Years ago I was invited to speak in the Atlanta area. The group represented a kind of “all sizes fit one” religion, and in their effort at tolerance, asked me to represent the Christian worldview.
I was given a Time Magazine to read, for what became obvious reasons. The cover article was, “The Religious Gene.” Apparently, those of us who believe in God are merely following our genetic makeup, being wired a little differently than non-believers.
Atheists/naturalists must explain everything in physical terms, and Richard Dawkins says that natural selection acting on random mutations does explain everything about life. But herein lies the hypocritical double standard of the atheistic evangelists who have sold so many books in the last few years.
On the one hand, this group claims that while their views are based solely on science and reason, mine are based on blind faith. Apparently my blind faith is the result of my “religious genetics,” and therefore I can’t help but believe in God.
But by using their Darwinian view to dismiss the validity of theism, have they not also dismissed the atheist view as equally genetic? Are Dawkins and company somehow immune from their own conclusions? They must be quite sure that their beliefs are contrived in a different way than mine. How is it that I am programmed by my genetics and they are not?
To change our minds, the atheists must overcome the very force to which they attribute our faith, i.e., evolution. Harris says that science must destroy religion. But how can this be done? If Darwinism is true, I can see three ways.
It’s our brains that must be changed, by a forced “fruit-fly” type of mutation, or by Hitler’s method of “helping evolution along,” or by letting the slow process of evolution take place.
But that whole extermination thing has already been condemned by the same guys. If they really believe their own stuff, all they can do is hope for the “religious gene” to be weeded out by the blind force of natural selection acting on random mutations. I’m willing to wait.