Evolution need not supplant faith

I am neither a biblical scholar nor a scientist, but Mr. Boelens’ naivete certainly deserves a response to his March 29 letter in Fence Post. Current belief among biblical scholars is that the first five books of the Bible were written by a whole bunch of guys way before Moses. Some will say that God guided their hands while they hammered out the texts on stone tablets. Others will say that it was guys who decided to explain how they came to “be” and simply used their limited knowledge to explain everything.

What I believe is irrelevant. The fact is that these were guys who had no idea the earth turned on its axis, let alone how it was created. Generally, my problem with creationists is their very narrow-minded points of view and apparent refusal to accept ideas or facts that compete with those beliefs. A case in point is Mr. Boelens’ mischaracterization of evolution, making it appear to be nothing more relevant than a story created by some misguided soul.

If he really wants to understand the evolution of man, he needs to open his mind and look into the interesting historical sequences beginning with Homo erectus. Whether Mr. Boelens’ likes it or not, it’s indisputable that 98 percent of his DNA (and mine) is identical to a chimpanzee’s. That’s not “faith”; that’s fact.

One does not have to place belief in God and belief in evolution on a collision course. Every morning before Albert Einstein entered his laboratory, he paused at the door for several minutes with his eyes closed. One day, an assistant asked him why he did that. Dr. Einstein told him that he was acknowledging the existence of a “greater power” and was thanking “him” for providing the questions that only scientific investigation can answer.

Len Brauer

Palatine