Susan Anton, a New York University anthropologist and co-author of the Leakey work, said she expects anti-evolution proponents to seize on the new research, but said it would be a mistake to try to use the new work to show flaws in evolution theory.
“This is not questioning the idea at all of evolution; it is refining some of the specific points,” Anton said. “This is a great example of what science does and religion doesn’t do. It’s a continous self-testing process.”
Why do we have “anti-evolution” and anti-”anti-evolution” at all?
Why were these two paragraphs even inserted into this, otherwise scientific, article?
Believe me, I am not defending the stance of some groups within the world of organized religion on many scientific topics but I am compelled to point out the fallacies in these statements.
“This is not questioning the idea at all of evolution; it is refining some of the specific points … “
Technically speaking, this is not a “fallacy” but it is a disconcerting stance. Isn’t this tantamount to saying “We already know the answer, we are just refining all of our arguments to prove it.” Hmm. Sounds a bit like assuming that “evolution is not right” and focusing on the arguments that support that assumption.
“This is a great example of what science does and religion doesn’t do. It’s a continous self-testing process.”
Where do I start with this one? My best response is this. Authentic religion is inherently a self-testing process. I am no scholar but my understanding of the Judeo-Christian God has been that He/She/It (whatever pronoun you require to respond intellectually) is all about the “self-testing process.” The entire Bible is a story of humanity’s attempt to understand who God is. Nothing confirms this more than the life and teaching of Jesus. Not healing on the Sabbath and all of those statements starting with “You have heard it said … but … ”
There will always be a layer of people frightened of change. They are, sometimes voluntarily, completely misinformed about the facts and the true implications of those facts. What group of people does not have that layer? It is found everywhere from high school bands to sports leagues to national political parties. That is part of being human. Moving past that layer is where you find those hungry for truth. These people realize that life is too precious to do it all wrong much less to spend it living a lie.
I suspect even Susan Anton realizes how hypocritical and narrow-minded she sounds. I know I have said much worse. I totally understand why she feels so bitter that she is compelled to lash out; her entire professional career puts her in the middle of the most annoying, belligerent, mis/informed people in the world. I just long for the day when everyone is honest enough to admit that we don’t know all of the answers and we are all looking for them together.