As discussed in last week’s blog, 100 years ago on July 10, 1925, in Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called Scopes Monkey Trial began. John Thomas Scopes, a young high school biology teacher, was accused of teaching evolution in violation of state law, a misdemeanor punishable by a fine. To overturn the law, Scopes conspired with a local businessman, George Rappleyea. The pair enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to organize a defense. The attorney, Clarence Darrow, agreed to join the ACLU in the defense. William Jennings Bryan, a successful lawyer, a U.S. congressman from Nebraska, a three-time presidential nominee, and secretary of state, took on the prosecution for the state.
The trial was an open-and-shut case. Scopes violated the law. Darrow's defense, blocked at every turn by the judge, decided to try another tactic. He called Bryan to the stand in an attempt to discredit his literal interpretation of the Bible. By this time, the trial and town had garnered national attention, and it turned into a circus.
Darrow mercilessly ridiculed Bryan. Bryan, who was not a scientist, made contradictory statements, which the defense and the crowd took advantage of. In the end, Darrow asked the jury to return a verdict of guilty so that they could appeal. Scopes was convicted and fined $100. In the process, Bryan was humiliated. Whether it was the humiliation from the trial or just Bryan's time to be called by the Lord, he died five days later.
How did the trial impact the creation/evolution debate, education, law, and our culture? Beyond the ridicule and scoffing during the trial, ACLU sympathizers saw the opportunity to turn the trial into an object lesson for their propaganda. A fictional movie based on the trial called Inherit the Wind, made in 1960, had a substantial effect on our culture. The movie became popular material replayed in high school and university classes for discussions about the evils of over-zealous religionism and anti-communist “McCarthyism”, while aligning evolution with free-speech and “science”.
The movie falsely portrays the lawyer defending the school's creation position as a self-righteous, ignorant bully, which he was not. It also had the biology teacher winning the case, which he did not. The whole purpose of Inherit the Wind was to show how backward it was to believe in creation, in comparison to the new "scientific" theory of evolution. The movie accomplished its goal. The impact was that creation is a religious belief relegated to religion classes, and evolution is science taught as part of the science curriculum. Of course, evolution is also a belief system, but many evolution scientists would say it is a proven fact.
The impact of teaching evolution as a fact has degraded culture, government, law, and society as a whole. Without a Creator to whom we are accountable, man does what is right in his own eyes. With no Creator, the government becomes the god. There are no absolutes; the law is constantly evolving. A person can transition from one gender to another. Marriage becomes meaningless. There is no stability in society.
Seen by millions of students in public school classrooms over the years, Inherit the Wind portrayed creationists as unscientific and ignorant. But there are thousands of excellent scientists who are creationists. They understand that a designer made those things that we see around us. The heavens, the stars, our sun, our planet, its tilt, our atmosphere, plants, animals, and cells. All cry out, requiring an incredible designer. In science, one often reaches incorrect conclusions, ignoring or refusing to acknowledge the inherent design.
To many evolutionists, the creation/evolution debate is settled - evolution is a fact. However, as science progresses, there is increasing evidence for design and creation and against evolution. The debate is not settled.
Interestingly, despite exclusive education in evolution in our schools, about 45% of Americans still believe in creation. If one is honest with oneself, as scripture teaches, the Creator is clearly seen in things around us.
Of course, the evolutionary idea did not start with the trial, but the trial initiated a course in this country to teach it as science. Its effects have been very detrimental to our nation. It has eroded the very foundation. Rather than setting people free as they might believe, it enslaves those who embrace it. Evolution is embraced and demanded by oppressive communist governments. Only a belief in an all-loving Creator/Savior sets us free. Jesus, who spoke the universe into existence, died and rose from the dead to set us free from sin and death.
- Dr. Don Clark, PhD, Vice Chair on the Board of Creation Moments
Image: Inherit the Wind trial, Metro Goldwyn Mayer (film trailer), PD, Wikimedia Commons.
