{"id":108,"date":"2014-09-22T14:36:01","date_gmt":"2014-09-22T14:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/millsonph115\/?p=108"},"modified":"2014-09-22T14:36:01","modified_gmt":"2014-09-22T14:36:01","slug":"evolution-and-god-can-coexist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/millsonph115\/2014\/09\/22\/evolution-and-god-can-coexist\/","title":{"rendered":"Evolution and God Can Coexist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In Christopher Bennett\u2019s <i>What is this thing called ethics?, <\/i>\u00a0Bennett discusses the positions of theists, atheists, and humanists. The concept of God and morality coinciding is a difficult process to grasp because there is no tangible proof of the existence of God. Although there are aspects of each position that I agree with, I support the theist position in regards to evolution and how the world came to be. Christopher Bennett, when speaking on behalf of the theists, made the claim that \u201cwe need to explain the very existence of the universe through there being a perfectly free and powerful being\u201d (Bennett 116).<\/p>\n<p>Charles Darwin\u2019s theory of evolution explains <i>how <\/i>organisms evolved from natural selection and the survival of the fittest. Darwin never mentioned God in his theory nor did he explain <i>why<\/i> the process of evolution originally occurred. To understand the world in which we live in, we need to \u201cpoint to a Being powerful enough to start the process of the universe\u2019s development off\u201d (Bennett 116). Science dates back to the big bang, but what happened before it? Bennett implies that there must be a figure behind the world\u2019s creation.<\/p>\n<p>Darwin\u2019s theory is scientifically proven as true. Just because his theory is true, does not mean the existence of God is false. Author Stefan Lovgren argues that evolution and religion can coexist. He argues that evolution could be God\u2019s tool in the creation of humans. Lovgren states, \u201cit would be perfectly logical to think that a divine being used evolution as a method to create the world\u201d (Lovgren). In other words, it makes sense that God would use evolution as a method because the ones that are most adapted to the environment survive. \u00a0Evolution could be used to explain present life, but God could be the ultimate creator who used evolution as a tool (Snellenberger). If we are all God\u2019s children, wouldn\u2019t God want us all to be well adapted so we can survive and prosper?<\/p>\n<p>Bennett also discusses the fact that God is the Designer. He states, \u201cwhere there is a design, there must be a designer\u201d (Bennett 115). To support this claim, he compares a watch and a chameleon. If a person were to find a watch on a deserted island, that individual would know that someone else created the intricate clockwork and the design of the watch. A chameleon, on the other hand, does not have a known designer. Conscious design was put behind the chameleon\u2019s ability to change color to fit its surroundings. But <i>who<b> <\/b><\/i>gave the chameleon this ability? (Bennett 115). Science cannot answer this question; religion can. God, Almighty, could be the mastermind behind this design.<\/p>\n<p>The belief in God has no genuine proof like science has, which is why many people find it hard to accept that there is a god. The existence of God is not proved by facts, but rather by beliefs and faith. Through the theist\u2019s argument, it is clear that one can support scientific theories while also having faith in god.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"color: #444444;line-height: 1.7\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">Works Cited<\/p>\n<p>Bennett, Christopher. &#8220;Ethics and Religion.&#8221; <i>What is this thing called ethics?<\/i>. London: Routledge, 2010. 111-125. Print.<\/p>\n<p>Lovgren, Stefan. &#8220;Evolution and Religion Can Coexist, Scientists Say.&#8221; <i>National Geographic<\/i>. National Geographic Society, 18 Oct. 2004. Web. 21 Sept. 2014. &lt;http:\/\/news.nationalgeographic.com\/news\/2004\/10\/1018_041018_science_religion.html&gt;<\/p>\n<p>Snellenberger, Earl . &#8220;Creationism Evolving.&#8221; <i>PBS<\/i>. PBS, n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2014. &lt;http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wgbh\/evolution\/library\/08\/2\/l_082_03.html&gt;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Christopher Bennett\u2019s What is this thing called ethics?, \u00a0Bennett discusses the positions of theists, atheists, and humanists. The concept of God and morality coinciding is a difficult process to grasp because there is no tangible proof of the existence &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/millsonph115\/2014\/09\/22\/evolution-and-god-can-coexist\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2238,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-meta-ethics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/millsonph115\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/millsonph115\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/millsonph115\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/millsonph115\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/millsonph115\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/millsonph115\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/millsonph115\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions\/109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/millsonph115\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/millsonph115\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/millsonph115\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}