The Truth Project

Something is going on, and I'm calling us on it. I know it's been going on for a while, but it's reaching a point that is alarming me. I'm past annoyed, and now I'm really concerned about this. It is exemplified by a blurb I just saw about something called Coral Ridge Ministries that did a survey in which 85% of respondents said that "Darwinism/evolution" is "very dangerous" to the spiritual health of America. We can't get enough of that false dichotomy that says that the theory of evolution is antithetical to God's creation, and we continue to tell each other and let ourselves be told that evolution is philosophically repugnant and must be fought against and proven wrong. I know this has been going on since the big trial in the 1920's, or before, or whatever, but I am now seeing really close-to-home ways that this is going to damage the church.

Focus on the Family is launching a curriculum called The Truth Project, which ambitiously tackles many aspects of worldview from a biblical perspective. This curriculum is going to be presented in a special seminar at our church this fall. One of the 12 modules is for science, and here is the summary from their website:

Science: What is True?

Science, the "systematic study of the natural world," brings to light innumerable evidences of Intelligent Design. But Darwinian theory transforms science from the honest investigation of nature into a vehicle for propagating a godless philosophy.

A careful examination of molecular biology and the fossil record demonstrates that evolution is not a "proven fact."

Meanwhile, history shows that ideas, including Darwinism as a social philosophy, have definite consequences – consequences that can turn ugly when God is left out of the picture.

Darwinian theory does not transform science into a vehicle for propagating a godless philosophy. Darwinian theory fits just fine in the "honest investigation of nature" category and provides a framework for scientists to understand the evidence about the development of life on earth that has been gathered by geologists, paleontologists, zoologists, and molecular biologists for the last century or more. Some scientists propagate a godless philosophy, which they feel is supported by the theory of evolution, but they are presenting their own philosophical viewpoints when they do that, not science. Logically, the fact that some scientists feel evolution supports their godless philosophy doesn't make the theory of evolution false for the same reason that Christianity is not made false by its misapplication by Adolf Hitler, the KKK, or Fred Phelps.

A careful examination of molecular biology and the fossil record demonstrates that evolution is the scientific theory of the development of life on earth that is best supported by the evidence. Nothing in science is "proven" 100.00%, and I suspect that in this section they are going to be playing with the definition of that word, and/or highlighting the imperfections in what the theory of evolution can (thus far) explain. Science doesn't work by rejecting a theory if it can't explain absolutely everything. Science works by accepting the theory that is best supported by the evidence until a better one comes along to replace it. So far, evolution has withstood the test of time for 150 years. (Though as a Christian I believe that the universe was intelligently designed by the God of the Bible, I don't count Intelligent Design as a competing scientific theory.)

Historical instances of using Darwinism as a social philosophy with ugly consequences when God is left out of the picture have little do with science or the real theory of evolution. Natural selection means that the organisms that are best fit for their niche in the natural environment will be the ones to survive and pass on their genes, not that we should exterminate the weak or infirm ones or the ones of a race we don't like. The latter does not necessarily follow from the former, unless through the filter of a deranged mind that already wants to do the latter anyway. And yet, it seems The Truth Project intends to make this connection as an integral part of their position.

Since the whole name of the curriculum is TRUTH, I am disconcerted by the false and/or misleading statements that appear on the website to summarize the curriculum as described above. I haven't seen the curriculum yet, so you can cry foul if you want, but I think it's safe to assume the content follows from the point of view shown in these summary statements. I wonder what's in the other 11 modules, and if it's true or not?

If you were, say, a diabolical spiritual being bent on destroying Christians and Christianity, wouldn't it be hilarious if Christians would enthusiastically advocate and insist on views that are 1) not necessary to the truths of Christianity, 2) false, and therefore incongruent with the ostensibly truth-rooted Christianity and with Christ, who declared himself to be The Truth (John 14:6), and 3) known by onlooking unbelievers to be false, and therefore cause them to reject the real Christian beliefs such as Christ and him crucified?