Degradation, Not Improvement

Do you see such improvement occurring? The book Clinging to a Myth commented on De Chardin’s optimism: “De Chardin must have been quite oblivious of the history of human bloodshed and of racist systems such as apartheid in South Africa. He sounds like a man who is not living in this world.” Rather than progress toward unity, humanity in this century has experienced racial and national division on an unprecedented scale.

The hope held out in The Origin of Species, that man would progress toward perfection, or at least improvement, is very much unfulfilled. And that hope keeps receding with time, for since the general acceptance of evolution, the human family all too often has descended into barbarism. Consider: More than 100 million people have been killed in the wars of this century, some 50 million in World War II alone. Also consider the recent ethnic slaughter in such places as Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

Is this to say that there were no wars and brutalities in past centuries? No, there certainly were. But the acceptance of the theory of evolution, this brutal struggle-​for-​existence mind-​set, this survival-​of-​the-​fittest idea, has not served to improve man’s lot. So while evolution cannot be blamed for all of man’s ills, it has helped push the human family into ever greater hatred, crime, violence, immorality, and degradation. Since it is widely accepted that humans descended from beasts, it is not surprising that more and more people act like beasts.

Evolution and You

DURING the 19th century, The Origin of Species convinced masses of people that man had survived without divine intervention and would continue to do so. Enthralled by scientific advancements, many felt that God was no longer necessary and that science could save the human race. The book Age of Progress noted that the 19th century “was animated by a conviction that rationally applied human effort could transform the world.”

Toward the end of that century, however, even Charles Darwin wavered in his optimism. According to one historian, Darwin feared that the theory of evolution “had killed God and that the consequences for the future of mankind were incalculable.” Alfred Russel Wallace, a younger contemporary of Darwin, recalled: “During my last conversation with Darwin [shortly before Darwin’s death] he expressed a very gloomy view on the future of mankind.”

What Has Human Effort Produced?

The history of the 20th century has since revealed that much gloom was indeed ahead. The technological achievements since Darwin’s time merely camouflaged what has proved to be by far the darkest, most violent age in all human history. We live amid what historian H. G. Wells described as “a real demoralization.”

Since Wells made that statement (some 75 years ago), the world has continued to experience more demoralization. Nothing that scientists, economists, social agencies, human governments, or this world’s religions have tried has remedied the situation or even stemmed the tide. Conditions continue to deteriorate.

In reality, therefore, it must be asked: What has human effort produced? Have science and technology brought about a better world? “When we open the daily paper and look at what’s going on,” said biologist Ruth Hubbard, “the problems are not scientific. They are problems of social organization, of things having gotten too big, of people going after profit and ignoring human needs.” Hubbard added: “I don’t really think that in a rational allotment of resources, science is likely to solve any or many of the problems that most trouble people in the world.”

Really, of what benefit is it when man can travel to the moon but cannot solve the basic problems of the human family? Did the invention of increasingly destructive weapons, such as the atom bomb, bring an end to wars and ethnic violence? Have the accomplishments of science significantly diminished crime, family breakup, sexually transmitted diseases, immorality, illegitimate births, corruption in high places, poverty, hunger, homelessness, drug abuse, pollution? No, science has, if anything, made some of these things worse. Abandoning God and substituting evolution and science, the human family has not helped its situation but has hurt it.