Sunday, May 16, 2010

The day I found out evolution was true

My mother had always taught me that sometimes science and religion disagree, but that's only because scientists don't yet have enough information. Sooner or later, scientific research always converges to confirm scripture. And I believed her.

Many of you have probably seen the news that came out this week of a study that seems to confirm that all life on earth evolved from a common single-cell ancestor. Nowadays, I read an article like that and my reaction is to smile, think about how cool science is, and marvel at our place in the vast, interconnected web of life on earth. The linked, related article at the bottom of this report, though, made me remember a time when I would have reacted very differently.

In the fall of 2004, I was sitting in a dentist's office. I had been re-baptized four or five months prior and I was attempting to regain faith in an institution that had severely maligned me, but that I still believed I was supposed to be a part of. (Part of a longer story, which you can read here.) My neighbor at the time, a fellow church member, had a phobia of driving and had never gotten a driver's license. Her daughter had a dentist's appointment and as part of trying to prove my Christlikeness and regain my testimony, I had given them a ride. In the waiting room, I came across an issue of National Geographic with the cover story titled "Was Darwin Wrong?"

I'd been raised in a church that tells its members they are "duty bound" to accept the biblical account of creation. This was reinforced by my mother's explanation of science's need to "catch up" with scripture. I picked up the article expecting to find out that Darwin was wrong, because, you know, scripture is always right and sooner or later those silly scientists come around and figure that out.

Instead, the article laid out Darwin's case and all the overwhelming evidence supporting it. Reading that well over a hundred years of research was still backing up Darwin was shocking to me.

A major support beam in an already-rickety scaffolding had just been knocked out of place. You mean Mom was wrong? Wow. What else was she wrong about?

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8 comments:

  1. i remember opening that issue to: "was darwin wrong?" *turns page to article, then "NO." in huge letters. :)

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  2. And now that I know I have an obligation to my children to minimize the 'wrong' that I introduce into their lives.

    Rather than spewing words of religious ignorance (as I once did as a true believer) perhaps I ought to humbly say to my children: "I don't know" and if I really love them then add "Let's find out!".

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  3. markii beat me to it. I remember seeing that too, and bursting out laughing.

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  4. It seems that most LDS are taught that "macro" evolution is false by their parents or teachers. My father was a professor of History of Science and I grew up with the idea that science and religion coincide so well that there is no conflict. Somehow God created life by using the evolutionary process... I know some liberally-minded LDS do think this way and thus still believe in God. The mental acrobatics didn't make much sense to me (maybe I'm not smart enough) and that's one reason I'm an ex-supernaturalist. But anyway, just shows how creative some people can be by making science fit with religion.

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  5. Lucky that you did entertain the possibility that evolution is true at the time! From what I've heard, many believers simply throw the book away and ignore all contradicting evidence. Anyway, do you think that the article "Was Darwin Wrong" was responsible in your leaving of Mormonism?

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  6. I wouldn't say the article was responsible for my leaving, but it was an important factor in helping me to realize that it couldn't possibly be true. I have heard of Mormons who do accept evolution, but their reasoning perplexes me. Their entire doctrine hinges on the story of Adam and Eve and the Fall. If you're going to take that story symbolically, I don't know how you can give credence to any other doctrines of Mormonism.

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  7. "... my reaction is to smile, think about how cool science is, and marvel at our place in the vast, interconnected web of life on earth."

    This is the kind of testimony the world needs now!

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  8. It seems that most LDS are taught that "macro" evolution is false by their parents or teachers. My father was a professor of History of Science and I grew up with the idea that science and religion coincide so well that there is no conflict. Somehow God created life by using the evolutionary process... I know some liberally-minded LDS do think this way and thus still believe in God. The mental acrobatics didn't make much sense to me (maybe I'm not smart enough) and that's one reason I'm an ex-supernaturalist. But anyway, just shows how creative some people can be by making science fit with religion.

    ReplyDelete

Religion, skepticism, and carving out a spiritual life post-Mormonism