rEvolution

Big Bang Theory: Not their best work.

Big Bang

As a senior in high school, I had issues with faith. An honors student in math and science, I doubted the existence of God until I read a book that would rock my atheist views. I know what you're thinking. Here's the part where he goes on and on about how the Bible changed his life. Um, maybe later. The book I'm referring to was assigned by my AP Physics teacher. Read an excerpt:

"Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a Universe for them to describe?"

The quote wasn't from some anti-science religious-type bent on convincing a school board in some rural Midwest city to teach creationism as opposed to evolution. It was written by Stephen Hawking in his 1988 bestselling A Brief History of Time where he attempts to explain complex theories regarding the nature and origin of the universe. All through the book, he continually mentioned the possibility of God, and while Hawking has more recently concluded there is no creator, it opened a door for me. 

All Thumbs

My questions didn't lead to answers, not at first. Just more questions. I had never questioned the theory of evolution before. The idea of natural selection, or "survival of the fittest" was used to explain how animals changed and adapted over time. Most evolutionary diagrams put us, Homo sapiens, as the most advanced form of life. Which leads me to the question: what environment are we best suited for? 


There isn't a place on the planet where we aren't forced adapt. We either deal with frostbite or sunburn. Why haven't we evolved out of allergies? When I finally thought that our opposable thumbs made us perfectly suited as natural inhabitants of the North American office cubicle or the suburban arcade, carpal tunnel syndrome rears its ugly head.  The more you look at it, evolution seems to be a half-baked scheme cooked up by pharmaceutical companies and HMOs. The more I saw how other animals were perfectly suited to an ecosystem, the more I realized that this is not my home.

Big Head

Many proponents of the theory of evolution believe that our complex brains have made us king of the evolutionary mountain. Think about the many contributions our superior intellect has made to this world. Our evolved cognitive capacity has provided us with the ingenuity to create a manufacturing industry that pollutes our water and air, invent method of efficiently destroying one another with nuclear weapons, and develop a tax code that provides thousands of government bureaucrats and lawyers gainful employment. Don't get me started on sub-prime mortgages. I can't imagine we were nature's first choice to run this planet.

What now?

I realize that many people, especially those who consider themselves intellectuals, find the story of faith fantastic and difficult to believe. Here's the catch, I can't imagine a person who would write this story. It is a romantic story, but it is not about us. Sure it has amazing insight into human nature, but we become the damsel in distress, not the hero. In response, people often try to revise the Bible to justify their lives. Some of the truths are difficult to swallow, so a scientific theory seems much more rational. But what if the equation doesn't balance? Where is the Big Bang without a spark? How does the creature most vulnerable to nature survive long enough to end up at the top of the food chain? 

Recently Stephen Hawking has stated, "Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing." I have no idea why this is supposed to make sense. Was it gravity or God? I believe both possibilities require faith, but only one gives answers for the soul.