The Other Lesson of Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin would have been 200 years old this month. Too bad he is not around to defend the reputation of carefully constructed research that led him to conclude that the origin of species is a gloriously selective, complex process called evolution.

Darwin was 50 years old when he published "On the Origin of Species," the book that rightly revolutionized how the human race thinks about everything from life to the notions of time itself. His theories competed with religious beliefs and caused a ruckus that continues to this day.

But that is not perhaps the only reason we should consider Darwin a hero of thought. The fact of Darwin's age when he published his book on the theory of evolution is evidence that great minds produce great work at an age that modern society too often considers a dispensable commodity.

If Darwin was capable of such productively radical thought at age 50, the world should take notice of its context as well as its content. Whether you regard Charles Darwin as a brilliant scientist or an irreligious miscreant, there is no denying that the depth and insight of his work is compelling. It seems we could use a few more Darwin's in this world right now to help us break through the confounding paradoxes of modern life. It is the theory of evolution, after all, that has led to astounding discoveries in medicine and other fields of science. It is evolution that helps us understand our world and ourselves beyond a childlike wonder that we even exist.

It is a mistake to confuse the stubbornly childlike worldview of religion toward the work of Charles Darwin with the Bible's call to have a childlike faith toward God. Indeed, if we are to have faith at all it is toward God we must look at ourselves as mere children. Toward life on this earth we are called in every sense to ultimately think and act as adults lest we languish in a state of perpetual immaturity, to starve and die materially and physically.

Yet we continue to have to wrestle with the bone-dry contentions of creationism, that deadly science of anachronism. We know well the prejudices in the work of so-called creation science. They take a literal interpretation of the Bible and apply it as an explanatory theory for the origins of life. But this is an immature view of both scripture and science. Jesus Christ admonished his own disciples for such literal and shallow thinking, then fiercely attacked religious priests of his day for turning literal interpretations of the Torah into law. Creationists therefore willfully ignore the directions of Christ to engage in a mature approach to engaging the world. Our resistance to creation science should therefore be on religious as much as scientific grounds.

Clinging to an immature worldview is a sign of insecurity. Turning that type of literalistic worldview into religious dogma with designs on controlling society is precisely what moved Christ to call the Pharisees a "brood of vipers." How ironic that Jesus should use an organic metaphor to criticize his most vilified enemies of faith. Given their propensity toward literal thought, one wonders if they even got the message. Apparently not. It was priests like these that are depicted in the Bible as having called for the crucifixion of Jesus. His radical thought processes were too much for them to handle.

Jesus was reportedly 33 years old when he died on the cross. Think how much more he might have had to offer the world in 17 more years of life on earth. But he didn't live to age 50. He was effectively "downsized" by people who thought they were smarter than him.

Of course, like Charles Darwin, Jesus might have become even more "radical" with age. We see examples of this trend in great artists like the late John Lennon, whose music at age 40 continued its archetypal brilliance but also altered its focus to the lessons and fruits of family life. For many, this shift was a revelatory move, radical in some ways in its departure from previous themes in his music. But here's what we should also consider: What great music might Lennon have produced at age 50 or 60? We'll never know, of course. John Lennon was shot dead, downsized by the immature mind of a jealous fan that could not accept the scope of his genius or his fame.

So we see there are connections between immature thinking and the murder of mature thought. Immature thought is a sinister habit that creeps through even our most serious subjects of discourse, including religion and science, but also the arts and commerce.

It is no coincidence American society has grown prone to brand of ageism prone to discriminate against older, mature workers. Immaturity and discomfort with people who can legitimately think through problems and come to insightful conclusions are instead signs of deep insecurity. Charles Darwin mustered the courage to resist this type of immature thinking by publishing ideas that flew in the face of immature thinking. For this he has continued to be castigated by immature minds.

The God "allowed" by the insights of Charles Darwin may be more difficult to conceive, but that only means we need a Charles Darwin of religious intelligence to help us make that breakthrough. That insight is available to us through the life and work of Jesus Christ as found in the Bible, but only if we are able to move beyond the immature literalistic thinking against which he warned...find deeper symbolism behind metaphorical interpretation of the Bible's most significant passages. That is the key to true religious salvation. Ironically, it would also preserve our ability to proceed with the goals of science unhindered by the immature thinking behind religious creationism.

Without this commitment to mature thinking on the part of society as a whole, we may never come to grips with the fact that people aged 50, 60, 70 and 80 have great insights to offer our world. Supposedly society used to revere the wisdom of people with experience. Instead we now tend to cling to seemingly easy explanations and the habits that stem from them. These include credit-based economies, pre-emptive wars, gas-guzzling SUVs. and yes, so-called creation science. All represent shortsighted, immature thinking and the "I've got mine" brand of economy, politics and faith.

It is no surprise then, that we allow corporations to cut off the careers of the most experienced and wise employees in the workforce at age 50 or 60 through supposed "cost-cutting" measures. Organizations wrongly believe they are saving money through the process of firing their higher wage earners. But in reality, this strategy has only short term value. Sooner or later organizations have to replace that thinking and either re-hire or outsource that work at premium levels. Of course, nowadays that brain trust is being sourced overseas at cheaper rates. That is certainly an immature view to protecting America's interests.

The reality may be that organizations secretly fear mature thinking as the critical eye with courage to question short-sighted, immature notions of profitability. The mature mind is also likely smart enough to know that real work follows capital, and much of that real work has been flowing outward from America, leaving America with a hollow, immature core of jobs that pay less and are less rewarding.

That is why we need more Charles Darwins in our world, not less. Take a new look at that 50-year old worker in the cubicle next to you. They may be set in their ways, but they may not be set in their thinking. More than ever, the world needs more Darwins.