A man, while digging in a basement in Calgary, Canada found a fish fossil he thought was unusual, so he sent it off to some experts. When they reported he’d found evidence of a 60-million-year-old species, he refused to believe it. As a Creationist, he knew the world was only 6,000 years old. (Click) “There’s no date stamp on these things,” he said when asked his opinion. “It’s just a matter of how you interpret it.”

Darwin has long been the enemy of Creationists and, for a time, of mainline churches as well, until they bowed to the overwhelming evidence. Still, Creationist continue their opposition to Darwin by reminding us evolution is “just a theory.” They fail to understand that “theory” among scientists doesn’t mean “opinion.” It means a hypothesis that gives coherence to the world and allows for accurate predictions. Newton’s gravity is a theory, as are Einstein’s many proposals about the laws governing physics. But these are theories that have led us to the development of atomic energy and space exploration. (Click)

Recently, a new man to hate has emerged. Darwin speculated that species evolved without the direct intervention of God. That was a hard pill to swallow for believers but in time, mainline churches, shrugged and said, “Well, God started it all by creating life.” Now, Jeremy England, an MIT professor, challenges that premise. Based on the laws of thermodynamics, his theory removes God’s hand altogether. Life, according to England, occurs when non-living matter clumps in a way that makes the material better at capturing energy and dissipating it as heat. A reliable energy source, like the sun, and an atmosphere or an ocean that creates a heat bath is necessary to complete the transformation. Caught in this pressure cooker, matter rearranges its composition so that life is not only possible but probable. (Click)

England’s theory shouldn’t be surprising. It supports what we know about light and heat as sustaining elements in photosynthesis. But more scientists will have to examine the idea before it can be embraced by the entire community — though many have admitted the notion is intriguing. A bit of irony exists in all this forward thinking. One day, our understanding about life’s origin may be in sync with those of primitive man. We will see the giver of life as the sun.

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens. She also published the story Gustav Pavel, a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.