On Evolution: “The Shell of Death”

Thanks to Kevin’s mom for forwarding this incredible personal account, written by a man who attends their church in Indianapolis.

Scientific Heresy
written by Dr. Rick Gamble

Recently on an international flight, the well dressed middle aged man seated beside me was, like me, working away on his computer. While we both had laptops, mine was clearly a Chevrolet to his Cadillac. I could see that he was doing some very advanced mapping type of work. Since we had plenty of time, I eventually asked him about what he was working on.

With the reluctance of an important man not having time to share with someone his on Tolkienesque “precious”, he said that he was watching an archeological dig in Africa. I replied with a knowledgeable “uh-huh”. But inside I knew that nobody up in a plane could watch someone in Africa. Yet, it was clearly not a movie playing on his screen.

Finally, I jammed up my courage and asked him a few more questions about what he was doing. The man was, in fact, “watching” a dig and showed me how he called it to his screen. From a large world map, he highlighted a place in Africa, where, within a few nano-seconds, an area appeared on the screen. This was no ordinary, get your driving directions, map-quest type of map. It was topographical and geological-with mountains and elevations presented clear as a bell. He then refocused, and it was plain that the lens had captured about a square mile of mother earth.

My palms began to sweat. I had never seen such a thing. The laptop was obviously accessing highly powerful satellite images. I was slowly becoming intimidated by that machine sitting next to me, and noticing my reaction with hidden delight, the owner asked if I wanted to “see” too. As I stammered a “sure”, he pushed the next button.

There they were. Human beings, detected and tracked by their heat, were working-actually digging, in the dirt. I responded to the “mission impossible” type graphics with as much sophistication as possible, and breathed out a knowledgeable “cool”. Not impressed, he went back to his work and I buried my confused brain in mine.

As sufficient time had elapsed, enough that I thought it possible that he could forget the sophomoric reaction of someone who wrote his dissertation on a typewriter (and it happened that he closed the mouth of the lion seated beside me), I finally asked him what he did for a living. He must have been bored, so he opened up and mentioned that he was in charge of the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of Natural History. Yeah right, I thought. But in response to my questions, he grocery listed a number of Ph. D’s employed in each of the various departments. That information, combined with the stealth satellite technology, nearly put my doubts to rest.

As we talked some more, I asked about his family and he showed me a picture of his wife. She was attractive, but obviously decked out for a grand party. However, as I looked more closely, I couldn’t help but notice her beautiful necklace-one that would regal any wearer.

Before continuing the story, I need to mention that on our honeymoon, my bride and I went to the Smithsonian museum. While there, we saw the famous Hope Diamond. In the picture of the man’s wife, I saw it again. It was on her neck.

He obviously enjoyed that I noticed. As director of Smithsonian, he has personal access to all of its treasures. His wife is permitted to wear the diamond in public. There were no more doubts in my mind about what this man did for a job.

So here was my apologetic chance. Strapped beside me for a few hours more was a Harvard trained scientist who happened to run the Smithsonian. With a quick prayer and mental download of files on creation, the age of the earth, and the antiquity of humanity- we went at it. To each of my questions he gave the orthodox responses of the religion of the Big Bang, the cult of the primordial slime, and the ethics of the world without absolutes.

Those responses did not surprise me. What I found fascinating was his reaction to pointed challenges that revealed his underlying assumptions. He was clearly unable to handle probing questions concerning his world and life view. His reaction actually reminded me of a few times that Jehovah’s Witnesses knocked on our door. When confronted with their theological heresy concerning Christ, based on the Greek text of the New Testament, the Witness’ eyes inevitably glazed over and they repeated whatever mantras they had been trained to regurgitate. Dr. Smithsonian was no different. Nothing that I could say cracked his kriptonian shell. It is a shell of death.

Such stubbornness of heart in the scientific community was underlined recently when an RP teaching elder related his experiences to the Presbytery as a Ph.D. at a major state university. No matter where the scientific evidence led, the brother confessed, one place it could not go for his colleagues was to the scientific heresy of a God who created in an intelligent fashion.

With that background, Stephen Meyer’s story shouldn’t surprise anyone, but how can it not? The Cambridge Ph.D. published an article entitled “The origin of Biological information and the higher taxonomic Categories” in the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. As has been reported in the secular newsprint as well as by Christian media, The Proceedings editor (not Dr. Meyer but a Dr. Rick Sternberg) was fired for permitting the publication of such blasphemous article. Meyer’s unpardonable sin was simply the supposition that the development of new cells and species, from nothing, required biological information that indicated some type of conscious activity. This supposedly erroneous position knocks over all the burning candles at the altar of Darwin and his random biological origins, and must be snuffed out.

The Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington is directly affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute. The former editor, Dr. Sternberg, has a spacious office in the sprawling complex. Not only was he dismissed, but the Smithsonian administration will no longer even allow him to access their collections-thus effectively ending his scientific career. Meanwhile, the director’s wife can still dance with the hope diamond dangling around her neck. It is a treasure that he will keep for her no matter what the cost. It looks like Tolkien’s character Gollum never died.