The Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 B.C.) “saw the world and all life as part of a self-creating cosmos, with life just happening” (Marvin Olasky, “Staring at Death,” World, July 13, 2013). At its core the Epicurean philosophy emphasized physical pleasure as the primary goal of life and denied any spiritual component.
The Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius (99-55 B.C.) was also an Epicurean and believed man had no chance for immortality. He wrote, “‘Asleep in death’; so shall you be for all that’s left of time” (On the Nature of Things, translated by Frank Copley, 1977, p. 77). He was convinced there is no such thing as divine intervention, miracles or eternal life.
Most scientists and professors today believe and promote evolutionary concepts which have deceived millions of people into thinking life has no transcendent purpose. Evolutionist and atheistic activist Richard Dawkins said there is “no design, no purpose” in our existence. His conclusion is that human beings blindly “dance” to the music of our own DNA (River Out of Eden, 1995, p. 133).
The impact of evolutionary concepts on society are far reaching and harmful. Often the failure of morality can be directly traceable to the theory of evolution and disbelief in God. One of Darwin’s own teachers, Adam Sedgwick, warned humanity under the influence of evolutionary thought “would abandon all the moral codes that allowed civilization to survive” (Carl Zimmer, commentary within Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 2007, p. 151).
Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, had the following to say about the influence of evolutionary thought on the holocaust: “The gas chambers of Auschwitz were the ultimate consequence of the theory that man is nothing but the product of heredity and environment…prepared not in some Ministry or other in Berlin, but rather at the desks and in the lecture halls of nihilistic scientists and philosophers” (The Doctor and the Soul: From Psychotherapy to Logotherapy, 1986, p. xxvii).
Evolutionary teachings were influential in the development of the theory of eugenics, which is the study of organizing human reproduction to increase the occurrence of desirable characteristics in order to improve the human race. The idea was largely developed by Sir Francis Galton, but became increasingly discredited after the adoption of the theory by the Nazis in order to justify their treatment of Jews, disabled people, and other minority groups.
Hitler believed in the superiority of the German people and that they had a right to improve the human race by eliminating “lesser” groups of people (Richard Weikart, From Darwin to Hitler, 2004, p. 212). Christianity, with its focus on helping others, was looked on as weak contrasted with the “might makes right” philosophy born in part out of Darwinian concept of the “survival of the fittest.”
Many evolutionists also believe life evolves not only biologically, but also intellectually and culturally. This means that if law, government and religion evolve there are no absolutes, leading to an “anything goes” society. It is no coincidence Karl Marx, the father of communism, wrote to his colleague Friedrich Engels, “this [Darwin’s Origin of Species] is the book which in the field of natural history, provides the basis for our views.” (Janet Browne, Charles Darwin: The Power of Place, 2002, p. 188). Thus evolutionary ideas eventually contributed to the philosophical framework for the twin scourges of communism and atheism.
The theory of evolution and the atheism and social confusion it has led to are the result of a world that has turned its back on God, leading to a time of great trouble before Jesus Christ returns (Matthew 24:7-8). God’s message, however, is ultimately one of hope. The Bible tells us Jesus Christ will intervene to prevent a final world war which would result in annihilating humanity: “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved [alive]” (Matthew 24:22). Then, in time, mankind will finally learn how evil the ideas that flow from Darwinian evolution truly are.
