Atheistic Evolutionists, such as Richard Dawkins, are quite fond of using regional religious affiliations as some kind of argument against Christianity. "Are you sure your religion isn't just a product of where you were born?", they ask. Of course, the simplest answer is "yes". Aside from the fact I was raised in a diverse background, having been exposed to a large number of different worldviews that are most certainly not Christian, I have, in fact, critically examined those worldviews, and drawn the conclusion that the Christian faith is the correct one.
Now, if atheists would critically examine their own beliefs, they would not only cease to use such a fallacious argument for them, but would also realise that it backfires on them. While Richard Dawkins tells Christians "if you'd been born in Pakistan you'd be Muslim", he seems oblivious to the fact that he would likely be Muslim if he was born in Pakistan. Much like any other religion, Evolution tends to thrive in some regions, and not so much in others. And it turns out, it does so for similar reasons.
When we think critically about Evolution, it doesn't tend to fare very well, and even prominent Evolutionists, such as Eugenie Scott, acknowledge this. In her estimation, "...using creation and evolution as topics for critical-thinking exercises in primary and secondary schools is virtually guaranteed to confuse students about evolution and may lead them to reject one of the major themes in science."
Eugenie Scott is one of several Evolutionists whose efforts have ensured Evolution is, indeed, shielded from critical thinking. It is taught as a scientific fact, much like gravity (and sometimes even greater than gravity) in science classes, and even gets air time in religious studies classes. Where are you not likely to find Evolution? To Scott's delight, critical thinking classes.
So, for decades now, Evolution has been shoveled down the throats of the most impressionable minds. It's in their classrooms, it's in their books, it's in their TV shows. "Evolution is a scientific fact, everyone who questions Evolution is irrational, never question Evolution, believe Evolution". From a very young age, students all across the Western world are taught to believe Evolution, never so much as thinking to question it. Evolutionists never had a chance. Never mind falling for it hook, line, and sinker; they were born in the bucket, and the fishermen could pour them out whenever they wish.
Personally, if I had sufficient power over the education system, I wouldn't ban the teaching of Evolution. Rather, I would send it where it belongs. It doesn't belong in the science classrooms, as it is not science, even when we apply Evolutionists' own logic to it. Instead, it would be moved to both critical thinking classes (because students should always be taught to think critically), and to religious studies class (because Evolution is a religion).
But there would be a twist. As Evolution has historically claimed to be a scientific fact, I would set aside a budget for schools wishing to teach Evolution in religious studies class to obtain scientific instruments, similar to what would be used in science class. Microscopes, Bunsen burners, even Geiger counters. Whatever they needed. The only catch is that the experiments performed must be relevant to Evolution. If it's not relevant to Evolution, you don't get the funds.
Of course, we all know that this budget would forever go unclaimed. Evolution, not being science, and indeed being one of the most anti-scientific paradigms our world has ever seen, has never been confirmed, and could never be confirmed, by scientific experiment. We have telescopes to observe distant objects. We have microscopes to observe things too small for the naked eye. We will never have a timescope to observe the past, much less the past before human beings were capable of using scientific instruments.
This leaves Evolutionists with a dilemma. Having never been taught to question Evolution, they have also never been taught to answer questions about Evolution. Of course, they do get a slight "territory bonus", as just as they have never been taught to question Evolution, most people they encounter don't know how either. But then they come up against a Christian who actually knows what he's talking about, and suddenly, their only defence mechanism is their inability to think critically. There is a tragic irony in the simple fact that ignorance is harder to break through than a well thought out case. You can't really persuade a man whose default response to any and all evidence is "hahaha, someone didn't pay attention in school", or even "99% of scientists believe in Evolution, so I do too".
But while it is difficult to reason with such people, you can expose that they are being unreasonable. Question them enough, they will realise they do not have answers, and that is only a few steps removed from showing that neither does their worldview.
Ultimately, to use a quote commonly attributed to Mark Twain, "It is easier to fool someone than to convince them they have been fooled." Nobody likes to believe they have been brainwashed all their life. Nobody likes to feel gullible, even though we all know that as children, we really were all very gullible. But once our conditioning has been exposed, we tend to get quite upset about it, sometimes even to the extent of going to the other extreme. Theists indoctrinated into cult groups, for example, often become devout atheists. In much the same way, when Evolution is exposed as the cult it is, Evolutionists often become avid Creation apologists.
Ultimately, belief in Evolution is not a product of where we were born. At least, not directly. There is, of course, an environmental element that draws people to Evolution in particular. But those who are Evolutionists because they were indoctrinated from a young age are ultimately sinners in specific sin.
Contrary to the Evolutionary narrative, human beings have never had a biological ancestor that was not human. Rather, in the beginning, roughly 6,000 years ago, God created the first human couple. At this point in time, the Earth was a very different place. The whole creation was as yet uncorrupted. There was no death, no disease, no chaos. All of this is because there was no sin.
Sin, in simple terms, is rebellion against God. And our first ancestors did exactly that. Initially, God made only two people, and He gave them a command: You may eat from any tree in the garden, but not from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But after being tempted by the devil, they did eat, causing God to curse the whole creation.
Following the tradition of Adam and Eve, we also rebel against God on a daily basis, with blasphemies such as Evolution being just one of those sins. However, from the very beginning, God planned for our redemption, ultimately sending His Son, Jesus, to be the "last Adam". Born of the virgin, Mary, Jesus never sinned, yet nevertheless died for our sins. Because Jesus received the punishment for sin, we don't have to. Instead, by confessing Jesus as Lord, and believing in our hearts God raised Him from the dead, we can be saved, and just as God raised Jesus from the dead, He will raise us to life in His new creation, where sin is absent, and so is death and corruption. Everyone who refuses this free gift, sadly, will be consigned to a fate worse than Evoltuion.
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