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3 Reasons Why Evolution is a Religion

A recent debate over whether to put creationism into textbooks has sparked debate among the Church of  Evolutionism.

You just may stop reading after my statement, "evolution is a religion."  Why wouldn't you stop reading?  You disagree immediately, or perhaps you think I'm trying to start a new religion.

But ask the question "what is a religion?"  And you'll likely get as many answers as people you ask.  But let's boil it down to this: RELIGION is the sum total of the answers to these three questions: 1) ORIGINS: How did we get here?  2) PURPOSE: What's the point of life?  3) DEATH: What happens after we die?

Any philosophy that answers these questions has crossed over into "religion territory," and is ready to start collecting offerings and followers.  They're making plans to hire a pastor and teachers, and will soon be broadcasting on radios and TV's around the world.  They'll have their own authors, music and prophets.  And the followers will be united and identified by their creed.

How does evolutionism qualify as a religion? 1) ORIGINS: 16-20 Billion years ago, nothing exploded, and created everything. That's right.  And the rains came down on the planet Earth, which was a rock back then and lightning struck and life occurred in a puddle. The assertion is that all living things have a common ancestor. That dogs, cats, humans and bananas all have the same great great great grandfather. And that the "fossil 'record'" is evidence of this.

2) PURPOSE:  Since I am then a product of random chance, there is no such thing as good or evil, and thus right or wrong.  So the religion of evolution tells its followers, "if it feels good, do it!" This has become the mantra for generations of Pastor Darwin's church followers.  They have written about scores of philosophy books, sang about it in rap videos and now teach it in grade schools.  If there is no such thing as a moral law-giver, then there is no such thing as a moral law.  So each person becomes the law unto him or herself.

3)  ENDINGS:  When we die, we return to the earth. That's it. No afterlife, no reincarnation, no angels, no devils, we just cease to exist.  In fact, several of the bishops in the church of evolution will tell us that we're part of the problem. In fact, Darwin's Bible, "The Origin of the Species" has a rarely quoted subtitle, ""The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life."  This would actually suggest that the quicker some people make it to the grave, the better for all of us (if you're "favoured" of course).

And the prophets of the church of Darwin, holding his Bible have been many, but the most notable?  Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin to name a few.  These are heroes of the faith, even martyrs.

So I ask you, WHY is it a bad idea to include creationism as a possibility in the question of origins?

IN THE NEWS: "Extra small condoms for 12 year-olds go on sale"

You heard right.

A Switzerland company has begun selling the "hotshot" 'hat' for little boys who previously haven't had enough knowledge, or the right sized condoms, to prevent STD's and pregnancies.  Elementary kids can now trade the candy for condoms to keep in their crayon boxes.

Switzerland has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in Europe, and in this new effort to "halve" the problem, enter the kiddie condom.

I don't know how effective marketing will be for pre-teen boys to buy "extra small" condoms.  I know this is beside the point but consider the audience.  It would seem more appropriate to call it something along the lines of "The Big Magic Balloon" with a picture of Harry Potter on the wrapper.  Or better yet, Veggie Tales star, Cucumber Larry sporting the body-wrap...

But the logical end of marketing condoms to 12 year-olds would be a self-fulfilling prophecy: "give them condoms and they're gonna have sex."  But is that really the case? When I was that age, the local clinic gave out free condoms to kids from my jr. high but that didn't mean I was any more likely to "get some."  So where's the debate? 

All the arguments for or against giving condoms to children seem to be missing a major point: condoms don't prevent a broken heart.  If it's difficult for grown, married adults to navigate the treacherous, dramatic waters that come with a sexual relationship, then how can a child process the emotional baggage that comes with sex? When a 12, or 10, or 18 year-old girl or boy consummate a relationship, they may consider physical consequences, which can be avoided using a condom. But it is rare that they understand the emotional wreckage that could come their way.  We've all heard of painful divorces that rip families apart, even if there are no kids involved.  The only difference between a sexually active couple who breaks up and a marriage that ends in divorce is a short walk down an isle. 

So rather than argue whether it's right or wrong to make condoms available to children, let's do our kids in the United States a favor and educate them before they become victims of an oversexed society that would love for them to "drop trouser" at 12 years old.  This responsibility falls first on parents, then on the institutions that have historically been set up around children to protect them: the Church, schools, sporting programs etc...

I would really love to hear your opinion on the subject, don't leave without leaving your comment!

Advertising the Church

Is it sacrilegious to "brand" religion?  What is "branding?"

This is a discussion in response to "Branding Faith" by Phil Cooke.

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Death's Serenade

Tonight I stood in the very spot where a kid who once attended Youth Church at Hilltop was gunned down.  It was on an asphalt pathway that winds through a park where no children were at play, and mammoth eucalyptus trees cast vast shadows even on this cloudy, cold, windy late afternoon.  It was the one year anniversary of his death and was well attended by over 75 friends and family members.  Faces were brightly lit by candles as the sun's light, though hidden by the "scattered shower" rain clouds faded into the night, and the cries of a mother could be heard above the wind howling through the trees.

I had been called on to speak at the service.  "What do you say at a time like this?" I asked myself... It wasn't a funeral or graveside service.  It wasn't a formal setting with cozy chairs and a sound system.  God forbid I didn't have any control over the environment or a powerpoint on display to back me up.  I didn't even have an outline.  But what I did have was possibly one of the most teachable moments that pastors ever get: the shadow of immanent death, of which every person present has a date. 

With my heart broken over the sad, senseless death of another young person, I prayed with close relatives and chatted with cousins on the sidelines.  And as the crowd gathered, I opened with prayer and asked God to smile upon us from Heaven. Then I read from Hebrews 12 about Jesus enduring death because of the joy He had in knowing that he was going to a better place where he'll be united with everyone who calls Him Lord.


I tried to imagine Jesus standing there, using his surroundings to preach to the crowd: "These trees witnessed the whole thing, they were here long before any of us and they'll be here long after we're all gone.  Our lives are more like the candles you hold in front of you, alive and bright, but in a moment - a gust of wind or the wax running out, our lives will be snuffed out quickly. We have only a short time here, like a vapor."

And with the picture of the deceased right behind me, I picked it up and said that "right now, he knows that everything in this book (the Bible) is true... and if he could speak to us, I believe he would tell us: 1) 'Make it Count, - don't lay your life down for a government owned piece of property or for a gang of thugs on your block, but live it in the fullest potential of what God has created you for. 2) You must give up your right to get revenge and your right to feel hatred, and forgive those who are responsible for this murder. Without forgiving them, you will not be forgiven of your sins. 3) Do everything you can to get to Heaven. Strive to get there.  Nothing on earth matters as much as knowing God and making him Known. 


With a closing prayer, and my heart relieved of the angst of what to say after letting everything out that God had put there, I stepped back into the quiet circle of candles.  And waited.  After about ten minutes of silence, his mother came forward, having given up on the fighting-back of tears, thanked everyone for coming out.

As I walked away that night, I remembered that God has given us a ministry of reconciliation and that "ministry" comes in moments, not in the day-to-day activities of administration and programming.  And I had that overwhelming sense of my own mortality - that I too will breathe my last breath one day - the same sobering thought that I'm sure everyone present sensed that evening.  So with the fresh reminder that death has a date with all of us, and sings to us from beyond the grave, comes to us with swiftness and certainty, and has spared nobody since the beginning of time; it is all the more opportunity to re-affirm the relationship with the one who conquered death, hell and the grave.  And to be thankful that nobody really "dies" in this life, we just make the transition from mortality to immortality.