Darwin Day 2009

Recently, I had the invigorating opportunity to attend a debate between Dan Barker (atheist) and Dinesh D’Souza (christian). The debate resolution was “Can we be good without God?” During the debate, the subject of Darwinian evolution was referred to many times by Dan Barker in order to solidify his arguments as an atheist. It got me thinking more about Darwin’s theory, and since we are on the verge celebrating the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birthday on February 12th, I thought I might explore the subject. Consider the following statement by Mole333:

Darwin's 200th birthday, to be celebrated by the GLOBAL community as a toast to the common good of all humanity. We will all want to develop events to Celebrate Darwin, Science and Humanity and come together as one human family in appreciation of verifiable knowledge that has been acquired solely through human curiosity and ingenuity. Scientific knowledge has been of great value to all of us.
http://moleprogressive.blogspot.com/2009/01/nevada-focus-darwin-day-blogs_29.html

Toast to the common good of all humanity?
First, like Mole333 and Dan Barker (who said, “If you want to be a good person, be a good person.), most evolutionists have seemed to have overlooked a key word- GOOD. Without a creator, there is absolutely no logical way to measure what the standard of goodness is. If God, our Creator is not the standard of goodness, and if He hasn’t provided us with a conscience to know what that standard is, good becomes a relative term. If, as evolutionary thought states, we are all products of random chance, there is no basis for the Darwinists to claim that their definition of good (whatever it is) is any better than another group of people’s definition of good, such as terrorists. What if I thought it was a good thing to steal? After all, my family and siblings could live much more comfortably, if I stole - that would be good thing for us, right? Tell me fellow byproducts of chance, how and why could you tell me that my opinion of goodness really isn’t good, but that your opinion is truly good?

On to my second point, not only is it illogical for Darwinists claim “goodness” but it is equally illogical for them to claim that Darwin’s ideas were or are good for ALL humanity. Indeed, the effects of social Darwinism can be found all around us.

What is social Darwinism? Bill Muehlenberg explains:
“‘Social Darwinism’ is a term which refers to the social and political ramifications of biological Darwinism and the materialism which it is imbedded in. Darwin regarded humans as basically higher animals, and as the social sciences became more and more tinged by the Darwinian outlook, humans increasingly began to be treated as mere animals, or machines.
… As academics, scientists and politicians apply the Darwinian view of man to various social sciences, some very negative outcomes have ensued. We have steadily become dehumanised and depersonalised as we have taken on board the logical implications of evolutionary materialism.”

Ahh…humans treated like animals or machines, steadily dehumanised and depersonalised. This kind of thinking does sound good for all humanity! However, maybe this kind of reasoning would explain why human embryos can be treated like lab rats for scientific experimentation. Or why Planned Parenthood, Doctors, and individuals can think of discarding human life through abortion and euthanasia as if it were of no value. Or why people like Hitler, desiring to expedite the evolutionary upward climb to perfection and utopia, could stomach the slaughter of millions of Jews, the weak, the old, the handicapped, the “less-favoured” races. Or why Criminals, instead of receiving justice, receive mental therapy. Yes, all this good stuff is made possible in part by, Social Darwinism…and can be found being taught, endorsed and praised at a location near you!The bottom line is this: Darwinism is the major driving force in the effort to reduce the value of human life. Hmm…maybe, this doesn’t sound so good for our race?

In his closing statement during the debate, Dan Barker said that there is no need for a god. By stating this, He was implying that all we need is ourselves to be good and determine goodness. He then relayed a story about a young man who went up to an atheist after a debate and asked him something like, “What should I do to have a meaningful life?” The atheist replied, “ If you want to have meaning in life, do something meaningful.” However really think about that statement and you’ll realize that this is another area in which Darwinian evolution has trouble with. Besides having trouble with the goodness claim once again, the claim that there is an actual essence to life by the Darwinist is absurd. Think about what he is saying. He’s saying that a total random, unguided, meaningless process created life with a meaningful essence or existence! Does life have an essence? Yes, a single essence given to us by God. If this essence wasn’t given to us by God, then just as was the case in the goodness debate, the essence of life would also be relative. This by no means ends the many errors of Darwinian thought, but I just wanted to highlight some of those many issues.

