Video Transcript - Critical Evolution Theory
Henry: We're back. Topic number five, critical evolution theory. Is that really out there? What is critical evolution theory? I mean, we don't talk about it very much; maybe it's just accepted. I think that everybody is like water; we're swimming around in it, generally unaware. They're uncritical of their involvement in critical evolution theory.
Steve: You know, you'll hear people talk about how, in evolution, we were hunters and gatherers. And so because of that, we still don't want any comprehensive story about the history of mankind over millions of years. It doesn't say, "for those of you who believe in this," and if you don't believe it, you're not stupid. You're just uninformed. So everything relates to evolution, or change, even those with the power to abuse that power do so at the expense of others. Let's go to the next point. The current social manifestations of this are climate change, homo Deus, I'll talk about that.
Henry: And remember that the whole evolution, the survival of the fittest, and evolving, means everything is changing, right? We are evolving into another identity of ourselves as a culture and as people, right?
Steve: And so the past is gone. Things like religion, we should have evolved out of that by now, right? Because that was an old system, where power was abused at the expense of others. Yeah, we think about the Middle Ages, how the church abused everybody by taking the power and using God as the club to keep everyone in line. And now we have evolved to the point where those are just fables, and we don't need to do that anymore. Everyone's free to evolve into the person that they potentially could be. And that's up to you.
Henry: Hegel was a philosopher right before Darwin, and he talks about the dialectic changes in the world, the stages of humanity. The religious dialectic is passing away, the superstitious is passing away. And then the next, the enlightened, we get to a higher place. And ultimately, utopia is built. It's getting better and better. We're evolving into something new. Even in the world of gender, queer theory philosophically believes that male and female are evolving into other genders. And that's part of the whole dialectic, the whole human development as we identify as male or female.
Steve: That we've been stuck in this binary world where it's this or that. And now it's all.
Henry: A better option is really assuming, I remember Roy Clouser, a philosopher here to talk about, there's an assumption of evolution. That it is a logical fallacy. It's the assumption that you will evolve better. Yeah, we evolved, and then we had World War I and then we had World War II. If we are evolving into other genders, he might say philosophically that could be evil. It was all set up binary and now it's evolving. How do we know the better? There's an assumption you make that all is getting better. And Dr. Clouser talks about how great assumptions are. Well, people are taller and everything, but that's still not aligned with Einstein talking about the second law of thermodynamics, which says everything is devolving. So what is it? You know, like your house, does it get better and better, right? If you don't do anything to it, it gets worse. And so why would genetic biology do better? Or why would it evolve in any beneficial way?
Steve: So Homo Deus is the name of the book. It's a fascinating book. 'Homo' means man or human beings. 'Deus' is God. In that book, the author suggests that human beings have been plagued with big issues like war, famine, and disease, and that we've basically taken care of those—I mean, they're still here, but they're nothing like what they used to be—and so human beings are looking for a greater cause. And this greater cause is to live forever, right? So biology, nanobiology, all these things replacing your heart, your liver. Soon they'll replace everything. And the goal is to live forever. And then, of course, the planet is going to the sun is going to burn out eventually. So ultimately, we have to get off the planet if humanity is going to continue. And so the whole thing of getting to Mars, we got to learn how to get off this planet because it's going nowhere.
Henry: Right, and they are delighting in the assumption that we're all evolving. And that humanity is now on the throne of God. And we are evolving into a god-like state, do you agree with that? You will be like God, we are evolving not just biologically, socially, historically, but we are evolving as a culture.
Steve: And our place, our heaven, is this earth, right? So it becomes elevated to the highest degree because without that, none of the other evolutions can happen. Right? We need a place to evolve in. And so that has been raised to the highest level. The book Homo Deus says, you know, all of our major problems, as I said, have been solved. But there's one last challenge: eternal life. And so that's the thing that we're working on in terms of nanotechnologies, and all these—
Henry: These are really happening. Yeah, I mean, people, humanists with large resources are funding it.
Steve: Elon Musk is spending all his money on going to Mars, right? And why? It's not just because he wants to go to Mars. No, it's because of the philosophy behind it, the worldview, that the ultimate evolution of our species is dependent on us getting off the planet.
Henry: So it's just like a worldview narrative, some Utopian narrative that applies to almost no one. Again, I would say, from a Christian standpoint, we believe we are the stewards, we believe that we are to protect the planet, right? We were told to be fruitful and multiply, subdue the earth. That's similar to the New Testament word to be a deacon, a minister. You're serving the planet. And so we're planning development deacons. Yes. So we are, we are careful about not polluting the climate. And I've seen progress. When we were kids, the Detroit River was on fire. There was pollution everywhere, you couldn't have fish out of Lake Michigan, and I remember, and now it's getting better. I'm not saying it's all perfect now. But what's happened is, we are making efforts. And it's clear we are as a culture in every state and society. In some states, less than in some states more, but there's also a worldview attached to a very important issue of protecting the planet, that this like the vehicle they're using to sell a religion?
Steve: Yes. Whereas we believe in protecting the planet. Yeah. But it's tied to a mandate that God gave Adam originally in the garden to till the earth and take care of it. Yeah. So it's, it's just, what are you going to the care of the planet? Which theology Are you going to attach it to? That's what we're arguing against, right? I guess, that the world seems to be attaching it to its own evolutionary view of the species, and humanity, taking God out of the equation.
Henry: And who is, the Christian church is not promoting that God created this world, we are stewards of this world, we have a responsibility to be stewards of this world. And we don't see people from even raw, primitive evolution, where it's just survival of the fittest, to who will be the fittest that get to afford the jet, or aircraft to go to some other star. Really, you think about that, if you really think this through, then it truly is evolution, like 10,000 people will have the means to get out of the way of the sun and who would they take? The lowest? I doubt it. So it really becomes a world of like Darwin talked about the critical evolution theory ultimately means that only the very rich can. The survival of the fittest.
Steve: Right. The gospel is the survival of those who rely on the grace of God through what Jesus did on the cross.
Henry: And that's really where this salvation is found in no one else, there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. So, critical evolution theory, really, it's a cold, dark theory of power. And then it's now been, you know, sophisticated into the global warming or climate change agenda. But at the end of the day, critical grace is where God created this world. We are to be stewards and we want to take care of this beautiful planet.