Why do people of faith get confused about evolution and what it means?

Question

Somehow, the scientific community has failed to communicate the difference between Darwin's concept of 'origin of species' (which means how one-celled life forms self-propagated into all the different species we have on the planet today) and how/why life itself came to be, which evolution doesn't try to answer.

How can scientists communicate this to the religions, especially the fundamentalists? It's important, since leaders from all sides are confused, and the LAST thing we need is another Dark Ages because those in power refuse to understand science as it applies to reality.

Any good opinions out there?

To Edge: How can you say that 'molecules to man evolution has no impact on us today' when humans are busy destroying thousands of species each year? What if there is some protozoa out there that is required for all plant synthesis, and we wantonly make it extinct? How can you be so closed-in as to believe that an understanding of our environment is not essential to surviving in it?

Answer 1

nora2200,

I love your questions!

I never understood what Socrates meant when he said "I know that I know nothing" until I decided to abandon everything that anyone ever told me about religion and to seek the truth for myself.

Most religious people are not incapable of understanding the science behind evolution... They just don't want to embrace it.

The fact that cells are reproducing themselves with extremely high fidelity in our own bodies right now is a fact not in dispute by anyone that I know of... The fact that "high" fidelity is not the same as 100% fidelity should not be in dispute either. Given the fact that billions of years of this process has resulted in every species that ever lived is not such a far out idea...

Maybe people fail to realize how long a billion years really is. If you believe that the Earth is only 6000 years old, then it is impossible for all of Earth's diversity to have resulted in such a short time.... But over 4.5 billion years?

They have to seek understanding first. No one can make a person do something they don't want to do.

And a lot of it falls on the fault of the scientific community as well. I actually wince when I hear a science documentary state something like "The crocodile evolved sharp teeth in order to rip through tough flesh and bone or it's prey." As if there was some purpose to evolution other than the survival of the organism itself. This does not help. While these evolved traits help or hurt an organisms chance at survival, these traits became prevalent in the enviornment because it aided the organism in it's survival.

Answer 2

I don't think it's confusion per se.. I think it's more a matter of interest. Have you ever tried explaining something to someone who was completely uninterested in the subject? It's near impossible.. they don't want to hear it, they don't care what point you are trying to make and nothing you do can change their mind. They have closed their minds to any other learning or questioning about the subject. Religion fosters a close-minded attitude, how can you possibly break through such a barrier? It's very hard.. once people make up their minds they often close the door to new ideas and never learn to grow and change because of things they learn. Until we alter religious indoctrination to include open-mindedness we won't get anywhere. It's not an issue of the scientific community failing to communicate, in fact I think they do a fine job of sharing knowledge and information. The problem lies in the religious communities failure to even so much as stop for one second and open their minds to listen.. if they did they would not think science is against them at all because really it isn't and if they really listened to all the information about evolution they would better understand the difference between fields of study like Abiogenesis and Evolutionary Biology.

Answer 3

When I was in high school many years ago evolution was taught in science class. The decent to good students learned it and probably to this day accepts it as the way the world works. The lazy and dumb students didn't learn it (or much of anything else) and are now part of the ignorant mob who believe in a literal Genesis and support creation "science". There is little the science community can do to combat the willful ignorance of those whose minds are closed.

P.S. The origin of life is not part of the Theory of Evolution. That is a mystery. Evolution accurately describes everything that came AFTER life appeared.

Answer 4

Most Christians I know, including myself, know the difference between what you are talking about. I don't believe in evolution because evolotion is not a fact and cannot be proven. I believe that species adapt and change for survival. "If a bat and a whale have a common ancestor, would there not be a huge number of transitionary fossils that we would find?"
Textbooks definie evolution as being random and undirected without plan or purpose. That's not how our universe/world is. How can the human body be a random event?
Which is harder to believe? That *poof*...life randomly came into existance with extremely complex DNA?
Or that there was an intelligent designer that planned all of this, down to the hairs on your head?
Most people I know that say they are evolutionists have NEVER studied the other side of the argument. They shut their minds to any other explaination, which shows their ignorance. Wouldn't a scientist want to study, in depth, every possible explaination?
Evolutionists, have you tried to research the Christian beliefs? I mean, really studied?
Read a Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel for a good start.
:)

Answer 5

I'm a christian that has studied science. Astronomy, Physics, and evolution. I happen to have become a christian because of my findings in all of them. I for one think the Big Bang and most of the theories of evolution are completely compatible with my faith. There are two things science will never answer. 1 What caused the Big Bang and 2 What breathed life in to completely inanimate material. Who's to say these aren't the ways God did create everything?
I think Science and Faith need to do more research on each other

Answer 6

Evolution never interested me personally. But if those in the scientific community are having such a hard time explaining the theory, then maybe they need to rethink their approach and how they explain it. Alot of times, too, it's the perceived attitude of the one explaining it. You have to first get someone interested in the subject. The way alot of people in here call others stupid for not accepting it or understanding it is really not the way to go about it.

Answer 7

Well here is the thing. Naturalistic evolutionists do tie those concepts together, and then when we bring up questions, it is easy to duck out and say, "Hey man, we are only biologists, we don't worry about how it started." As my biology professor once said about origins, "Biologists have it easy."

I have seen many displays in museums where they try to explain how water containing amino acids dropped on to hot clay, where they joined together, or how a meteorite came to earth with life already on it (which only delays the inevitable question). That is all entangled within the hypothesis that is naturalistic evolution. If people did as you say, and simply talk about evolution the process, there would be no debate. The only problem occurs when people take their well tested theory of evolution and add it to the propaganda/speculation that it all happened on its own.

Answer 8

It's not really science's failure to put out the information, it's the fundamentalists refusal to look at it or learn about it. They want nothing to do with it, except to twist the facts, manipulate the facts, and make up utter lies about it to try to discredit it.
(Just look at some of the answers here--you'll see what I mean. Denial isn't just a river in Africa, you know...)

Edit: You make an EXCELLENT point in your "additional details". Good job.

Answer 9

I'm not confused at all. I see how some can though because the GTE requires an increase in genetic information which has never been observed. Lateral or loss in information is the only evolution that has been observed.
Maybe scientists should be more clear about that.

Answer 10

Creationists actively conflate the theories to promote confusion. They prefer smaller deceptions to outright lies, but will use any available tactics to promote their agenda.