Darwinian Genius

Okay, okay, now before you panic, let me explain something. I'm not here to try to convince you that our many-great grandparents were chimpanzees, or that our children's children will have three arms and a tail. Because I don't believe that. But I do believe in taking the good for what it's worth, with open arms and an invitation to stay, and filtering out the rest. And Darwin made some amazing discoveries. Well, one in particular, and that's diversity. From years of waiting, watching, observing patterns, actually paying attention to the world around him, (which, it might be noted, is a pretty ingenius concept in itself), he discovered that every form of life on the beautiful planet we call Earth, whether it be human, plant, animal, even fungus, is diverse, that each species carries among its population thousands, millions, even billions of unique genetic codes. And I commend him for this discovery. Yes, that's right, call me un-Christian, call me sacreligious, call me what you will, but I believe that this is a discovery to be embraced, to be celebrated. And not in spite of the fact that it was Darwin's, but because it was Darwin's. We've just all been too busy shaking a fist at what we don't believe (do NOT talk to me about Darwin - I have religion to tell me where my ancestors came from) to leave our arms open for something beneficial that just might saunter in and surprise us. Because, yes, we do have religion, and I in no way mean to undermine that gift. And that is what it is - a gift to enable us the discernment of good and evil. But guess what, folks, convincing us that we evolved from monkeys was not Darwin's only aim.

It's this very diversity that has kept us, and our fellow Earth-dwellers, alive for so many years. We are pre-programmed for survival. We, along with every species of tree, insect, etc, have made it from the birth of our planet to the present, have made it through draught, earthquake, tornado, even worldwide flooding, and are still going strong. Because, while individuals die and new are born every day, the population is still alive, and despite these deaths and births, we still are what we were yesterday, whether that's a field of wheat, a grove of trees, a flock of birds, or a country of human citizens. There have been times when nothing has remained but a few seedlings, whether cast into the wind or carried away on the belly of a bumblebee or hummingbird. But those seedlings were all that was needed for the survival of that species. Science and religion should never have to be at odds. Acknowledging diversity and celebrating our survival does not diminish God's power, because He is behind it all, no matter what particular God you choose to believe in, He's there. His house is a house of order, and He has set everything in the proper order for survival and growth. Yes, He is omnipotent, and therefore can step in to create miracles, phenomena that cannot be explained by Darwin or anyone else for that matter, but that doesn't mean that He doesn't often work in patterns, in orders. And there's nothing wrong with discovering and reverencing those patterns.

I took a grand total of one Biology class in college. My brother and I enrolled one summer because, well, we had heard it would be easy. And it was. But somehow, in between my naps and his hitting on the cute girl next to him, we picked up a few tidbits of information. We learned about the importance of fiber in your diet, which sparked what I will refer to as the High Fiber War, which is basically a quest to find the food highest in fiber. (Ryan's currently winning - whole wheat couscous has 8 grams of fiber in 1/4 cup. Wow.) But my favorite Biology discovery is this: ice floats. Okay, so maybe I knew that before I ever took Biology 100, but short of acknowledging that it's fun to poke at with my straw, I hadn't thought much of it. But it's this simple fact that allows us to skate on a pond that's not fully frozen through, and what keeps our oceans from becoming nothing more than blocks of ice. Think about it. If ice sank, whenever a body of water froze, the ice would recede to the bottom, where the sun's warmth doesn't reach. And then it would accumulate, until there was nothing left but a thin layer of water atop our otherwise frozen world. Armageddon would have occurred long ago, maybe even before our first parents were mourning the death of one son and the spiritual demise of another. I've been told by some that I'm smart, while others prefer to remain mute on the matter. I tend to not think about it much, as it would result in one of two outcomes, either disappointment or pride, both of which I already have too much of. But I do know this much. It would take an intelligence far more comprehending than my own simple mind to recognize that something as basic as making ice float could save our world from destruction. And there's nothing irreligious about that.