Evolutionary Psychology
Evolution is one of the most powerful ideas shaping
human society today. In addition to its pervasive influence upon popular science,
evolutionary thought is experiencing a resurgence in the social sciences, despite the
connection between Social Darwinism and genocide. While researchers in the ‘hard
sciences’ are finding increasing evidences of intelligent design, researchers in
psychology and other social sciences seek to explain human behavior as an evolutionary
development. This ‘new’ branch of study is known as evolutionary psychology.
Social Darwinism, the emphasis on ‘survival of
the fittest’ in society, is the direct intellectual ancestor not only of Nazi
eugenics, but also of evolutionary psychology. While Social Darwinism sought to justify
the domination of strong individuals, races and societies over the weak, evolutionary
psychology applies natural selection to the most basic level, the gene.
In his book The Selfish Gene Richard Dawkins
states ‘We, and all other animals, are machines created by our genes...We are
survival machines...robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules
known as genes.’ Robert Wright adds in The Moral Animal-Why we are the way we are:
The new science of evolutionary psychology, ‘We believe the things—about
morality, personal worth, even objective truth—that lead to behaviors that get our
genes into the next generation... What is in our genes best interest is what seems
‘right’—morally right, objectively right, whatever sort of rightness is in
order.’ To the evolutionary psychologist, human behavior and morality are designed by
natural selection to have one purpose, the preservation of genetic material.
The implications of evolutionary psychology are
enormous. Judeo-Christian values teach that man is a being with free choice, the ability
to choose between right and wrong. Evolutionary psychology teaches exactly the opposite,
that man’s behavior is predetermined by the overriding need to preserve his genes.
Philip Yancey, commentator for Christianity Today, observes that ‘the
evolutionary psychologists have devised a unified theory of human depravity that would
make John Calvin blush. Hard- wired for selfishness, we have no potential for anything
else.’
Dawkins admits ‘if you wish, as I do, to build a
society in which individuals cooperate generously and unselfishly towards a common good,
you can expect little help from biological nature. Let us try to teach generosity and
altruism, because we are born selfish. Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up
to, because we may then at least have a chance to upset their designs, something that no
other species has ever aspired to do.’
While Dawkins holds out hope that man can to some
degree thwart his genetically programmed behaviors, other evolutionary psychologists have
none to offer. Edward O. Wilson notes: ‘Human behavior—like the deepest
capacities for emotional response which drive and guide it—is the circuitous
technique by which human genetic material has been and will be kept intact. Morality has
no other demonstrable function.’ In this view morality has nothing to do with
uplifting mankind to a better way of living, it is merely the ‘rules’ by which
human behavior protects its genes.
How have evolutionary psychologists reached these
conclusions about human morality and genetic selfishness? Comparing other animal species
with humanity is their key to unlocking the secrets of human behavior.
Just as Darwin compared human and animal anatomy, So
the evolutionary psychologists compare human behavior with that of primates, birds, and
even insects to find profound evidence that man’s behavior is an evolutionary
construct. Rather than understanding moral behavior in the context of responsibility to a
Creator, Yancey observes that evolutionary psychologists ‘have relocated our primary
source for morality and meaning in the beasts... as if in direct fulfillment of Romans
1.’
What kind of society does evolutionary psychology
portend? Given the history of Social Darwinism, this is an important question. If
increasing the chance of one’s genetic survival is the dominant goal, human society
would tolerate sexual infidelity and polygamy (both increasing the chances of passing
genetic material on to descending generations), infanticide (eliminating deficient genetic
offspring), euthanasia (eliminating the genetically inferior or the aged), eugenics
(biologically engineering the survival of the strongest human genes), and violence
(husbands, wives and children each competing for resources for their genes). In such a
society criminal and deviant behavior, even civil issues like marriage and parental
responsibility, would have to be redefined in light of genetic self interest.
As Social Darwinism was once a promising theory to
scientists and other leaders and yet it became the forerunner of racism, eugenics, and
genocide, what will be the real impact of evolutionary psychology if it pervades human
society? Any theory which rationalizes human selfishness is a recipe for anarchy and
disaster. For every person to be justified in serving his genetic self interest is to
unleash mankind from any moral compass, from any thought of responsibility to his Creator,
his community, his neighbor, or even to his family. There exists no better rationalization
for self gratification and immorality than evolutionary psychology. Sociogists already
observe the destructive tendencies of youth and malcontents who feel no moral obligations
to family or community. Educators are concerned about the trends seen among students
toward self interest and pleasure and away from duties to their fellow man.
