Creationists: Some ‘scientists’ never learn

by Ray Nunes, January 1999

We are always being treated to standard argument against evolution; it is known as ‘argument from design’. It simply boils down to this: that every form of life, every part of every living thing is altogether too complex to have originated and developed through natural, evolutionary processes over great periods of time; every single thing in the vast, almost infinite number of life forms must have been created by God. Christians, of course, believe in a Christian creator, Muslims believe in a Muslim creator, Jews believe in a Jewish creator.

But despite the suspension of disbelief by those scientists who propagate the idea of a creator, the argument from design simply ignores all the evidence for evolution – and there are mountains of it – in order to subordinate science to religion, even though science only got to be science through a many-sided struggle against the ossified dogmas of religion, which used to be taught to everyone as absolute truth.

We do not intend to repeat the unmasking of all the fallacies involved in the rejection of evolution. The complete rebuttal of them, as far as is necessary to a genuine scientific understanding of the world has been admirably carried out by evolutionist Richard Dawkins in his book The Blind Watchmaker.

Fairy tales

Still, even in New Zealand we find prominent scientists accepting the fairly tales of a creation by a supreme being. Recently two such, an associate professor of engineering named Neil Broom, together with Robert Mann, a retired lecturer in environmental studies at the University of Auckland, publicised their views that photosynthesis can only be explained by ‘acknowledging the crucial role of a higher being’. Really? And this higher being is not only responsible for the existence of photosynthesis, but it or he or she has created every virus, every bacterium, every life form – and there are billions of them – which exists not only on earth but right throughout the entire universe.

One really must ask why this sort of anti-scientific pap is peddled in vast quantities in our society. There is indeed an explanation, but it lies outside the field of physical and biological sciences; it lies in the recognition that there are major social forces which propagate such anti-scientific theories in order to retain their power over society.

The opium of the people – why?

In other words, religious belief of all kinds is maintained within our capitalist society as an ideological means of keeping the masses quiescent. Karl Marx summed it up in a single cogent phrase: ‘Religion is the opium of the people’. And as the ruling ideas of society are the ideas of the ruling class, they take predominantly a religious form as the most widespread and easily indoctrinated ideology in their arsenal. Only when the existing ruling classes are overthrown and their ideology along with them, can mankind come face to face with objective reality and discard all the illusions crammed into people’s heads about creation and supreme beings.

Societies also evolve, despite efforts to stop the process

That is a process still undergoing evolution in the social and economic sphere, but it is evolving. Long before modern religions were born men could and did seek the scientific truths which explain what are held up as unfathomable mysteries concerning the origin and development of life. The ancient Greeks were fearless investigators of every phenomenon they could observe, drawing correct conclusions from them far in advance of their time. They were scientific materialists in the main. The spokesmen for creation from nothing cannot hold a candle to them. These call themselves scientists but instead of advancing human knowledge they practice the blocking of it by denying all materialist explanations for the laws and principles governing nature, society and human thought. It seems no-one has informed them that in denying the fruits of scientific knowledge they place themselves on the same level of ignorance as any backward African jungle tribe. Such societies also worship a creator or whatever number of gods may be required to explain the world around them.

We say to the ‘scientific’ creationists, welcome to darkest Africa. Your beliefs are on a par with those of the most primitive tribes.