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WhytheNEW
Creation-Evolution
Controversy?
One
hundred years after Darwin, the creation-evolution
controversy has suddenly sparked renewed interest.
Why wasn't this question seH/ed long ago?
by
William F. Dankenbring
T
HE SMOULDERING
issue of cre–
ation versus evolution - as–
sumed by many to be a dead
issue - has suddenly burst into the
headlines.
A recent convention in California,
of the National Association of Biol–
ogy Teachers, erupted into heated
debate over the renewed contro–
versy. A group of scientists who be–
lieve in divine creation <;onfronted
the convention with an alternative
explanation of the natural world.
Their explanation stands in direct
contrast to the generally accepted
theory of evolution.
What Sparked the Controversy
In 1969, the California State
Board of Education adopted certain
guidelines for science textbooks. It
required the inclusion of the cre–
ation theory in sections dealing with
the origin of life. A number of
board members argued that there is
ample scientific evidence for the cre–
ation of the universe by a Supreme
Being. But scientists who worked on
the textbook guidelines were ap–
palled.
24
The controversy swelled and ex–
ploded in 1972. The prestigious Na–
tional Academy of Science entered
the fray.
lt
urged that the creation
theory be excluded from the pro–
posed new science textbooks be–
cause of its religious nature.
The whole controversy is, how–
ever, much more complex than a
simple confrontation between fun–
damentalist religion and academic
science.
Creationists - those who believe
that a Supreme Beíng created the
earth and life upon it - are them–
selves divided as to when creation
occurred, how it occurred, and how
to interpret the creation account in
the bíblica! book of Genesis.
On the other hand, evolutionists
are also divided. They are in dis–
agreement as to the "hows" and
"whys" of evolution. Sorne few
theistic evolutionists see a divine
hand behind the process of evolu–
tion. Most evolutionists believe,
however, that evolution is a totally
natural, biological process requiring
no outside or divine guidance.
To illustrate the extreme diver-
gence of opinion on the status of the
evolutionary theory, consider what
Jean-Fran~is
Revel, well-known
editorialist of the French
L 'Express,
published in an article called "The
Science of the Magicians." He
wrote: "We now learn that the the–
ory of evolution rests strictly on no
proof at all. In a word, we are deal–
ing with a religion."
Conversely, the Englishman Ju–
lian Huxley has charged: "No serí–
ous scientist would deny the fact
that evolution has occurred, just as
he would not deny the fact that the
earth goes around the sun"
(Issues
in Evolution,
vol. III, p. 41).
Others, however, favor a spirit of
compromise. Pierre Teilhard de
Chardin, French philosopher-scien–
tíst, sought to reconcile biology with
creation through theístic evolution
- the belief that a Supreme Being
guided and directed evolution.
Who - if anyone - is right?
History of Controversy
The creation-evolution contro–
versy has its roots buried
in
the
sands of history. Por ages, there has
PLAIN TRUTH
June
1973