The Legacy of Darwin

At a time when people were moving off the land into cities and when bishops were teaching that human beings were so different from animals, Darwin reminded us of the unity of all things. Evolutionary theory gave us the mental framework with which to investigate the interrelationships between the earth and its creatures. While some of the details still elude us, the theory has received powerful affirmation from almost every area of science, especially geology and molecular genetics.

But has it taught us to care for the earth?

Scientific method prides itself on being dispassionate. It pretends to an absence of motivation other than simple enquiry. It works by cold dissection and analysis. Such knowledge without compassion is dangerous and scientists can all too easily slip into a ‘can do’ arrogance that fails to engage with proper feeling. I know because I was one.

It seems to me that faith has the capacity to provide a story that connects at the deepest level of human identity and values.  It also suggests a contemplative attitude that sees, and feels for, the whole.

At the beginning of the Bible we read of the adam, meaning the human, who was formed by God from the adamah, the soil. (Gen 2 v 7). We also read of a creation which came into being, not in one great simultaneous act, but as one part ‘brought forth’ another in a process of extravagant abundance called forth by God. (Gen 1).

These ideas fit at some deep level with evolutionary theory, but they suggest another vital element. The divine origins of creation give us a narrative within which to understand and feel our place in the whole. In the New Testament this comes out in the extraordinary statements in the prologue to John’s gospel, where the compassionate life of a teacher from Nazareth is linked to a compassion at the very heart of creation.

In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God;
all things were made through him…

The earth needs faith and science.

Your comments.

Just out of interest, there is a series currently on BBC TV (and available for the coming week on the iPlayer) called what Darwin didn’t know – the evolution of the theory of ... evolution. Find it here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00h6sbt