Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were two very influential men, who shared little in common except their birthdays. They were both born on February 12, 1809 – 207 years ago. You heard right. Lincoln, the American president, and Darwin, the English naturalist, came into this world on the same day!
Lincoln and Darwin came from opposite sides of the Atlantic, and they held opposite world views. One of them believed that “all men are created equal”, while the other suspected and theorized that man was not exactly “created”. Each man taught and promoted and fought for his respective “cause.” And the influence of both men has been widespread and far-reaching – even into the 21st Century.
Let’s take a closer look at “equality”. Most evolutionists in America say they believe in equality, but that is not consistent with the theory they espouse. You can’t really believe that “all men are created equal” unless you believe in a Creator God. If we were to change the wording to, “all men evolved equal”, would it be true? Would it work? Such a statement doesn’t even fit the framework of evolution! There is no equality in evolution, instead there is “natural selection” and “survival of the fittest.” These are processes which do not treat all creatures equal or give them all the same opportunity to survive and/or thrive. That sure doesn’t sound very American, does it? Well, Karl Marx, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin liked the idea of eliminating “inferior” peoples just as the hypothetical “natural selection” eliminates the weak, the diseased, the impure, the problematic. Those misguided leaders were, at least in part, inspired by Darwinian theory, as were also Pol Pot of Cambodia and Mao Tse Tung of China (who both carried out ruthless genocides). And even here in America, many are fine with our eliminating the unwanted unborn or the unwanted elderly (you know, we’re just giving “natural selection” a little “human nudge”!) Friends, we must face the fact that belief in evolution gives rise to dehumanizing inequality and gross inequities. And we see the ill effects of evolution continue to unfold before our very eyes in this post-modern world. Evolution is more than a new way to think, it promotes a new way to live – and it is both godless and dehumanizing.
The good news about Darwinism is that in several recent polls, including one from Gallup, it was found that only 40% of Americans bought into the evolutionary theory as it is normally taught in our schools and universities. Just 40%! (Other studies I found range from 3 to 8 percentage points higher, but most were still under 50%). The fact is, a narrow majority of Americans still believe in “intelligent design” by an Almighty Creator. This, in spite of evolution being taught as the only viable explanation of our origins. Even in Darwin’s own Great Britain, nearly 50% still believe in a Creator God and 43% said they believe in a “young earth”! I am guardedly optimistic that as the evolutionary theory enters its third century, we are not buying it but are giving it a big thumbs down! It doesn’t sound right, look right, feel right, or work right in everyday life. Perhaps God is granting us a degree of success in our warfare against this false teaching: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) And, of course, as believers we need to prayerfully “speak the truth in love” – not just telling people what is right and true, but showing them that God’s way works best – in life and in society.
To wrap up, I think it’s safe to say that our nation and world are better off today because of Abraham Lincoln. I can’t say the same for Charles Darwin …