While evolution once promised that mankind was
climbing the ladder towards utopia, now it offers no more than the acknowledgement that
man is born selfish, a prisoner of his genetic material, with little or no hope of
improving his lot in life.
Its a Matter of Life or
Death
In 1859, Charles Darwin wrote his treatise, The
Origin of Species, and ever since scholars and believers have debated the truth and value
of Darwin’s assertion that species develop through a process of natural selection, or
evolution. Currently, many people regard evolution as an accepted principle in the realm
of science and fail to weigh the heavy negative impact which the theory of evolution has
already had upon human life and society. Does it matter what we believe about the origin
of man? Does it make a difference whether we believe an intelligent Creator designed and
created man and the universe, or whether creation came about through natural or even
random processes? Yes, this is a great matter, a matter of life and death!
William Provine, a Cornell biologist and evolution
supporter, plainly states what Darwinism means for human values, ‘No life after
death; No ultimate foundation for ethics; No ultimate meaning for life; No free
will.’ If mankind was created by natural law or by chance then there can be no human
choice, meaning, or purpose in mankind’s destiny, nor could there be a reliable moral
compass to govern the individual members of society. If Darwinism is followed to its
logical social conclusion, any course of action taken by the strong against the weak can
be justified as harmonious with the process of natural selection. Modern human history has
clearly shown the devastating impact of the evolution theory upon mankind.
In his book, Out of Control, Zbigniew Brzezinski
notes that the twentieth century began as the century of promise and progress and yet it
‘became mankind’s most bloody and hateful century, a century of hallucinatory
politics and of monstrous killings. Cruelty was institutionalized to an unprecedented
degree, lethality was organized on a mass production basis. The contrast between the
scientific potential for good and the political evil that was actually unleashed is
shocking. Never before did it consume So many lives, never before was human annihilation
pursued with such concentration of sustained effort on behalf of such arrogantly
irrational goals.’ Wars for world or regional domination and attempts to create
totalitarian utopias caused the deaths of approximately 175 million people in this century
of insanity. How is it that the course of human history was So tragically directed toward
the devaluing of human life on such an immense scale?
Social Evolution
To understand the unthinkable, the destruction of So
much of humanity, it is necessary to discover the philosophical underpinning of those who
perpetrated such destruction and horror upon their fellow human beings.
The roots of Nazism are well known to have their
source in the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche and his theory of the Superman.
Nietzsche’s philosophy in turn drew from the writings of Darwin and Herbert Spencer.
While Darwin’s work and conclusions were confined to the field of biology; Spencer
attempted to apply the principles underlying evolution to other fields of science,
including the social sciences.
Spencer coined the phrases ‘struggle for
existence,’ and ‘survival of the fittest.’ Yet it was Nietzsche who most
clearly articulated that evolution showed that strength is the most desired quality and
weakness the only failing. Will Durant notes the connection in The Story of Philosophy:
‘The ethical philosophy of Spencer was not the most natural corollary of the theory
of evolution. If life is a struggle for existence in which the fittest survive, then
strength is the ultimate virtue, and weakness the only fault. Good is that which survives,
and wins; bad is that which gives way and fails. Only the mid- Victorian cowardice of the
English Darwinians, and the bourgeois respectability of French positivists and German
socialists, could conceal the inevitableness of this conclusion. These men were brave
enough to reject Christian theology, but they did not dare to be logical, to reject the
moral ideas, the worship of meekness and gentleness and altruism, which had grown out of
that theology. They ceased to be Anglicans, or Catholics, or Lutherans; but they did not
dare cease to be Christians...they had removed the theological basis of modern morals, but
they had left that morality itself untouched and inviolate, hanging miraculously in the
air; a little breath of biology was all that was needed to clear away this remnant of
imposture. Men who could think clearly soon perceived what the profoundest of minds of
every age had known: that in this battle we call life, what we need is not goodness but
strength, not humility but pride, not altruism but resolute intelligence; that equality
and democracy are against the grain of selection and survival; that not masses but
geniuses are the goal of evolution; that not ‘justice’ but power is the arbiter
of all differences and all destinies. —So it seemed to Friedrich Nietzsche.’
