| It's Good to Know Right Thinking Leads to Right Living By Bob Smith |
| Eight-year-old Johnny approached his dad who was sitting in his chair and asked him, “Dad, where did I come from?” His dad was paralyzed. He knew this moment was coming, but he wasn't expecting it so soon. But a child needs to learn this from his parents rather than the street so dad gathered himself and started explaining to Johnny all about men and women and love and sperm and eggs and wombs and…about that time dad looked and Johnny's mouth was agape and his eyes were wide. Dad asked Johnny if he was okay and all Johnny sputtered was, “Timmy said he was from Cleveland.” Sooner or later Johnny is going to really want to know where he came from because this is one of the fundamental questions of life. Biology is the science of life. So what does biology tell us about where we came from? It all depends on your worldview. As Christians we believe that life was created by God. This view imparts value to all of creation and presents mankind with special dignity as the image bearer of God. As Christians, our life has purpose in the eyes of our Creator. In addition, because Christians see God as unchanging and revealing Himself through creation, science becomes a help for the Christian, not a hindrance, in understanding God and His plan and purpose. Islam also affirms that life was created by God. But unlike Christianity, Islam views God as directing the universe, not by natural law, but by His decision at the moment. Therefore, any study of “the sciences” is fruitless because God does not act in any way which is consistent or rational. To impose natural law is viewed as a denial of Allah's freedom to act. Secular Humanism rejects the supernatural. Therefore, life can only be explained in ways which are natural. For the secular humanist, life spontaneously generated from non-living matter and evolved into who we are as humans today. As life came about by random chance, there is no intent or purpose to it. Life is only precious to oneself and the only purpose one's life can have is to survive in the competition of the fittest. This becomes the end which justifies the means. | Marxism, like secular humanism, denies the supernatural and embraces evolution. But for the humanist, evolution is about the advancement of higher life forms. Marxism views evolution as the advancement of higher societies with communism being the next great advancement. Marxism also rejects Darwin's gradual theory of evolution. Instead, societies advance through long periods of calm punctuated with brief clashes of violent revolution. As the greatest good is the society, mankind's only purpose is to be used to bring about that advancement. Life is not precious, but expendable if it in some small way advances the society. New Agers believe not that we were created by God, but that we are God. Yet, they also believe that there is an evolutionary process in place not resulting in a higher life form or society, but in a higher consciousness. This happens when we become aware of our connectivity with all of creation. Our world is already perfected. We just haven't realized it yet. Mankind as God is therefore of greatest value and purpose, but so is the dolphin and the rock and air. Science is viewed as the principle means through which the earth is being exploited, thereby disrupting the balance between plants, animals and humans. Postmodernism views science not so much as a vehicle for objective discovery but as a means of validating preconceived ideas driven by political agendas. For the postmodernist, reality is determined by the individual. Creation and evolution are equally valid and erroneous at the same time depending on the circumstances shaping your reality. Purpose and value to life comes depends upon what the individual assigns to it. Biology is more than dissection and classification according to species, genus and family. Biology is also how we answer basic questions about value and purpose in life. The millions murdered by Stalin are viewed as necessary for the advancement of a classless society. Even though human suffering from malaria could be drastically reduced with the use of DDT, the effects on the environment are considered to be of equal importance. Only Christianity sends the message that you were worth dying for. |