Showdown in Dayton

The grandeur of our ascent

LISTEN. In our reading this week, in our Evolution in America course, we finally encounter soaring oratory and high drama in the courtroom, and then out on the lawn. In opening statements "Bryan was brilliant; Malone moreso; Stewart stopped the show."

But, Stewart also said something that sounds a lot like the astonishing statement Drumpf's press secretary just issued, that we shouldn't let science "stand in the way"of re-opening schools during a pandemic: "Shut the door to science when science sets a canker on the soul of a child."

I say let's not shut any doors that promise insight into where the cankers really come from, and how we can remove them. And let's not open any doors prematurely, if our best science warns that it's not worth the risk of renewed contagion.

Bryan's brief against evolution, in a nutshell: "The Christian believes man came from above, but the evolutionist believes he must have come from below." He's fundamentally correct (though plenty of theological modernists affirmed--and still affirm--that we're from above and below, and deny the dichotomous either/or dilemma); but his statement freights "below" with a lot of baggage the evolutionist would leave behind. Lowly origins imply nothing dark, disgusting, or Satanic, they simply bespeak the grandeur of our ascent--or descent, if we're emphasizing genealogy rather than aspiration.

There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved. On the Origin of Species: Chapter XIV, Recapitulation and Conclusion

Caution: if you don't like auto-tune, just skip the video and read the transcript below.*

* A musical celebration of the wonders of biology, including evolution, natural selection, DNA, and more. Featuring David Attenborough, Richard Dawkins and Bill Nye. "The Greatest Show on Earth" is the 13th video in the Symphony of Science music videos series. Materials used in this video are from: Richard Dawkins' "There is grandeur in this view of life" speech BBC Life BBC Planet Earth David Attenborough's First Life Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life Bill Nye Evolution episode Visit http://symphonyofscience.com for more videos!

Lyrics: [David Attenborough] How could one species turn into another? [Richard Dawkins] How is it that we find ourselves surrounded by such complexity, such elegance? [Bill Nye] The genes of you and me They're all made of DNA We're all made of the same chemicals DNA - we're all made of DNA [Attenborough] Only the fittest survive And that is the key Natural Selection That is the key [Dawkins] We are surrounded by endless forms Most beautiful, most wonderful Evolution - the greatest show on Earth There is grandeur in this view of life Evolution - the greatest show on Earth [Attenborough] The history of life can be thought of As a many branched tree The five kingdoms of life were established early on Bacteria Protists- amoeba like creatures Fungi Plants And animals [Dawkins] We find ourselves perched on one tiny twig In the midst of a blossoming tree of life [refrain] We are surrounded by millions of other species Walking, flying, burrowing, stalking, chasing, fleeing, Outpacing [Attenborough] Animals strive to reach this one ultimate goal To ensure the survival of the next generation This one ultimate goal To pass on their genes That is what life is all about [refrain] [Dawkins] As we look back on the history of life We see a picture of never ending, ever rejuvinating novelty [Attenborough] Those animals may seem to us to be very remote, strange, even fantastic But all of us alive today Owe our very existence to them

Less symphonically, Bill Nye has more to say: