Evolution, the Religious Argument, aka Intelligent Design - by Eudaemon

If I may paraphrase the religious argument as pertains to evolution, and exhibit the silliness in a rather succinct manner:

Religions have resorted to subterfuge, obfuscation, and occasionally violence in order to defend theology when faced with scientific theories that threaten theological tenets; and only when faced with arguments that could not be reasonably opposed did they begrudgingly offer some ground. Indeed, religion, as ironic as it is, acts like an organism struggling for survival against a harsh environment of rationalism and a seemingly predatorial biological foe - science.

The theological argument for acceptance of evolution as a concept relies upon the religious adherents' continued belief in a God. Therefore, when science has offered evidence that suggested the biblical mythology to be in error, religion has merely changed its arguments. In ceding ground and changing arguments, again an irony, religion has evolved. Biblical stories became allegorical rather than literal. So long as the religious-minded believers could continue to believe that whatever mechanism was at play in the evolution of life, that God was surely behind the scenes turning the wheels and cogs, then not all would be lost. This, then, changes the argument in order to maintain that there was a cosmic purpose for the creation and evolution of life. It is therefore upon this bedrock of "purpose" that the entire religious house of cards stands. Mankind refuses to believe that his hallowed position in the universe which is itself a malignant and arrogant premise that he is the epitome or apex of God's creative powers and that all of the universe was created for his own delight. He is king! And the earth and all other elements of creation were created for him and the earth or the universe was his domain. But is this arrogant belief even tenable?

The church decried Copernicus and subsequent scientists for threatening mankind's central position in the universe. Geologists and archeologists likewise were ridiculed for daring to say that there was evidence that the earth had slowly evolved over vast periods of time - perhaps millions of years (or billions). Then biologists and archeologists similarly began to show how life had evolved over time. Then along came Darwin, who had the gall to imply that the mechanism for this gradual change was purely algorithmic, economic, and natural. Imagine, now not only was mankind's preeminent position threatened, but even God's was...how dare he! But that was not the end, it was only the beginning. The numerous implications took some time to set in. But so long as religion could maintain that there was this purpose behind it all...maybe religious dogmas could accept some of evolutionary theory so long as those thoughts never, ever implied that there was no purpose or a God behind it all.

So here we have purpose. The ever important question - why? Does it need to be answered? Why is there water on earth? - God put it there to nourish us. Why is there a sun? - God put it there to provide a source of heat and light and to nourish the plants. Why is there a moon? - Because God put it there to light the night sky. Why are there plants and animals? - God put them there to feed and nourish us. Really? Is it more likely that this “purpose” concept is simply turning cause and effect upside down? Isn't this a form of childish thinking? Isn't, then, science a more mature way of looking at things?

The sun? It shines because of a sustained fusion reaction. The water? It exists on earth because the earth attracted water molecules (abundant in space) over time, the earth's gravitational pull was enough to hold onto it, and the temperatures were right to keep the molecules together. The plants and animals? They exist because they evolved over time from more simple forms through a process of natural selection and genetic variation. Humans? We exist because we descended from apes in the same way that every other species of life was created - through natural/sexual selection and genetic variation. That life slowly adapted to its environment gave us the illusion that our environment was created for us, when, in fact, we were adapted to it. God and purpose are therefore simply illusions, figments of our imagination.