest realization since the idea of God itself! For the awareness of evolution enables humanity to perceive the truth with respect to origin of the species, including the origin of homo sapiens. With this awareness we may then focus upon that which is truly divine, how to love! Evolution answers the question, "How did I come to be the organic being that I am?" It then remains for religion to be concerned with the development and expression of the moral character of humanity, not with its origins.

The proposition put forth that the theory of evolution is not science because it is not observable or repeatable reflects an animosity and hatred for pure science and a failure to grasps the significance of this great truth: that the species, including homo sapiens, have evolved. Moreover this focus upon creationism vs. evolution represents a failure of religious fundamentalist to concentrate upon that which is truly of God, how to love our fellow man!

To grasp the significance of evolution and its mandate that our idea of God be redefined and put in perspective, those narrow minded religious fundamentalist who profess creationism must learn to see beyond the present through the eons. Certainly time itself as recorded by the Earth through the process of sedimentary fossilization is a testament to evolution. Every petrified rock, amber encased insect and drop of oil that we burn is a testament to that life which once inhabited our planet. In fact our very genes are a record of our primordial origins and testament to the fact that we were created not in an instant by God, but through the eons by natural processes.

To propose teaching the fallacious myth of creationism along side evolution as science is lying to our children. It is submitting to the dictates of those who would have our nation become a theocracy. What religion should concern itself with is reformulating its idea of God based upon love; then teaching to our children how to love their neighbors and live in peace and harmony despite differences in their view of God.

Just as the Austrian monk Gregor Mendle discovered through his elegant experiments with peas the principles of heredity obeyed by all plants and animals, so modern day theologians should embrace the scientific method and the theory of evolution encouraging observation and experiment to better understand the nature of life and the universe! For unless we come to understand the selfish nature of our own genes and learn to be a loving, generous, more altruistic species, we may go the way of the dinosaur into extinction.

Sincerely,
Terry Lynch
Date: 2 Feb., 2002

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