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Faith of a Paleontologist

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2017

Peter Dodson
Peter Dodson*
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine and Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania, 3800 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6045
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Abstract

Evolution is the great synthesizing principle of biology and cosmology that our students deserve to know in order to understand their world most fully. Yet evolution has social Darwinism as its dark side. An evolutionism or a scientism that teaches in the name of science that there is no God, there is no soul, there is no ultimate purpose in life, and there is no such thing as free will is not the friend of society. Creationists reject evolution not in ignorance of modern science but because of the anxieties it brings. While 90% of Americans profess to believe in God, less than half the population believes in some form of evolution. Science discounts human experience, while religion is about human experience. When forced to choose between a religion that enriches human experience and an evolutionary science that ignores human experience and minimizes humans as a species, people will unhesitatingly choose the religion that gives meaning to their daily struggles. That choice is not a necessary one, but so long as the most visible public spokespersons for evolution pursue their metaphysical agenda, people will continue to choose religion.

Type
Philosophical and Biblical Perspectives
Information
The Paleontological Society Papers , Volume 5: The Evolution-Creation Controversy II: Perspectives on Science, Religion, and Geological Education , October 1999 , pp. 183 - 195
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 by The Paleontological Society 

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