Can the Mind of Man be Trusted?

One of the books I am currently reading is “Controversy of the Ages, Why Christians Should Not Divide Over the Age of the Earth” by Theodore Cabal and Peter Rasor II. I am only about a quarter of the way through but so far it is proving to be a well written and informative book. It is no surprise, with such a title, that Darwin has come into the picture.

Chapter 3 gives an overall summary of the development of Darwin’s thinking and theories from his early childhood influences to his eventual death. I found several quotes from Darwin’s autobiography to be intriguing. However the most interesting to me was: “can the mind of man, which has, as I  fully believe, developed from a mind as low as that possessed by the lowest animal, be trusted when it draws such grand conclusions?” He was referring to his own conclusions within Origin of Species. I find the doubt expressed by him interesting. Should a man trust himself? Should other men trust such sweeping conclusions made by another? Should humans be slower to make radical conclusions away from traditional thoughts about God? If you know me, obviously you know my answer to those questions, but I found it interesting for someone like Darwin to think that way. His supposed deathbed conversion is false, but clearly the man had conflict within his own mind. Clearly he seemed to ponder his limitations of understanding the vastness of creation.

John Calvin once said “Man’s mind is like a store of idolatry and superstition; so much so that if a man believes his own mind it is certain that he will forsake God and forge some idol in his own brain.” Has a greater idol ever been constructed by the human mind than than the materialistic and naturalistic craftsmanship of the tree of life developed by Darwin? Truly man still “fall(s) down before a block of wood!” (Jer. 44:19) When Galileo campaigned for a heliocentric understanding of the solar system he declared “that Holy Scripture can never lie, as long as its true meaning has been grasped.” Wise words. The stark contrast between the Copernican conflict and the modern Darwinistic debates is that all parties engaged in Galileo’s time fought for Biblical Inerrancy, though they were at times greatly mistaken in their arguments, they fought for God’s truth and yet today so many “Christians” have been quick to throw inerrancy aside or even disregard the entire Bible as a whole and trust their souls to modern thought. Galileo laid out two primary assumptions. First, assume Biblical inerrancy, not inerrant interpretation. Second, nature and scripture can never disagree. How I wish Christians over the last 150 years, including present day, had considered these two premises.

Darwin’s own wonder for the universe kept him from atheism, yet he washed his hands of Christianity by age 40 and believed that if there was a god he was clearly hiding. God says otherwise. “Fore since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20) That very wonder that kept Darwin from embracing atheism should have driven Him to see God’s craftsmanship however he interpreted his scientific findings. There is much to still be revealed within science, recent studies in protein “folds” and their “”unwillingness” to evolve proves that. (See Undeniable by Douglas Axe 81-86) Yet God has proven Himself in His Word. He has not been hiding but has manifested His glory through-out creation, down to the smallest protein. And He has most definitely “spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” (Hebrews 1:2-3)

Photo by NASA on Unsplash