Darwin Revelation

Our studies of Darwin have helped in furthering my belief in evolution as well as increased my understandings of the controversy evolution vs. creationism. Up until this point in the semester I never had a full understanding of his theories. Now after reading his work and discussing it as a class I can truly understand his beliefs. I have realized that the topics that cause a tremendous amount of controversy are the topics that are most crucial in our society. Darwin’s theories certainly caused a bit of turmoil.
Since I was young, I have never been a religious person. It just wasn’t something that ever seemed realistic to me. After reading various selections of Darwin’s work it only made my beliefs even stronger. The article “How to Teach Science to the Pope” really caught my attention because it discusses how science poses questions that immediately spark religious exploration. It was also interesting because it talked about how the Vaticans are now keeping a close eye on science and trying to incorporate it into their “modern theology”. This to me is interesting because science and religion usually tend to create controversy. They do not normally mix well.
Another article that really helped in as my belief was “Cosmology in the 21st century”. Cosmology discusses the ordinary world and makes sense of it by using people’s senses of reality as well as their identities and behaviors. According to this article, “A living cosmology for 21st-century culture will emerge when the scientific nature of the universe becomes enlightening for human beings.”
Overall, Darwin has helped my immensely in furthering my belief in evolution. Before I took this class I was still a little uneasy as to whether or not I believed it all. I believe that all the controversy caused by his theory has helped many others besides me to take a deeper look and come to an actual realization. Controversy makes people reconsider and rethink their ideas. I like controversy for that exact reason. It teaches people that until you have heard both sides of the story you can’t make an educated decision. That’s why in my opinion controversy is a great thing.


Work Cited:
Abrams, Nancy and Joel Primack. “Cosmology and 21st-Century Culture.” Science. September 7, 2001.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/293/5536/1769

Darwin, Charles. “Selections from Darwin’s Work.” Pp 67-254 in Darwin. 3rd ed. Philip Appleman, ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001.
Mason, Michael. “How to Teach Science to the Pope.” Discover Magazine. August 18,2008.
http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/18-how-to-teach-science-to-the-pope