Liberalism is a Sin
Theistic Revolution
…Atheism attained its grip on the West largely via the propagation and general acceptance of the Theory of Evolution, following the 1859 publication of Charles Darwin’s
The Origin of Species. According to Darwin, groups of organisms change over time, mainly because of natural selection, causing descendants to differ in structure and physiology from their ancestors. (In this paper, “evolution” refers to macroevolution — the development of entirely new species and functional structures, not microevolution — routine variations within species (e.g., breeds of dogs) that do not create new structures or species.) This theory provided an explanation for the origin of species that obviated the need for divine intervention, so it reduced many believers’ confidence in Christian and Jewish teachings, and tended to make God seem remote. By substituting chance and natural selection for a creating God, Evolutionism also debased all living things, including man, by re-classifying them — at least implicitly — as accidents. William Provine, professor of evolutionary biology at Cornell University, described Darwinism as “the greatest engine of atheism devised by man.” (Michael Powell, “Doubting Rationalist ‘Intelligent Design’ Proponent Phillip Johnson, and How He Came to Be,”
The Washington Post (May 15, 2005), page D01)
The entire Christian worldview suddenly seemed hopelessly anachronistic. In the 1860’s, prominent churchmen such as John William Colenso, Anglican Bishop of Natal, South Africa, were inspired by
The Origin of Species to reconsider the historicity of the Bible. Colenso ultimately rejected the historical truth of the Biblical creation narratives in a controversial book,
The Pentateuch and Book of Joshua Critically Examined, which gained much notoriety at the time.
Most theologians simply vacated the intellectual battlefield. With regularity and an air of certainty that they no longer projected about many traditional doctrines of their religion, the clergy reminded their congregations that “the Bible is not a science textbook.” Theologians treated this truism as an all-sufficient justification for the uncritical acceptance of rationalistic preconceptions (e.g., that miracles and authoritative, supernatural revelation of the truth in human language are impossible).
This set the tone for much of theology during the following century, and predisposed Christians to abandon beliefs and customs that seemed irrelevant in the modern era.
Within most of the Christian world, this secularizing trend was reinforced over time, which tended to reduce further the prominence of what was once widely accepted as “revealed truth.” For example, in 1982, theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg noted that the World Council of Churches had reorganized its structure apparently to de-emphasize potentially divisive doctrinal initiatives in favor of less controversial efforts for social justice and peace. (Richard John Neuhaus, “Pannenberg Jousts with the World Council of Churches,”
Christian Century, February 17, 1982, p.174.)
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