3) The impact of Darwin’s theory of evolution on religious thought :

By providing an account of the origin and diversity of organisms, Darwin was seen by some as mounting a serious challenge to the traditional religious understandings of the creation of the world and humankind. Some adherents of religion have argued that Darwinian Evolution is utterly incompatible with religious belief. The thought in Darwinian Evolution is that organisms' mutations have led to changes in life forms and that life is not static in form as suggested by the Bible.

This thought has led many in the 3 Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, & Islam) to reject Darwin’s theory of evolution. Others are starting to question this ultra-conservative rejection of evolution in the world. This ultra-conservative view has many flaws to open-minded people of faith, and a third option is now coming into vogue.

This third option is the belief that maybe there is a First Cause for all that exists and just maybe the mutations have a divine origin. Maybe this divine force causes mutations to occur that are not the random walk as suggested but are a part of the intricate design of the universe. Like a seed that results in the perfect growth of a beautiful rose bush, so too does the universe born from a perfect singularity (0) result in a planned creation of all of the universe.

The question then becomes: if there is a design to all that exists in the universe, might there also be a purpose to all that exists? Darwinian thought gives no rationale for how everything in the universe came into being except the suggestion that it was by accident (chance)! No design, no purpose, only an accident so we are free to live our life any way we see fit. It is the growth in this thought and its associated atheism that is leading to a collapse in our moral foundations and with it shortly a collapse of our culture and power!