www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Why a belief in Evolution is important to be a good Christian!

Evolutionary biology is now reversing itself on the value of altruism. Leading sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson has come out with a strong critique of Richard Dawkin's book The Selfish Gene, in which he observes that the basic premise is reductionist and not reflected in the behavior of living organisms in nature. Not just man, but many species exhibit altruistic behavior in which one individual sacrifices either the possibility to reproduce or even life itself, in order to advance a larger social unit (family, clan, tribe or species).

Also, Darwin himself never drew any metaphysical conclusion from his theory of natural selection, and "social darwinism" cannot be derived from any of Darwin's works. That had to be left to the plethora of second rate hacks who used his work to advance their own political, philosophical or ethical agendas. But then, that's what second-rate hacks do. So, what you say of Darwin can also be said of those who misuse Scripture to advance doctrines that would be abhorrent to God Himself.

Very well said.

Stuart,

Thank you, I have never heard an intelligent answer to this before.


I wasn't accusing Darwin himself of proposing social darwinism, only that this seems to flow logically from his principle of Natural Selection. It makes sense, however, that even Natural Selection would work towards the survival of the larger social unit over and above that of the individual.

There is a growing consensus among evolutionary biologists that a proclivity towards religious faith itself is something "hard-wired" into human beings, meaning that it has inherent survival value. This, of course, makes evolutionary biology--like most science--consistent with the idea of natural law.