Darwinism has planted the seed of the idea that humans are merely a by-product of chance. They are accidental and contingent parts of creation -- not the lords of the universe as the Bible would lead us to believe because we were created by greatness. Darwin's theory was not what religious people wanted to hear -- to hear that humans may not be the creation of God, but rather, something created out of happenstance or cause and effect, has led people to wonder if God really exists or if everything just comes down to science and thus makes God obsolete. If mankind is only on earth because of accident, then the idea of a higher purpose seems to be ridiculous. If humans have evolved from apes, then what is the purpose of our lives on this planet but to be a part of a long chain? The idea of evolution changed everything. If there is not divine creation, then there is no purpose and there is no distinction between goodness and evil; nothing makes sense or has purpose anymore. Not only is this a depressing idea, but it also takes faith and hope of something greater than us in this universe away. It really makes us question what the whole purpose of life is. For religious people who believe in God and believe that humans were made in the image of God, the idea of evolution doesn't make sense and inspired anger, frustration and confusion in many.
In Aristotelian view of the exalted man, the idea of evolution destroys more positive ideas about humans and our purpose on this planet. Aristotelian ideals of the exalted man depict a man who will act out of nobility as opposed to usefulness. That is to say that if a man has the idea that he is exalted because he was created by something magnificent, then he has something to strive for and thus he can have an exalted view of himself. However, if a man no longer believes that he is something worthy of exaltation then he will not strive to act nobly.
Aristotle said:
They [young people] have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things / and that means have exalted notions. They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones: Their lives are regulated more by moral feeling...
They overdo everything / they love too much, hate too much, and the same with everything else (Aristotle).
This quote by Aristotle shows the importance of what it means to believe one comes from something important. It changes the way humans think of the world and of themselves and it even urges them to act in certain ways that they wouldn't otherwise if they believed themselves to be of a less important origin.
Works Cited
Aristotle. Quotations Book. Web. 5 May 2011:
http://quotationsbook.com/quote/42910/#axzz1LW6xQjNW
Barbour, Ian G. Religion and Science: Historical and Contemporary Issues. HarperOne; Rev Sub
edition, 1997. Print.
Gould, Stephen Jay. Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life. Ballantine Books, 2002. Print.
Halloway, Andrew. "Stephen Hawking's latest book fails to disprove God." Free Republic. 6
Sept 2010. Web. 4 May 2011: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2584175/posts
Heidel, Alexander. The Babylonian Genesis: The Story of Creation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2nd edition, 1963. Print.
Hyers, Conrad. The Meaning of Creation: Genesis and Modern Science. Westminster John Knox
Press, 2009. Print.
Mitchell, Lynn. & Blackard, Kirk. Reconciling the Bible and Science: A Primer on the Two
Books of God. Book Surge Publishing, 2009. Print.
Morris, Henry M. Scientific Creationism. Master Books; 2nd edition, 1974. Print.
Newton, Sir Isaac. & Hawking, Stephen W. Principia (on the Shoulders of Giants). Running
Press, 2005. Print.
Numbers, Ronald L. God & Nature: Historical Essays on the Encounter between Christianity and Science. Cambridge: Harvard University Press; Expanded edition, 2006. Print.
Snobelen, Stephen D. "Isaac Newton: His science and religion." Science, Religion, and Society:
An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Controversy, 2 Vols., ed. Arri Eisen and Gary
Laderman. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2007, vol. 1, pp. 355-69. Print.