I like how Dinesh D’Souza closed out his last speech. He questioned the real reason we were having the debate. He quoted Fyodor Dostoyevsky who said, “If God is not, everything is permitted.” Those who want to continue to live in the God-rejecting lifestyle they are living in, try to be free from their moral guilt, by getting rid of The Judge. But there is hope for them, and I encourage my fellow Christians to pray for those who will be celebrating Darwin Day. Pray that they would realize there IS a God, for this is the start to realizing His love for us.

Daniel Wanschura

"An Unspeakable Horror"

The following is a speech I wrote to deliver at this year's competitive speech tournaments. I thought that since January is Sanctity of Life Month, and today is Sanctity of Life Sunday, that I would share it with you. Any feedback is welcome and appreciated.

September 11, 2001. It started out as beautiful autumn morning, and ended as a day that would live on in our minds forever. Planes crashed, buildings burned, and approximately 3,000 lost their lives.

But did you know that every day, approximately 4,000 lose their lives to the horrific domestic terrorism called abortion?

Since Roe v. Wade was made law in 1973, we have lost more American lives to abortion, than we have lost in all of our wars combined. Since America’s founding in 1776, to war, we have lost approximately 1,200,000 soldiers. But to the horrendous practice of abortion, nearly 42 times that amount, have been killed in just 35 years. The current abortion death toll is about 50,000,000.

I believe that in order to stop this atrocious killing, we must restore meaning to the word abortion. What exactly is the unborn? Why can’t we just kill it? Many on the pro-choice side argue that a woman can do whatever she wants with her body, and they are quick to point out that a women shouldn’t have to be punished with a baby, just for making a mistake. Gregory Koukl, president of the apologetics ministry, Stand to Reason says this about the unborn: “If the unborn is not a human being, no justification for abortion is necessary. However, if the unborn is a human being, no justification for abortion is adequate.” So, in order to restore meaning to the abortion debate, we must determine whether or not the unborn is human. There are four major areas that distinguish the unborn from people who are born.

First, there is size. The unborn is much smaller than an adult, but so is a four year old. Does this then mean that bigger people are more human than smaller people? Of course not! So, we can see that our size has absolutely nothing to do with our humanness.

Secondly, there is the unborn’s level of development. An unborn baby isn’t as developed as we are, but neither are handicapped people. Should we be able to do anything we want with handicapped people, just because we are more developed than they are? No. Why? Because they are persons, just like us. We can see then, that our level of development is not what makes us human.

Thirdly, the unborn’s environment is different than ours. But if it is our environment that makes us human, then does that make people in Africa less human than Europeans? Surely, no one would ever think that. So, it obviously isn’t our environment that makes us human.

The fourth thing that separates the unborn from the rest of us is their level of dependency. It is true, that the unborn are very dependent on their mothers, but does that disqualify them from being human? My 18-month-old niece is dependent on other people to survive, and many others lives depend on such things as insulin, oxygen, and medications. But their dependency doesn’t make them less human.

So, we can clearly see that is not our size, our level of development, our environment, or our dependency on others that makes us human. Since those are the only differences between the unborn, and you and I, we must conclude that the unborn are indeed human. This conclusion really should not surprise anyone. The law of biogenesis states that living things reproduce after their own kind. Dogs beget dogs, fish beget fish, and humans beget humans. Now, because we have determined that the unborn are indeed humans, then we must come to the conclusion that abortion kills a person. Not a blob of flesh, or a mass of tissues as some would like us to believe, but a precious, living human being.

