Via Mashable comes word of how the Dr. Pepper advert below set off a debate about evolution that, as I write this, has garnered over 24,319 likes, 2314 shares and more than 3,300 comments. Why? The advert, in no-subtle way, supports evolution – as well it should.
Dr Pepper set off a heated debate over evolution on Thursday after posting an advertisement to its Facebook page, which showed an ape evolving into a man thanks to the discovery of a can of Dr Pepper.
“My ancestors were created in the Garden of Eden,” one user posted in response to the advertisement. “I ain’t no freaking chimp. No more Dr Pepper for my household. God Bless y’all,” Another complained: “this is showing the theory of men evolving from apes. I have lost all respect for Dr Pepper and if Dr Pepper wants business from thousands of people they will need to apologize.” (Spellings have been corrected throughout.)
Others shot back, including a couple of commenters who posted, “The day your faith gets shaken by a Dr Pepper ad is the day you should probably start reconsidering your faith.”
Let’s be honest with ourselves – There is no debate here.
All there is are those people, who as a result of poor education and/or willful ignorance, attempt to find god in the ever decreasing gaps of scientific knowledge. A gap in our scientific knowledge is not evidence for the existence of a deity, it is simply evidence that there is more we have yet to learn.
It must be depressing to have a world view where there is no joy, excitement and wonderment from the pursuit of knowledge, where you simply accept that everything exists because “god made it”. So sad.
Folks are free to have their religious beliefs, but at some point they must realize, that having those beliefs doesn’t mean they need to be and act willfully ignorant in the face of scientific theory.
Theory: In science, a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that can incorporate facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypotheses.
The contention that evolution should be taught as a “theory, not as a fact” confuses the common use of these words with the scientific use. In science, theories do not turn into facts through the accumulation of evidence. Rather, theories are the end points of science. They are understandings that develop from extensive observation, experimentation, and creative reflection. They incorporate a large body of scientific facts, laws, tested hypotheses, and logical inferences. In this sense, evolution is one of the strongest and most useful scientific theories we have.
