I pose a simple but serious question to the community: why do so many people of faith find the scientific fact of evolution so objectionable? A follow-on question would be: for so many who are particularly devout, why can't one's faith or spirituality live side by side with the overwhelming evidence of natural history.
I'll start this discussion with a premise that I know many on the other side of the imposed faith-science dividing line will find objectionable, but the simple fact is, evolution happened, and continues to happen. I and just about every other scientifically minded person will not yield on that point, and our unyielding position is not due to some dogma or close-mindedness. It is based on the knowledge that science has accumulated over hundreds of years of exploration and experimentation and observation. It is based on understanding the life work of hundreds of thousands of intelligent scientists around the world who have dedicated their lives and careers to furthering knowledge and enlightenment of the world around us. It is based on their accumulation of millions upon millions of pages of documentary evidence and analysis and countless fossil samples resting in museums and universities around the world that I will accept their conclusions over someone who professes to understand natural history better by having uncritically read one book written long before the invention of the scientific method, and not completely at that. If any of this offends your sensibilities, I strongly suggest that you read no further.
I will happily discuss the interrelationship here between faith and science, but I have decided that I am finished debating the essence of evolution itself with those who cannot accept basic science. If this seems unreasonably stubborn to some, it stems from my frustration at talking with those who "debate" evolution with virtually no knowledge of rudimentary science and certainly no understanding of natural history and natural selection. If we wonder why our country is falling so far behind the European and Asian countries in science education and technology, look no further than those that oppose teaching evolution in school. Opposing the study of evolution in biology is akin to opposing the study of gravity in physics or algebra in mathematics. It is so basic to the understanding and structure of the natural world, none of it would make any sense without that body of knowledge. So if you wish to debate the basic fact of evolution, please spend a few years reading up on the subject and then start your own diary. I will not debate evolution for the same reason that I will not debate the fact that the earth is spherical or that the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. These are basic accepted facts in the broad scientific community.
My discussion therefore turns on the question of why this body of knowledge can seem so threatening to some of faith. Obviously not all, especially since the Catholic Church, of all places, has come to accept evolution as established fact. Why is it that so many cannot see that science and spirituality are seeking answers in two different realms. It is my belief (and notice that that is the first time I've used that word here) that the problem lies when each system tries to enter the other's realm. Science's job is to ask "who, what, when, where and how." It is intended to study and ascertain the physical properties of the universe, not the "deeper" meaning. Spirituality asks the broader question of "why." Its purpose is to explore the moral meaning of existence and our role as sentient beings in the larger cosmos.
So that would be my supposition to start the conversation. As always, your opinions are highly valued. And don't forget to keep it clean, this is a family thread