People often ask me:
'What's the big deal about evolution? What difference does it make, whether you believe that God created everything, or if He used evolution to do it? Or, if life is just a cosmic accident, with no God?'
A person's core beliefs about origins provides the basis for many other subsequent beliefs and conclusions about God, man, and the universe. It is not an irrelevant or frivolous opinion, but is the foundation for almost all other beliefs, and is the Foundation for their worldview.
This is not a treatise about the science of universal common ancestry, aka evolution, but is an analysis of the logical conclusions that this belief system implies.
The assumption here is that the THEORY of universal common descent is just a theory.. It is not a proven fact, or even a workable hypothesis. I have addressed the science of universal common descent in other articles. This is about the RESULTANT ideology that UCA produces.
Theological
There are many things you can conclude about God, if you assume He used evolution to bring man into being:
1. Man was not created as a complete being, with a soul.
2. Death and suffering were the means God used, to finish man.
3. Mankind is not equal, as there would be different levels of advancement among the evolving human tribes.
4. The biblical account of man's creation and subsequent fall, bringing death into the world, is false.
5. Morality is relative.. as man evolved, so did his instincts about morals. Early man could have brutal animal instincts, but they might change.
6. God is fickle and changing.. there are no absolutes.
Social
1. The more highly evolved, among the human collective, should manage and control the lower forms.
2. Aspiring to evolve the Perfect Man is a logical step, in the evolution of man.
3. Eliminating inferior stock is a necessary step, in any selective breeding process.
Joseph Stalin was one of the most significant historical figures in the 20th century. He was instrumental in defeating Hitler, and expanded the influence of communism in his time. Here are some facts about Joseph Stalin:
1. He began as a student in a theological seminary.
2. He became an atheist after reading Origin of Species, by Darwin.
3. He became a devoted communist, and was inspired by Marx.
4. He was responsible for 20 - 25 million deaths, during his reign.
5. He engaged in armed robbery, to support the Bolshevik cause.
6. He impregnated a 13 yr old girl, while exiled in Siberia, c. 1914.
It is impossible to ignore the connection between Stalin's actions, and the core ideology that drove him. Much of the genocide that drove Stalin was to help 'create' the New Soviet Man.. a highly evolved superhuman, much like Hitler's goal for the Aryan nation.
In 1940, a book was published in Moscow entitled “Landmarks in the Life of Stalin.” In it we read:
At a very early age, while still a pupil in the ecclesiastical school, Comrade Stalin developed a critical mind and revolutionary sentiments. He began to read Darwin and became an atheist.
G. Glurdjidze, a boyhood friend of Stalin’s, relates:
“I began to speak of God. Joseph heard me out, and after a moment’s silence, said:
“‘You know, they are fooling us, there is no God. …’“
I was astonished at these words. I had never heard anything like it before.“‘How can you say such things, Soso?’ I exclaimed.
“‘I’ll lend you a book to read; it will show you that the world and all living things are quite different from what you imagine, and all this talk about God is sheer nonsense,’ Joseph said.
“‘What book is that?’ I enquired.
“‘Darwin. You must read it,’ Joseph impressed on me.”
Another quote, from a contemporary Russian:
Seventy years ago communists easily (and, as it turned out, for a long time) seized power in Russia. Without hesitation they undertook to build a new society, hitherto unprecedented in the history of mankind, and announced the construction of Communism throughout the whole world to be their final goal.
In this society there was to be no private property, it was to be a-religious: denying God, denying the existence of the immortal soul and recognizing only the material aspect of life as real. The society was to be free of ethnic affiliations, and communists were to have unlimited power over that society.
Unprecedented methods were used to build this unprecedented society. It was decided to create a new man. This man was to be free from ethnic affiliations, see no sense in private property, be always ready to sacrifice himself for the benefit of society, have no doubts that he originated from an ape or something like it (certainly from a beast) and that nothing will remain of him after his death. In other words, he was to be a one-hundred percent materialist and atheist and must know that the meaning of life is in the person's usefulness to society and the supreme goal is in a better, wealthy and happy life of future generations. Recognizing this, he would necessarily be happy.
It was obvious to initiators of the new society and creators of the new man that several existing classes of people would delay the implementation of this task. So, it was decided to destroy millions of these people "as a class ," i.e., to kill them. To "destroy as a class" is not just a reckless cynical phrase; in fact, it is a guide to practical action. This was done in Russia, and in this way began construction of the new society in every country as soon as the communists seized power. ~Sergei Khodorovich, 1987
The New Man, as a goal of the controlling elite, is widely referenced in the writings of the Marx/Darwin based ideologies. Most of the notable despots in the 20th century were driven to help evolution create a New Man. Pol pot, Mao, Chavez, Stalin, Hitler, and almost all Marxist based ideologies included the Darwinist theme of favoring desired traits, and breeding.. helping evolution.. breed a New Man.
Woodrow Wilson was one of the leading figures in the progressive movement, early last century.
The influence from Darwin and the theory of universal common descent cannot be missed, and it was a major factor in his worldview.
"..government is not a machine, but a living thing. It falls, not under the theory of the universe, but under the theory of organic life. It is accountable to Darwin, not to Newton." Woodrow Wilson.
'Living political constitutions must be Darwinian in structure and in practice. Society is a living organism and must obey the laws of life, not of mechanics; it must develop. All the progressives ask or desire is permission—in an era when “development:... “evolution,” is the scientific word—to interpret the Constitution according to the Darwinian principle…' Woodrow Wilson
There is a lot than can be said about Wilson, as one of the founding fathers of progressive ideology, but I'll stop here to make the point: the influence of Darwinism, as a shaper of ideology.
...
It seems to me we are in a 'post enlightenment' era, where human equality is assumed.. at least in most of the west, & especially America. But if the Majority Opinion slowly morphs back into one of Entitled Elitism, where certain humans are assumed to be equipped with some kind of Special Dispensation, then we are drifting backwards.
And, IMO, that is what is happening. A few people in this generation, still coasting along under the nostalgia of the Enlightenment & the Age of Reason, have this 'ideal' firmly embedded in their psyche. But newer ones do not. They are being taught that some people have special gifts. They are more evolved, or have secret superpowers that give them an edge over the common man. Natural Law is replaced with moral relativity & the decrees of elites. Human equality is dying, as special snowflakes are indoctrinated into believing they are superior & better than anyone else.
For this reason, i can see a slow drift, that may pick up as the old fossils of Enlightenment ideals are lost & forgotten (that would be you, dear reader!). Elitism is in our future, if we as a society/culture do not emphasize, with sound reasoning & solid foundations: human equality.
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