Fascism and Communism
It is against this philosophical backdrop that the
nations in the early 20th century justified the dividing of the world into colonies. The
non- white peoples of the world became the burden of the Western nations, whose duty it
was to extend their rule to a guardianship over the lesser, weaker nations. In the case of
Germany, hegemony was sought over the entire world because all were considered inferior to
the Aryan race. This idea influenced Kaiser Wilhelm before World War I as it later found
full expression in Hitler during World War II. The total military and civilian deaths of
just these two wars is more than 75 million, including the deliberate destruction of Jews
and others in the holocaust, all this justified in the name of ‘survival of the
fittest,’ and the claimed genetic superiority of one people over all others.
However, this philosophical madness was not limited
to the German nation but was the source of the majority of the multitude of wars in the
20th century. Almost as tragic as the world wars are the deaths of nearly 60 million
people as Communist states sought to create and control perfect socialist societies.
Lenin, Stalin, and Mao all believed that strength and power were essential to survival and
should be used ruthlessly, even against their own people. It was the consolidation of
Communist rule, rather than the civil war that created the Communist government, which
brought the majority of these deaths through forced collectivization of society,
elimination of opponents, and manufactured famines in areas of resistance. Again,
‘survival of the fittest’ was appealed to for justification as the weakest of
society were sacrificed to ensure the continued dominance of the strong.
Even today with the grim histories of Fascist and
Communist regimes, the same story of man’s inhumanity to man has been replayed in a
smaller but no less inhuman fashion in Bosnia, Rwanda, Cambodia, Kosovo and other places.
Even in the richest of nations, the United States, the principle of ‘survival of the
fittest’ can be found pervading its institutions, particularly the financial,
industrial and political segments of society. While a democracy ostensibly provides
protection and opportunity to all of its citizens, in fact the rich and influential
exercise a disproportionate influence to secure power and control to themselves.
The fact that the rich are getting richer is
reflected in a U.S. News and World Report editorial: Despite the economic boom, poverty
rates have dropped only a smidgen and the number of people living in extreme
circumstances—less than $6,750 a year for a family of three—has actually
increased from 13.9 million in 1995 to 14.6 million in 1997. One in every 5 youngsters is
still poor, compared with 1 in 7 in the 1970s.
Just as in the United States itself, the world is
experiencing a growing gap between the rich and poor, and that is a poisonous mix. That is
going to create a crisis in the future- warning of potential anarchy in Africa as well as
Russia.... The United Nations has issued a stinging report....It says that even as
corporate executives, scientists, entertainers, and others are now forming a ‘global
professional elite,’ inequality is rapidly increasing within many countries. The
income gap between the top and bottom fifth of the world’s population has more than
doubled since 1960.
Personal Amorality
Personal experiences of many individuals also
corroborate the sad influence of the evolution theory. For example, Provine’s
statement above about the meaning of Darwinism for human values was challenged by a young
listener who said:
‘My background is murder and rape. I once
thought that was okay, because who cared about life?’ But now he went on, he had come
to realize that ‘life does matter’ and ‘there are absolutes.’ The
man’s words were a stunning reminder that the origins debate is not merely academic;
it involves the most fundamental principles by which people live and die.
Does it Matter?
Does it matter then whether we believe in creation or
in evolution? Based on the overwhelming historical evidence alone we answer emphatically,
YES! The theory of evolution has had an extraordinarily adverse impact on mankind and
should be committed to the dust bin of history. Let us reexamine the scriptural testimony
which the theory of evolution was meant to replace:
1. ’And God said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness.’ Genesis 1:26 Man was created in the mental and moral likeness of
God, with ability to reason and to exercise his free will to choose right or wrong. Man
exists on a higher plane than the animals and ‘a little lower than the angels.’
Man is responsible to the Creator for failing to observe his law.
2. ’For as all in Adam die, even So all in
Christ shall be made alive.’ ‘All that are in their graves shall hear his voice
and shall come forth.’ 1 Corinthians 15:22 John 5:28- 29 Adam’s fall into sin
affected the entire human race. It is through Adam that mankind inherited sin and death.
Jesus tasted death for every man that all might have an opportunity for fullness of
perfect life. Contrary to evolution man will have a return from death.
3. ’Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven.’ ‘And hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we
shall reign on the earth.’ ‘And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand
years.’
