Racism has forced its way back into the news again. With multiple alleged ‘racially inspired’ police shootings in recent years and clashing protests last month in Charlottesville, Virginia over Confederate monuments, new groups such as “Black Lives Matter” have formed and old ones such as the KKK seem to have found new inspiration. Some might argue that bigotry is always there, an underlying tension that permeates modern life. This post will focus on one of the pillars that perpetuates racism in the Western World, namely evolution.
Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution subconsciously gives all prejudiced people an ‘intellectual’ reason to maintain their racial bias. Though this was not necessarily his intent, it is a result of Darwin’s conclusions, that species adapt & change into other species over long periods of time and that some races of men are more evolved than others.
Darwin did not invent racism by any means but his theories gave rise to “educated racism” in the modern world. This all happened in the decades around the time that the Western World outlawed slavery.1
To one extent or another, discrimination developed shortly after man first walked on the earth. In the ancient book of Genesis, we learn what the Creator did in making mankind out of the dust of the earth. This was a specific and deliberate act that has propagated mankind for millennia. And while some have argued that the Biblical account does not necessarily eradicate evolution (for instance, the Creator could have used evolving species to determine the best way to create man, His highest creation), there are many other places outside of Genesis itself that argue this was not the case.2
To accept Darwin’s theory of evolution is to embrace racism at its core. While I am no Darwin-expert, it is well known that he proposed not only that species evolve into other species over time (Note: this is NOT the same thing as species adapting or morphing different traits, features & characteristics in succeeding generations) but also that mankind had evolved beyond the point of many animals. He also proposed that many races of men had evolved beyond other races of men. This belief and mindset created conditions in the decades after Darwin that led to various leaders of nations believing that some ethnicities are smarter and more capable than others. So while the West had outlawed slavery, this skewed mentality allowed institutionalized bigotry to keep its roots in society.
In the U.S.A., this manifested in keeping African-Americans separate from his fellow country-man in public life (trains, restaurants, buses, military units, etc). But in many place around the world, evolutionary thinking assisted contemptible men into committing unspeakable atrocities.
Adolf Hitler, the most infamous of all madmen in modern times, used evolutionary thinking to absolve himself of any moral responsibility he had to treat his fellow man with fundamental respect. He and his Nazi henchmen believed that they were far superior than other races of men, having ‘evolved’ beyond all others. This is an overly simplistic explanation of how he traveled the road of searing his conscience, allowing him to murder millions of people. But many others despots did the same thing.
One researcher has even linked the ‘religion’ of evolution with more murders than any other influence in history. With the subtitle “Could It Be the Bloodiest Religion Ever?,” one of his articles states,
“Evolutionary teachings influenced Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky, Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, and many others.”3
We know innately and from the Bible that God created mankind — all men & women — in His image. This was a purposeful act of our Creator. As such, each individual has intrinsic value because of Him. However, when one believes that a tadpole crawled out of a swamp and eventually became an ape over time — then finally evolved into a homo sapien — it is easy to keep a bigoted bias towards people who are different from you. After all, that belief system ’empowers’ you to think you are superior because you are more evolved. But this is rubbish, plain and simple.
Humans, just like all the vast creatures in our world, were created purposefully. Some animals have adapted and morphed traits, features & characteristics over time — just as many ethnicities have dominate traits, features & characteristics that are passed along to their offspring — which might morph over many generations. But there is no scientific evidence that ape-like creatures evolved from tadpoles, then eventually into the person reading this post today. None. The research you were taught that existed has holes in it as numerous as a sieve.4
Free yourself of this bondage, from this speculation that blurs the lens which you view yourself and other people. Your ancient ancestors WERE NOT apes & tadpoles. For you are NOT the result of chance or of a myriad of accidents. You were purposefully and wonderfully created.5
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FOOTNOTES
1. See these articles for dates of when various nations abolished slavery:
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-slavery/chronology-who-banned-slavery-when-idUSL1561464920070322
and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_abolition_of_slavery_and_serfdom
2.
a) The genealogies listed in
I Chronicles 1 and Luke 3:23-38
b) The fact communicated in Matthew 19:4
c) For a much more in-depth look at this topic, I strongly recommend the book “Searching for Adam,” edited by Terry Mortenson, PhD, published by Master Books (c) 2016.
3. https://answersingenesis.org/sanctity-of-life/the-results-of-evolution
4. As a layman, I have done no scientific research on this subject. But like most of us, I rely on others, those who have advanced degrees, many of whom we have grown to trust. But I have learned that two people with the same degree, from the same school, looking at or participating in the same research, can have very different conclusions on a subject. This includes Darwin’s theory of evolution!
I would highly recommend reading the research conclusions done by Dr. Michael Behe, PhD, at Lehigh University, as well as spending time reading the scholarly work done by institutes such as the Discovery Institute, the Institute for Creation Research, the Creation Museum, and Answers In Genesis.
(There are also many other organizations doing scholarly work that are worth your time. Readers are welcome to post links to those they recommend below.)
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Truth Has No Relative 