Canadian
scientists want out of Darwin's 'rut'
A
handful of Canadian scientists are speaking out against evolution as an
explanation for all of life as we know it, saying the complexity of living
things simply cannot be attributed to biological chance.
Nine university professors and others with science or engineering PhDs have
added their names to an American petition that voices skepticism about the
theory of evolution. The list was posted on the Internet this week.
At least two of the scientists teach at Christian universities, while another
runs an organization dedicated to the links between Islam and science.
Some of those contacted yesterday acknowledged their doubts about Darwinism
coincide with their religious beliefs, and espoused the controversial idea of
"intelligent design" -- that some guiding hand was behind life on
Earth. But one molecular biologist said he is convinced that science is stuck
in an evolutionary "rut" and must seek better explanations for the
existence of elaborate biological structures.
"I look at biology as being a very complicated computer code," said
Stephen Cheesman, a geophysics PhD and software developer who compares genetic
systems to languages created by humans.
"There is no way I could create a code like this..... In the DNA, you
have a novel, a long novel, spelled out, which produces us."
The scientists' public positions against evolution mark perhaps the first time
the issue has arisen recently in Canada, despite a raging debate in the United
States over the teaching of evolution in public schools.
The petition was established by the Discovery Institute in Seattle, an
organization dedicated to promoting intelligent design. The document has
previously been cited by anti-evolutionists as evidence that the scientific
community is not united in its belief in evolution.
"We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and
natural selection to account for the complexity of life," the preamble
says. "Careful examination of the evidence of Darwinian theory should be
encouraged."
Dr. Cheesman said he believed in creationism as a young man but developed
doubts after he started studying geology, which he admits conclusively shows
the world is billions of years old.
But his perusal of biological evidence has convinced him that evolution and
the idea of natural selection and mutation of living organisms is not the key
to all of life.
Tony Jelsma, a Burlington, Ont., native with a biochemistry PhD from McMaster
University, said he teaches evolution to his students at Dordt College, a
Christian university in Sioux Center, Ind., but points out what he believes
are its flaws.
For starters, it cannot explain how the whole process of life on Earth began,
he said.
"If you look at the research into the origin of life, there isn't a
single, plausible hypothesis or even proposed mechanism [within evolution]
that would have worked," he said.
"That is the biggest shortcoming in the whole evolutionary
scenario."
Marvin Fritzler, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the
University of Calgary medical school, said he does not believe intelligent
design is the answer to such questions. But he is convinced science must look
beyond evolutionary theory.
"I would rather we think a little bit outside the Darwinian rut," he
said.
"Significant paradigm shifts and new ways of looking at things take place
in pretty controversial circumstances, where someone is willing to look beyond
the theory of the day. And that goes for Darwin back in the mid-1800s. I am
concerned we get ourselves a little tunnel-visioned and can't make those
paradigm shifts."
The other Canadian names include Rene Boere, chairman of the University of
Lethbridge chemistry department; Braxton Alfred, professor emeritus of
anthropology at the University of British Columbia; and A.D. Harrison,
emeritus professor of biology at the University of Waterloo.
Also named are Curtis Hrischuk, an electrical engineering PhD who works for
IBM, and Paul Brown, an assistant professor of environmental studies at
Trinity Western University, a Christian college in Langley, B.C. Muzaffar
Iqbal, who has a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Saskatchewan,
is the Alberta-based head of the Centre for Islam and Science.