"Master and Commander" and Evoloution

It's summer. It's time to sit around and watch movies.

Today's showing was Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

For those who haven't seen this movie, it is, in no uncertain terms, amazing. Good music, good acting, and 19th century naval warfare. What's not to like?

In the movie, the ship's doctor, Stephen Maturin (played by Paul Bettany), is also a naturalist. At one point in the movie, he, in a nod to Charles Darwin, explores the Galapagos Islands and observes the evolutionary traits of the fauna. He explains these traits to one of the young officers on the ship, who asks, "Did God make them change?"

His answer sums up my view on evolution.

"Does God make them change? Yes, certainly. But do they also change themselves? Now that is a question, isn't it?"

Evolutionary theory does not negate God, nor does God negate evolution. The sooner both sides can learn this, the better off academia and the Church will be.

Rock on.
Edit: 24 November 2008