by David Colello

Created on: June 02, 2008

Can God and Darwinism coexist?

The fact that this is a perennial debate astounds me. Seeing it pop up here brought a smile to my face, for it is inconceivable to me that the two notions are anything but mutually supportive of one another. The intricate workings of evolution indicates a deep underlying order to life that I find mirrors religious thought. That they aren't regularly recognized as such stems from the vocal objectors of the two sides involved in the debate.

Religious Fundamentalism) The belief that words written in a particular religious text (be that the Bible, Torah, Qur'an, Book of Mormon, etc.) are divinely mandated is both deeply rooted and extremely dangerous. Nothing could be more at odds with this static belief than the elegant and constant change at the heart of Darwinism. Interestingly enough, not all religions have such an aversion to evolution. Buddhism has central beliefs of impermanence and an evolution of consciousness that naturally complement the theory of evolution. This seems to be a decidedly modern stance from a religion older than all three main Western religions.

While I respect all religious beliefs, I draw a strict distinction between dogma, however poetic or instructive it may be, and the underlying morality that religious teachings contain. As a lover of literature, I hold the Bible and other Scripture in the highest regards. They are works of art that have endured through countless revisions, cultural revolutions, and global conflicts. But this can never change that they are works by human beings, and are as such subject to the same flawed prejudices of humanity that all of us face in our lives. For instance, the Bible was not written down all at once, nor did it survive the editor's touch over the centuries. Due to being translated numerous times and reorganized (omitting some Books and adding others), all of the modern versions are surely the words of humanity even if the original was somehow the Word of God. There are countless arguments pointing to the fallibility of so-called divine works, but a true believer will never be swayed.

When this unwavering belief is faced with the works of Darwin, there is no option but to brand it heretical. The irony of course, is historically when societies adopt such rigid orthodoxy they have been doomed to extinction in a very Darwinian manner by the forces of war and economic isolation. There is plenty of ideological room for religion to accept Darwinism into its teachings. Darwinism,

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