Conspiracy or Faith?

An anonymous reader left a comment about my article on Simulating Evolution. I thought his comment was interesting enough to deserve a full response.

To the anonymous poster:

Thank you for your reply and the explanation of your stance. :)

I couldn't help but notice that the tone of your comment suggests disgust and ridicule, and I'm sorry you feel that way. You find it infuriating that people would be dumb enough to accept evolution as accurate. And yet, I assure you, the people who accept evolution as fact feel the exact same way about your point of view.

So, I feel I cannot respond directly to your points, because reasoned debate cannot be had when each side thinks so precious little of the other.

You have to step back and be willing to accept that there are many reasonable, intelligent, honest, and upstanding people who believe evolution is true. Likewise, I am willing to accept that there are many reasonable, intelligent, honest, and upstanding people who DON'T believe evolution is true.

So, how can this be? You really should think about this question. We ALL should think about this question. It's humbling to be reminded that our grasp of the truth is so tenuous and so subjective.

We could debate the actual facts and evidence for evolution until our faces turn blue, but it would do no good since we've already established that reason alone doesn't seem to bring about revelation in this matter. Rather there is something beyond reason that is interfering with this debate. People are subconsciously (or even consciously) warping reason by choosing to selectively pick the facts that support the side they've already chosen to support in the first place.

People are really good at this kind of selective filtering, especially when they are emotionally motivated. And evolution is a subject that has surely sparked emotional responses. Either the evolutionists, or the creationists, or both, are being motivated by something more than just honest truth-seeking.

If evolution isn't true, why do so many scientists study it and continually reaffirm it? Why do a staggering majority of scientists of all branches of science accept it as fact? Why has evolution stood ever stronger for 140+ years?

One option is that there is some kind of global conspiracy among the scientific community to convince the public of a lie. I don't know what their motive would be other than to erode our belief in God. Maybe it's also some kind of power-play to give intellectuals more control. Young scientists graduating from college are also somehow indoctrinated into this global conspiracy. Maybe learning science opens some kind of gateway that lets the devil control your mind. Scientists who claim to believe in God must be lying.

Another option is that there is no conspiracy among the scientific community and no mind-controlling devil. What is happening instead is people who have faith in the Bible see evolution as a challenge to one aspect of that faith. The Bible, if taken entirely literally, suggests that we were directly created by God. And the idea of being directly created by a God is very compelling, for many reasons. It gives people of faith a strong emotional bias against evolution. Since they have already made up their mind (by faith) that the Bible is completely literally true, they must faithfully fight against anything that disagrees with any part of the Bible.

We all need to ask ourselves, which one of these scenarios is more likely? Is it more likely there is a global conspiracy of science that has lead to (or is a result of) a global brainwashing? Or is it more likely that what we are seeing is human resistance to change, couched in arguments from faith?

Which one of these patterns of behavior have we seen before in human history? I don't remember there ever being a global conspiracy on the scale of evolution. However, I do remember there being many historical events where religion took a strong, emotional, and even violent stance in support of something that was accepted on faith alone. There are even many well documented cases of a religious institution attacking a scientific theory, not with facts, but with the sword, the branding iron, and the rack...and other instruments of torture far worse.

Given that both sides of this debate are populated with reasonable, normal human beings, I ask you, seriously, which side is more likely to be caught up in a well-meaning but misguided response to this issue? Which side has more to lose? The evolutionary scientist might worry about losing his job, but the creationist is worried about losing salvation. Which side is likely to have a more emotional response? And finally, which side is going to be mostly likely to hold their ground against any amount of reasoned debate?

There is no use for me to debate you on the facts. I don't mean to say that in a demeaning way. I have respect for your opinions, and I'm sure you are a reasonable person, just as I am a reasonable person, just as the vast majority of us are reasonable people.

But you have something at stake here that I just can't compete with, no matter what I say.

Perhaps we should just talk about sports? NFL summer training camps start pretty soon.....isn't that something to look forward to? Do you think they have football in heaven?