Darwinist hype and the culture war
Editorial
by Jonathan Sarfati
The Darwin Year hype went into overdrive with the Fossil Ida media frenzy. But it
wasn’t long before even evolutionists realized that the hype was backfiring
as a strategy in the “culture war”.
(Ida fossil—J.L. Franzen et al., PLoS ONE 4(5): e5723, 2009; Darwin image—John Collier, Wikipedia.org)
In this bicentennial Year of Darwin, it’s hardly surprising that there was
huge fanfare in May about a well-preserved fossil “missing link”. This
fossil, nicknamed “Ida”, was “launched” at a conference
by Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York. However, Ida was very much like lemurs
living today, so is evidence of stasis (i.e. non-evolution) as well as
rapid burial (just as expected from the Flood and its after-effects)—see our
web article <creation.com/ida>.
But more revealing were critical comments from evolutionists themselves
about the hype. In response, co-author Dr Jørn Hurum of Oslo told The New
York Times, “Any pop band is doing the same. Any athlete is doing
the same thing. We have to start thinking the same way in science.”1 So apparently scientists should
be like publicity-seeking rock stars and sports celebrities, not objective truth-seekers.
Even more revealing was the reason for the criticism—not
that such publicity seeking at the expense of truth was wrong, but:
“Frozen mammoths and giant marine reptiles are fascinating, but they do not
strike at the heart of the evolution/creationism culture war in the way
that a potential human ancestor does. This is why I wish more care had been taken
in promoting Ida. … Likening Ida to the Holy Grail and the Lost Ark only
compounds the problem; creationists will undoubtedly argue that these metaphors
reveal that evolution is a religion with its own holy relics.”2
An evolutionist has publicly criticized fellow evolutionists who think they have
made “a big breakthrough” in solving the mystery of life’s origins.
He says coming to that conclusion from the discovery of a single amino acid is like
believing that if you find a metal bolt, you’ve made a big breakthrough towards
building yourself a Porsche.
(Composition of stock.xchng images)
In other words, never mind that the hyping had gone way beyond the evidence. No,
the real problem was that the hype was backfiring as an evolutionist strategy in
the “culture war”. So this is not just about science. Rather,
evolutionists might lose credibility, and so the public might not so readily believe
their arguments, which are ultimately against the God of the Bible.
The Ida hype is hardly an isolated incident. Another evolutionist, Robert Matthews,
criticized the “spin” by believers in chemical evolution (life from
non-living chemicals):
“The scientists themselves seem convinced that they have made a big breakthrough
in solving the mystery of life’s origins. But coming to that conclusion from
the discovery of a single amino acid is like believing that if you find a metal
bolt, you’ve made a big breakthrough towards building yourself a Porsche.”3
Matthews strangely concludes:
“What’s truly amazing is that creationists aren’t giving scientists
a harder time over all this … they could cause some real aggro by pointing
out that science can’t explain how life exists in the first place. Come on
guys, get stuck in.”3
“What’s truly amazing is that creationists aren’t giving scientists
a harder time over all this … they could cause some real aggro by pointing
out that science can’t explain how life exists in the first place. Come on
guys, get stuck in.”—Robert Matthews, an evolutionist
Yet creation-believing scientists, whom Matthews implies don’t exist, have
been doing just that for decades.4
This includes in Creation magazine—p. 21 explains how the world’s
tiniest motor, ATP synthase, is essential for energy production in all living things.
And on p. 48, we cite the famous philosopher Antony Flew, until recently known as
a leading proponent of atheism, who abandoned this belief by considering the design
of a cell.5
This magazine provides plenty of ammunition for the “culture war”, but
for the opposite side to the mass media and educracy. E.g. in every issue we interview
a highly qualified scientist who is a biblical creationist (p. 17). And we show
how this war is foundational, not just a “side issue”. For
example, p. 52 shows how Adolf Eichmann, a major architect of the Nazi Final Solution,
detested the Bible and Christianity while embracing evolution.
“Soldiers of Christ Jesus” in this war
(2 Timothy 2:3) already take this ammunition (Creation
magazine) to over 100 countries. But many more soldiers are needed, to join their
ranks. So please don’t keep it to yourself!
Recommended Resources
References and notes
- Cited in Britt, R., “Ida” fossil hype went too
far, <LiveScience.com>, 20 May 2009; emphasis added. Return
to text.
- Switek, B., The dangerous link between science and hype,
Times (UK), 26 May 2009; emphasis added. Return to text.
- Matthews, R., Beware of over-hyped breakthroughs: The media
can hardly be blamed if scientists give their findings more spin than Rafael Nadal,
BBC Focus 200:98, March 2009. Return to
text.
- See my book By Design, ch. 11, Origin of Life, 2008; and <creation.com/origin>.
Return to text.
- Antony Flew with Roy Varghese, There is a God: How the
World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, HarperOne, 2007; see
review by Lita Cosner, Journal of Creation 22(3): 21–24,
2008. Return to text.
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