Abortion not kills a human being, it also degrades the morality of our society as a whole. In Proverbs, King Solomon observes, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Abortion is a sin because it takes the life a living member of our society. We must fight the sin of abortion, and stop the culture of killing. The late representative Henry J. Hyde, in his book Catch the Burning Flag, says “…I would be terrified at the thought of having to explain, at the final judgment, why I stood unmoved while Herod’s slaughter of the innocents was being reenacted here in my own country.” We cannot look away while our society kills an entire generation and expect no repercussions. You see, when you devalue one from of human life, whether you realize it or not, you devalue all of human life. If we don’t speak up for the unborn now, there will be nobody to speak up for us later. Consider this quote from Martin Nielmoller, a pastor in Nazi Germany during WWII. "In Germany, the Nazis came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionist and I didn't speak because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I was a Protestant and so I did not speak. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for any one'.

Not only does abortion end this life of an innocent child, and degrade our society, it also haunts the mother for the rest of her life. Listen to the emotional testimony of Rebecca Porter. “Walking in the door, I was crying. I did not want to be there. It was like they just wanted to take your money. No one tried to stop me, no counseling. I got up on the table. I remember staring up at the ceiling and the nurse, walked over to me and patted me on the arm and said, “Oh, it will be okay. It will be over soon.” I wouldn’t even look at her because I knew what I was doing was not okay, and I knew it wouldn’t be over soon. After a little while, the abortionist came in. The procedure started—I don’t even think he spoke to me. I just stared at the ceiling the whole time. I could hear the nurse, she walked down to the end of the table where the procedure was happening. For some reason, I did look over at her about the same time she looked down at what he was doing. Then I heard her saying, “Oh look, twins.” Then she looked up at me, and she smiled at me. I just remember seeing her in like slow motion. I’m sure I must have went into shock, but the first thing out of my mouth was, “Oh my God, what have I done?” Then I just began to scream, “Stop, stop. Please stop.” I tried getting up off the table, and the abortionist began to scream at me to lay still, he couldn’t stop what he was doing. They actually had to bring someone in to hold me down on that table while they finished the procedure. I remember walking out of there like a zombie, wishing I were dead. I tried to commit suicide and overdosed several times because I hated myself for what I had done. I want women and men to know that you can never imagine the pain unless you’ve gone through it yourself. Abortion is not something that happens, and you just go on with your life. You go on as a very wounded individual. I don’t want other women to experience the pain that I have had I will speak out to let people know that the laws need to be changed, so that other women don’t make the wrong “choice” like I did. Rebecca is now working with Operation Outcry to help spare other women the pain she went through. Now, some might argue that Rebecca’s story is just an exception. I would like to show you that her story is not an exception, but rather the norm. In the video, “Faces of Abortion” from the ministry Operation Outcry, consider what these mothers say about their abortion experience “…It just overwhelmed me, and I thought the only way to escape the pain was to take my life.” “It brings heartache, it brings hurt.” “ I remember laying there and just sating to myself, that I will never forgive myself for what I am doing.”

Edmund Burke once said that the only thing necessary for evil to triumph was for good men to do nothing. It is time for us to stop ‘standing unmoved’. It is time to speak up for the unborn. We have determined that the unborn, regardless of their size, level of development, environment, or dependency, are humans and because of that they have intrinsic worth, and are deserving of our full protection. Mothers are haunted and live their lives full of remorse and regret. In the time it has taken for me to deliver this speech, 28 babies have been aborted. Here is what you can do to help stop it. Every year on January 22, there is a pro-life march at the state capitol. I urge you to go and show your support for the unborn. For more information go to www.mccl.org. There you can also keep informed about pro-life issues, and legislation concerning the unborn. If you are able, I would also encourage you to donate money to the pro-life cause. The average abortion costs’ about $750, but it only takes about $25 to save one baby through ‘compassionate education’. For more information visit www.movementforabetteramerica.org, and click on “how you can help”. And of course, you can pray. Pray that God will move the hearts of individuals to respect human life, at its most innocent stage.

Meagan Wanschura