Praise Charles from Whom All Blessings Flow

In several recent instances, attempting to marry science to some form of philosophy or religion other than biblical Christianity has received cautious support (more enthusiastic in some circles than others). I recall the brief popularity of such books as The Tao of Physics and The Dancing Wu-Li Masters, both written by Westerners trying to tie together Eastern mysticism and quantum mechanics. Eastern philosophies in general have been particularly attractive in this regard as they are commonly enountered in the West in the New Age movement. One early proponent of this approach was the heterodox Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. He tried to refound or re-establish Christianity on evolution. He called evolution the "light which illumines all facts, a trajectory which all lines of thought must follow."

When one appreciates that Darwinian evolution represents a worldview to its adherents one can see how readily it becomes a sort of religion, for at basis a religion provides an all-encompassing explanation for reality and man's part in it. All the necessary components are here--Darwinism even has a creation story! Darwinism's great "gospel" is the liberation of mankind from an all-controlling deity to whom we are responsible. Its apostles and evangelists are out to make sure that the public is delivered from all sorts of falsehood and mistaken belief, for it is only science that can lead us into a better future.