Matthew 6:10 Revelation 5:10,20:4,6 The faithful
church is privileged to reign with Christ for the thousand years of judging and blessing
mankind in the kingdom. The purpose of the Millennial Age is to teach every man the law of
God that at its close the will of God will be done on earth as fully as it is now done in
heaven. Those of mankind who are shown to be incorrigible, who will not obey Christ will
be cut off from life in the second death.
What a contrast is shown when the principles of life
in the scriptures are compared with the effects of the theory of evolution on mankind!
Evolution held out the hope of mankind ever rising to higher levels, but this dream turned
out to be a nightmare. The scriptures have always exercised an uplifting influence upon
man, whereas evolution has degraded him. Belief in the intelligent Creator and Designer of
all things is indeed a matter of life, and belief in the evolution theory a matter of
death!
’And this is life eternal, that they might
know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.’ John 17:3
What is God Doing Now?
Many believe the opportunity for eternal life ends
with the second advent of Jesus. Nothing could be further from the Truth. The common words
ALL and EVERY are two of the most important words in the Bible. In Luke 2:10 the angel who
announced the birth of Jesus said, ‘Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy
which shall be to ALL people.’ Verses 30 and 31 speak of salvation for ‘ALL
people.’
First 4:10 speaks of God as ‘the Savior of ALL
men.’ The simple logic of Jesus dying for ALL is found in 1 Corinthians 15:22:
‘As in Adam ALL die even So in Christ shall ALL be made alive.’ Similarly,
Romans 5:18 shows that ‘by the offense of one [Adam] judgment came upon ALL men to
condemnation: even So by the righteousness of one [Christ] the free gift came upon ALL
men.’ Father Adam sinned with the unborn race yet in his loins. Therefore, ALL were
born in sin and shapen in iniquity { Psalms 51:5} and thus worthy of death. God knew that
Adam, due to a lack of experience, would disobey.
Thus 1 Peter 1:19,20, speaks of the blood of Christ
as being foreordained for our redemption even before Adam was created. Since ALL were lost
in Adam, it was necessary that Jesus ‘by the grace of God should taste death for
EVERY man’.{ Hebrews 2:9}
John 1:7 speaks of Jesus as ‘the Light, that ALL
men through him might believe.’ Verse 9 says he is ‘the True Light, which
lighteth EVERY man that cometh into the world.’ How can this be? Countless millions
died before the time of Jesus. They never saw the True Light! They never heard the name of
Jesus. And since the death of Jesus, millions died never hearing of the only ‘name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved’.{ Acts 4:12} If you are a
Bible - believing Christian, you know that no one is saved through ignorance but only by
believing in Jesus as his or her savior. This is a seeming contradiction.
The answer is found in 1 Timothy 2:5,6,
‘...Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for ALL, to be testified in due
time’—a plain statement that Jesus died for ‘ALL.’ If Jesus died for
‘ALL,’ why is it that ALL do not have the opportunity to hear this good news?
The key of harmony is found in the phrase ‘due time.’ The Greek word translated
‘time’ is plural; i.e., times (THAYER’S LEXICON of the New Testament). The
knowledge that Jesus is a ransom for ALL will be testified ‘in due times.’
The due time for those God is calling to be of the
Church is during the Christian Age. The due time for ALL other people to understand is
during the 1,000&8209; year reign of Christ.
Now is not the time for ALL to hear the name of
Jesus. God is not trying to convert the world between the first and second advents. If He
was, then He has obviously failed. For after nearly 2,000 years, less than one third of
the world’s population even claims to be Christian. The fact is, Jesus predicted that
the gospel would only be a witness to the world, not that all would be converted before
the end of the Age. Mark 4:11,12, specifically states that God is not trying to convert
the world now. Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Unto you it is given to know the mystery
of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without all these things are done in
parables. That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not
understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven
them.’ Ponder well this scripture.
If Jesus died for ALL, why has God arranged that many
would not be able to understand the Bible and, therefore, not be converted and have their
sins forgiven? The Bible is not written like a textbook system of logic. God purposely had
the Bible written in parables and symbols, So that many would not be converted and have
their sins forgiven. This is why there are over 250 Christian denominations with So many
different interpretations of the Bible. God has not attempted to convert the world, but is
only calling a ‘little flock’ at this time. If man’s eternal destiny was
dependent upon understanding the Bible now, our God of love { 1 John 4:8} would have
surely made the Bible plain and simple for all to understand.
