By Simon Barrett
Yes, this is a volatile title, and the contents are just as incendiary. As David Comings himself explains in the foreword he has indeed met some resistance over the years. The discussion of who came first, God or Man, has been hotly debated for thousands of years.
This is a subject that almost everyone has a theory about, and it breaks down into two camps, on the one hand you have the evolutionists, and at 180 degrees different you have the various flavors of Creationism. One side relies on scientific proof, while the other tends to ignore any kind of scientific proof, preferring instead to create a story that fits within the religious texts.
Regardless of your leaning, most people point at Charles Darwin as the culprit that has caused this rift. But as Comings reveals, Darwin is not really guilty, much of his theories were way off mark. Even worse, much of his scientific observations make the forensic team involved with prosecuting OJ Simpson look like heroes.
Did Man Create God? is a complex book, and at 700 pages hardly a quick read.
Did I like it? Yes. Would I recommend it to the regular reader? Maybe. This is 700 pages of University level Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math. Unfortunately I found a lot of it beyond my high school class abilities.
That said, I also found this book very thought-provoking.
One of the arguments opposing the evolutionary story is the inordinate length of time required for an animal to evolve. That combined with the incredible complexity of the human body and mind makes it impossible for us to be anything else than a divine creation. Not so says Dr. Comings, there are a number of examples of 'quick' evolution. One of the examples cited involved the Peppered moth during the Industrial Revolution. As the pollution increased the peppered moth changed its camouflage going from a white with black spots to a dark brown color. This change did not occur over thousands of generations, but happened within a very few generations. This is a great example of natural selection.
Another fine example is Peter and Rosemary Gant's study of finches on one of the smaller of the Galapogos Islands. This study lasted for over 3 decades and the results were very curious. During times of plenty the predominant beak shape was narrow, making it adept for small soft seeds; however, when a period of drought arrived the shape became broader, making it better suited for crushing hard seeds.
While these are only two isolated cases, it does bolster the case of rapid evolution under certain circumstances.
The question of did man create god is likely one that will never have a definitive answer that all people can agree on regardless of the scientific evidence. It has been argued since man first learned the art of language, and no doubt will be argued for many generations to come.
One aspect though that Dr. Comings does make strongly though is that maybe your particular answer to the question is, it may not really matter to the human race. When it comes to good and evil we lean towards good, and we are overall a very spiritual race. Spirituality does not necessarily have to involve religion.
This is a book that is almost guaranteed to start a fight in even the meekest and mildest household. My wife for example took one look at the title and asked "So how are you and your book going to enjoy sleeping on the couch?" Luckily she calmed down later, and only the book had to sleep on the couch!
You can get your copy of Did Man Create God from Amazon.
Simon Barrett is an adult educator in Calgary, Alberta. With the 11 months a year of winter, he reads a lot of books! He is also a contributing editor for Blogger News and maintains a personal blog at Simon B.
Source:www.isnare.com |
