Birth and Writings
By David N. Menton, PhD
We are about to enter what will be for many ‘the year of Darwin.’ During 2009, much of the world will celebrate
the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary
of the publication of his book The Origin
of Species by 
Natural
Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.
Back
in 1959, when the world celebrated the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species, evolutionists
lamented that students in America’s schools were not being adequately
indoctrinated in evolution. They complained
that evolution was often left to the last chapter of biology text books and
that many teachers, either intentionally or unintentionally, never got around
to covering it. But that was about to
change. Evolutionist H. J. Muller
angrily proclaimed the battle cry of the Darwinian centenary - “one hundred
years without Darwin are enough.”
The
basic strategy of evolutionists over the last 50 years has been to ensure that
evolution is the central theme of nearly every chapter of biology textbooks. Toward this end, the Biological Sciences
Curriculum Study (BSCS) was established in 1959 through a federally funded
grant from the National Science Foundation.
The BSCS continues to produce several versions of evolution-laced high
school biology textbooks written by a consortium of writers and editors and
published by various textbook publishers throughout the world.
The
principal goal of BSCS is clearly stated in the first edition of their Biology Teachers Handbook: “It is no
longer possible to give a complete or even a coherent account of living things
without the story of evolution.” (1) By
1975, nearly half of America’s high schools used BSCS textbooks and most other
biology textbooks and curricula in America and throughout the world were deeply
influenced by BSCS. Indeed in 1975, Answers
In Genesis founder
An
ominous trend throughout the past 50 years has been the growing stridency and unabashed
dogmatism of evolutionists. In 1973
evolutionist Theodosius Dobzhansky declared that “nothing in biology makes sense
except in the light of evolution” - a dictum repeated in nearly every school or
textbook controversy where Darwinian dogma is called into question. If this claim were to be taken seriously (as
indeed many academics do), Bible believing
Christians (along with all others who dare to doubt Darwin) could be excluded
from learning, teaching or doing anything related to life science.
America’s
most distinguished body of scientists, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in
their widely distributed book, Science,
Evolution and Creationism (2), has declared that those many Americans who
doubt evolution have “turned away from science itself.” The NAS even goes so far as to suggest that
this threatens our very survival as a nation.
But
is a knowledge or belief in evolution really essential for a proper
understanding of biology or even of science itself? Some evolutionists have frankly conceded that
most scientists pursue their research with little regard for evolutionary
dogma. Evolutionist Adam Wilkins, for
example, has noted that “most can conduct their work quite happily without
particular reference to evolutionary ideas. ‘Evolution’ would appear to be the
indispensable unifying idea and, at the same time, a highly superfluous one.”
(3)
Dr. Marc Kirchner, a member of the NAS and chairman of the Department
of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School is quoted in the October 23,
2005 
Boston
Globe as follows: “In fact, over the last 100 years, almost all of biology
has proceeded independent of evolution, except evolutionary biology itself.
Molecular biology, biochemistry and physiology, have not taken evolution
into account at all.” (4)
Sadly
as we embark on the next 50 years we can expect to see increased indoctrination
in evolution beginning in the earliest grades of our schools. Evolutionists are frustrated by the lack of
belief in evolutionism among Americans and will doubtless make belief their
goal for the 250th anniversary of the birth of Darwin in 2059. Are you and your family prepared for this battle?
1. BSCS, Biology Teachers’ Handbook, Joseph J. Schwab (supervisor), John
Wiley and Sons, New York, 1963. BSCS, Biology
Teachers’ Handbook, Second Edition, Evelyn Klinckmann (supervisor), John
Wiley and Sons, New York, 1970.
2. http://books.nap.edu/html/11876/SECbrochure.pdf.
4. Quoted in the Boston Globe, 23 October 2005.
How many times have you read or heard on the
news, or heard mention on any Nova, National Geographic, Animal Planet or any
PBS (Public Broadcasting System) science related program, the full title of
Darwin’s book…The Origin of Species by
Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for
Life? Funny how they fail to mention
the “or the Preservation of Favoured Races
in the Struggle for Life? ” part of the title, isn’t it? After all, it is part of the title of Darwin’s
book.
Perhaps the entire title takes too much time
to say or has too many words to print.
You think? Or could it be that it’s too revealing? In the coming year, as part of the
‘celebration,’ of the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth, I think everyone
should remind the media, PBS, and anyone else who pushes the ‘religion’ of
evolution (particularly in our ‘unbiased’ public education system) that they
need to quote the ‘entire’ title of Darwin’s ‘Origin of Species’ and explain how his writings greatly fueled
racism by providing a ‘scientific justification’ for it.
Dr. David N. Menton is a full-time international
speaker for Answers In Genesis (AiG) which is headquartered in AiG’s world
class
