Tactics in the evolution-creation battle

You say “toe-MAY-toe,” I say “toe-MAH-toe,” Darwinians say evolution is a fact, and some creationists say it’s important to stress it’s a “theory.” My search on the Nexis media records shows “evolution” appearing within 10 words of “theory” 967 times over the past 10 months, and within 10 words of “fact” 965 times during that period. So is that a close victory for the creation side?

Doubtful. New York Times science writer Nicholas Wade suggested 10 months ago that evolutionists “hand fundamentalists the fig leaf they need” by “allowing that evolution is a theory.” Since then I’ve heard others say the same. Does this mean evolutionists are giving in? Nope: fig leaf. Scientists use “theory” both for what’s proven and what’s not, and Wade stipulates “that evolution has certainly occurred and no fact is better attested.”

Excuse me? I’ve read numerous eyewitness accounts of Civil War battles: Those are well-attested. I’ve been in the DuPont labs where scientists developed nylon and other products: That history is well-attested. But no one has been an eyewitness to macroevolution (one species transformed into another) either in the world or in the lab. That’s one thing scientists critical of Darwinism say, and they’re right.

Wade and others want evolutionists to offer a deal: Everyone can refer to evolution as a theory, and fundamentalists will then “make no objection to the teaching of evolution in science classes.” But that’s not where the argument is: Christians don’t say students should be unaware of the theory of evolution. The debate is about whether students should hear that evolutionary theory has holes, and that an intelligent critique of it exists.

Is the intelligent design side winning, 967-965? No: Evolution dominates academia and media, and it’s a sign of God’s grace that most Americans still believe in creation. The battle goes on: Will the fittest survive?