Darwin Versus God

My continued research into the rich history of the United States has reached the brink of the Great Depression, and the revival of the Ku Klux Klan in the southern states.

Steve Wiegand's book on the history of America touched on a subject very close to my heart - the uniquely American obsession with doctrine of creationism.

"The Ku Klux Klan's greatest influence," Wiegand writes, "developed in small and mid-sized cities and in rural areas, and the repressive attitudes it catered to were also quick to embrace 'fundamentalism,' or the idea that everything in the Bible was literally true."

"In 1925, the Klan succeeded in passing a law in Tennessee that prohibited the teaching of Darwin's theory of evolution in public schools."

Now I don't think Monsieur Wiegand was suggesting a link between modern proponents of creationist theory and the Ku Klux Klan. However, as in all things, it's important to look at the origin of one's beliefs and the legacy they carry.

Most modern supporters of the doctrine of creationism are God-fearing Americans. Good people who love their families and are passionate in their beliefs. The fact that they believe in Creationism - that the world was created 6,000 years ago despite overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary - does not reflect on their good spirit and kind hearts.

Yet the fact remains, incontrovertible, that the modern creationist movement was forged at least in part in the fires of racism. It was the Ku Klux Klan, rejecting logic, science and reason, who helped give birth to modern creationist doctrine and fought to give it the legitimacy of the Tennessee state legislature.

Modern creationists, even if they're good hearted, patriotic and tolerant of other people's beliefs, should remain aware of their doctrine's sordid history. Their efforts to further the medieval thinking of 'Creationist Doctrine' is furthering the work of some of the 20th century's most despicable men.