The September 2006 Awake! bearing the title, "Is There a Creator?" dedicates the entire magazine to the topic of evolution. It is filled with false argumentation, manipulation, and distortion of facts, logic, and common sense. I need to develop my counter-arguments in several parts.
Page 3, Whom Should You Believe? The Society opens with the scripture, "Of course, every house is constructed by someone, but he that constructed all things is God." - Hebrews 3:4 Then it opens up with the question, "Do YOU agree with the logic of this Bible writer?"
The verse they quote has nothing to do with logic. It is a claim, or a statement of fact or opinion. But, the JW reader will subtly get the impression that the Society is employing sound logic, simply because they use the word, logic. And of course, the JW is primed right away to submit to the article's views, for who can argue with the Apostle paul, or with God? But, the verse itself is lifted out of context, distorted to say something that the Apostle Paul did not say, and is nothing more than manipulation.
Here is the context from the King James Version:
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. - Hebrews 3:1-6
The verse is talking about the House of Israel as a nation of God's building work. Likewise, Christ is the one who builds his own house of followers, the Christian Church. The verse talks about more honor given to the builder of these spiritual houses than to the house itself. (This is a concept foreign to the House of Watchtower, which has more honor than God in practice.) The verse has nothing to do with the physical construction of the universe, nor with how God may have performed this activity. The verse is a stated view of a religious belief, and not to be confused with scientific facts and evidence. The "every house being built by some man" has more to do with how men may build up families (house), or tribes (house), or a nation (house), but in this case, God is the final source of the house building of a nation or a congregation.
Next an unspecified Newsweek magazine from 2005 is quoted regarding a "recent" survey of biologists, physicists, and mathematicians showing that almost 40% believe that God listens to and answers prayers. What this has to do with science is beyond me. So what is expert professionals believe in God and pray? That does not deal with the issue of creation or evolution. What the Society is trying to do is show that even educated people believe in God, so there must be something to it.
Then the Society cites a Dr. Herbert A. Hauptman, a Nobel Laureate, as saying that belief in God is incompatible with good science. Assuming that the Society did not lift his comments out of context, then his words are just as meaningless as those made by fundamentalists on the creation side of the debate. Science is not about making beliefs in God, or even the Tooth Fairy compatible with anything. They are two very different topics; and if God exists, then obviously science is not going to be incompatible with his existence.
Dr. Herbert Hauptman is not a biologist, or paelentologist, or any of the related disciplines which one would associate with studies in evolution. Rather, he is a mathematician, and has only had one course in Chemistry. Here are some comments about him from the Hauptman-Woodward medical Institute:
After more than 20 years with the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., Herbert A. Hauptman, Ph.D. joined the staff of the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute in 1970. He was looking for a fresh venue in which to quietly practice his craft. Then, in 1985, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, changing his life forever. A mathematician by training, Dr. Hauptman would seem to be an unlikely candidate for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. However, upon further investigation, the reasons for this award become obvious. Although he had taken only one chemistry course in his life, he was able to use classical mathematics to resolve an issue that had stymied chemists for decades. - Source: http://www.hwi.buffalo.edu/Hauptman/Nobel_Laureate.html
I am an electrical engineer by training and 25-years of practice in nuclear power design and operation, with a strong background in material science, and destructive testing. This does not mean that because I believe or do not believe in God, that my comments have in relevance to the subject of evolution. But, the Society takes this man's comments to draw a sharp contrast so that JWs who read the article get the sense that scientists, people of expertise and authority, are either strongly for or against God and creation. This give the subtle impression that one must take this seriously and make a decision one way or the other.
The Punch Line: The above is followed up with this Watchtower exhortation: "You can let others tell you what you are allowed to think and believe. Or you may wish to investigate some of the evidence yourself and reach your own conclusion." If only JWs could be "allowed" to reach their own conclusions! Those of us who did make up our own minds, however, had to examine and research far more than "some" of the evidence ... we had to dig through nearly 100-years of Watchtower material, along with much more secular information to demonstrate to ourselves that the Watchtower Society and the bulk of its teachings are a load of bovine excrement.
The Box at the bottom of page 3 asks: "Are Jehovah's Witnesses Creationists?" In this little exercise, the Society tries to draw a distinction between themselves and fundamentalists Young Earth Creationists simply because the Society does not accept that God created the universe in seven literal days; and they note that because the JWs do not get involved in the political-legislative aspects, that also makes them different from creationists. You will notice that the Society does not mention its long held view that each creative day is 7,000-years long, making the entire process of the first six creative days 42,000 years. Science has proven that humans and other organisms have been on the earth far longer than 42,000 years. Perhaps the Society is quietly dropping this view. Also, what they fail to say is that much of their anti-evolution publications use Young Earth Creationists materials to wage their campaign against evolution. And while it is true the JWs do not push for legislative changes to allow Intelligent Design to be taught in public schools, the Society strongly encourages JW children and parents to place the Creation book and related Watchtower and Awake! articles with their teachers, school administrators, etc. Who do they think they are fooling? They are involved in a campaign of influence that is just as involved as if they voted.
Stay tuned for Part 2: "What Does Nature teach?" and see how the Society developes this topic with their brand of thought processes.
Jim Whitney