I just finished reading Sean Carroll’s excellent book The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution. What a great book.
As somebody who has been interested in evolution since he was a kid (although for years I thought I was debunking it) I think there is little more fascinating than learning about the discoveries of the last 20 years in DNA research that have put the final nail in the coffin of creationism. It is possible that a thinking person could have doubted evolution 100 years ago or even 50 years ago, but now those days are past. Not only is science increasingly revealing the fossil record of evolution of life on this planet, but they’ve figured out how and why it happens. Where does the genetic material come from, how does it develop new traits in species, how do new species form, the forensic record containing the answers to all these questions is now available for us to see and read as every species on earth is carrying it’s evolutionary history around with it in it’s cells. I am really happy to be living in this time.
Despite what the ID proponents will say, despite what the good old fashioned Biblical literalists like my Jehovah’s Witness family will say, the jury is in, the case is closed. As improbable as it may seem, this is what happened. Life evolved and keeps evolving. Deal with it. People who believe otherwise are no different in any major respect than flat earth proponents or people who believe in leprechauns. I know this, have known this, for some time now, but to see the evidence so nicely laid out, to read such an erudite and loving piece of work as this book, is a true joy.
Sometimes I am embarrassed that I had a creationist background. I am ashamed that for years I fought on the side of such an ignorant and antiquated view of the world. I think to myself, “God Ryan, you should have figured this out years and years ago.” and then I think about why I didn’t. I didn’t figure it out because I was happy. I was happy to believe what I believed. It was what I had always been taught and I had never really had a particularly good reason to question it. I didn’t read science books, I read science fiction. I spent most of my time making music nto questioning whether the things I was taught as a child were true. If I had looked into these things earlier, I would have left earlier. As it stands, I figured it out as soon as I really paid attention.
The lesson I derive from all that is that it pays to pay attention. Comfort in a belief, acceptance that you know something without really examining all sides of it can be extremely dangerous. I feel basically confident in the rough outlines of what I believe today because they make sense, they fit the evidence. I can’t think of anything that I believe that is contradicted by life or the universe as I observe it. However, it is humbling to know just how wrong I can be. It’s a poignant reminder that I need to always be on guard, always learning, always testing what I think I believe and always paying attention to new discoveries.
Considering the mountain of DNA evidence that is pouring in today and the rapidity with which that evidence can be shared with the world via the Internet, I really have to wonder how long before even the Watchtower Society is forced to adjust their position and find some sort of way to accept evolution into their teachings. To deny it at this point is akin to denying gravity or heliocentrism. I know that funamentalist religions are always slow to get around to accepting reality but I gotta wonder if they can really postpone it forever? Won’t subsequent generations of Jehovah’s Witnesses eventually grow up with such a grounded understanding of genetics and evolution that no amount of fairytale slinging will be able to deter them from developing their own readings of the scriptures that allow for evolution? It’s that or the Organization will continue to fade. We shall see.
More From Ryan Sutter
- The Long Dark Night of the Soul
- The Pattern
- Certified Apostate
- The Internet vs. The Watchtower
- The End of The Lavone
