I am sorry to be a couple of days late on this post. July 1st of 2008 began an 18-month celebration of Charles Darwin and his great work, The Origin of Species. But what’s the hype? Darwin wasn’t the first to entertain the idea of evolution. Darwin wasn’t the first to consider natural selection. And Darwin certainly isn’t the only person to have written and publicized a controversial scientific theory. The reason for the hype is that Darwin shattered the delicate box that science had been placed in: a glass box so that science could be seen, but never allowed to challenge traditional mythology.

When Galileo pronounced the Sun to be the center of the solar system, the church was fuming. If the earth is not the center of the solar system, or the universe as a whole, then God had made us on a planet “off to the side,” so to speak. Devastating, but not a finishing blow by any means. But Darwin! Evolution by natural selection not only eliminates the need for divine intervention in the creation of humans, but it denies the possibility of such intervention. Now, Darwinian evolution allows for a god, and that god could have planted the first single cells on the earth. This idea does no harm to Darwin’s theory (though it is an increasingly meaningless idea). But that’s it. Natural selection, the process proven in every studied case, is defined as being without intelligent guidance. The only god that assisted in the creation of humans was the Einsteinian god.

This is why we must celebrate Darwin. It is more important than ever that we understand Darwin’s contribution, not to science, but to civilization. Darwin knew exactly what his theory meant. Darwin knew that if his theory was followed to it’s logical conclusion, his God would evaporate and the pedestal humans stood upon would collapse. Yet scientific fact does not depend upon what we want to be true, but what is true. All evidence supports evolution by natural selection, while no evidence supports divine existence. Darwin chose enlightening truth over blissful ignorance.

Today, we should all be so strong. During this 18-month celebration of Darwin, try to follow his lead. Look at your own life and your own ideas of the world. What do you continue to believe despite evidence to the contrary? Find the truth and recognize it, because it is more beautiful than you can imagine.