Saturday, October 24, 2009

Lewis on the Accident of Evolution

I was doing some studying on creation for this Sunday morning as we look at day four of the Creation account in Genesis. I came across the following quote by C.S. Lewis regarding the accident of evolution:

If the solar system was brought about by an accidental collission, then the appearance of organic life on this planet was also an accident, and the whole evolution of Man was an acdient too. If so, then all our present thoughts are accidents - the accidental by-product of the movement of atoms. Adn this holds for the thoughts of the materialists and astronomers as well as for anyone else's. But if their thoughts are merely accidental by-products, why should we believe them to be true? I see no reason for believing that one accident should be able to give me a correct account of all the other accidents. -Lewis, God on the Dock, 52-53

Lewis makes an excellent point. Evolution is built around an entire series of accidents. If everything is an accident, then our very thoughts are accidents. Therefore, how can I trust the accidental thoughts of a biochemist over the accidental thoughts of a factory worker? In one paragraph, Lewis raises an incredible challenge to the evolutionary worldview.

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