Acts 15:14- 17 reveals that ‘God at the first
did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name [not to convert all].
And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, after this I will return
[Second Advent] and build again the tabernacle of David [set up the kingdom of God]...that
the residue [REMAINDER] of men might seek after the Lord and ALL the Gentiles....’
God’s work since the death of Jesus has not been to convert all humankind, but merely
to take out or to call out a ‘people for his name.’ In the Kingdom, all the
REMAINDER of men, who are not of these called out ones, will have their opportunity to
seek the Lord.
Similarly, 1 Timothy 2:3,4, states that God
‘will have ALL men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge [Greek, accurate
knowledge] of the truth.’ This is a salvation that comes before knowledge.
Jesus’ ransom for ALL (verse 6) guarantees that ALL who died in Adam will be saved
from Adamic death.
The ALL of 1 Timothy 2:6, who are ransomed, parallel
the ALL of John 5:28,29 who come forth from their graves. Jesus divides this ALL into two
classes—the ‘good’ and the ‘evil.’ The ‘good’ is a
reference to the church who are united with Jesus in the resurrection. The
‘evil’ are the remainder of mankind—come forth ‘unto the resurrection
of trial (Greek- krisis).’ The Greek word ‘krisis’ has the same meaning as
our English word crisis. Crisis is the time a situation can take a turn for the better or
worse. The crisis or time of probation for the majority of mankind will be in the Kingdom
of God.
Restitution Not Evolution
...When the times of refreshing shall come from the
presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you.
- Acts 3:19- 20
In the Kingdom, Jesus and his church will embark
upon the greatest educational program in history. Isaiah 11:9 states, ‘...for the
earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.’ Also
Jeremiah 31:34 says, ‘...for they shall ALL know me from the least of them unto the
greatest.’ Verses 29 and 30 show that for the majority, the Kingdom will provide the
first full, fair opportunity for salvation. ‘In those days they shall say no more,
the fathers have eaten a sour grape and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But
everyone shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth
shall be set on edge.’
When ALL who are not of the church come forth from
the grave in God’s Kingdom, { Acts 15:14- 17 John 5:28,29} they will be informed that
they have been purchased with the precious blood of Christ. And they will be made aware of
the fact that they are now under the reign of Jesus Christ and his church. { 1 Corinthians
6:2} What confidence they will have that the church will know just how to enter into their
problems! Why? Because the members of the church also were once sinners.
Further, humanity will realize that the church
representatively experienced all the problems, hardships, and emotional and mental
tragedies endured by them. Because ‘God So loved the world that He gave His only
begotten son’ for them, { John 3:16} the church will cherish each individual of the
human race. The personal experiences of true Christians in overcoming sin and struggling
with their own emotional and psychological problems { 2 Corinthians 10:4,5 Hebrews 12:3,4}
will give them an ‘understanding heart’ So that they will know when to show
compassion on ignorance and when to administer discipline where willfulness is involved.
{Hebrews 5:2 Luke 12:48} This plan of rehabilitation will work. The majority of
humanity will gladly receive the instruction, the discipline and the nurture necessary to
pass their trial for eternal life.
The Blessings of the Kingdom
Isaiah 35 portrays some of the wondrous Kingdom
blessings. ‘...the desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose’ (verse 1). The
blind shall see, the deaf shall hear, the lame shall walk, the dumb sing (verses 5 and 6).
Verses 8 and 9, speaking of the Highway of Holiness, state that it will be for the
‘unclean,’ but the unclean shall not pass over it. This interesting phrase can
be compared to an automatic car wash. It is for dirty cars, but dirty cars don’t pass
over it, because they are clean by the time they reach the end of the car wash. Similarly,
the Highway of Holiness is for the morally unclean. Through the instruction and nurture of
Christ and his church, they will step by step be made morally clean.
Verse 9 shows no lion shall be there. Peter
identified Satan as symbolized by the ‘lion’ { 1 Peter 5:8} and Revelation 20:1-
3 reveals Satan will be bound (unable to tempt or hinder mankind) during the 1,000- year
Kingdom. ‘But the redeemed shall walk there.’ Verse 10 concludes, ‘And the
ransomed [Jesus died a ransom for ‘ALL’ 1 Timothy 2:6] of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion [the Kingdom] with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. They shall
obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.’ The climax of the
Kingdom work is described in Revelation 21:4, ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall
there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’
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