Faith or Fact? A Darwin Revelation

When learning about Darwin and his theory of the Origin of Species and its relationship to what is taught in public schools, I started to wonder how my religion fit in context to his theory. Should I believe what he hypothesized? Darwin's theory has a strong basis and makes sense in the course of history. Or should I look to my faith to answer the questions of how I came to be what I am?

Faced with a personal moral dilemma, I decided to find out what I truly believe in. I asked questions such as Science or Religion? Faith or Fact? But I soon realized what I was doing wrong. My revelation was that I didn't have to mark a line where science stopped and religion began. I do not have to take every word of the Bible literally. I can interpret it how I want and live according to my own beliefs after that.

I asked my pastor if I committed a sin if I did not know that I was sinning at the time. He promptly answered "of course not". So if I can interpret my religious book how I feel it is supposed to be seen and I live by its teachings, even if I commit a sin, I am not at fault. I believed what I had done was right.

So when exactly did this revelation hit me? When I was reading Inherit the Wind. Drummond makes a case that God didn't make the sun until the forth day. This means the first three days could have been longer than three actual twenty-four hour days. He says that the fossil that he has in his hand could be over six thousand years old because those first three days could have been ten million years.



This is where I put it all together. If I interpreted Genesis the way Drummond had, I could say that evolution did happen. That both Charles Darwin, and my faith can coexist. God could have made the first organisms and intended them to evolve just as science said they did over the three possibly non twenty-four hour days that Drummond suggests. Darwin's theory is safe, and so is my faith. I can believe both.

What happens when something else comes along and contradicts my faith again? Well, after this revelation, I think I am prepared to go back and interpret my faith in a different light so I can feel that I am not denying the truth while still adhering to my beliefs.

Feel free to post in the comments section!

Appleman, Philip, ed. Darwin. 3rd ed. New York: W.W.Norton, 2001.

Lawrence, Jerome, and Robert E. Lee. Inherit the Wind. Danbury: Dramatists Play Service, Incorporated, 1963.