by Jerry Bergman, PhD
A common, but erroneous, conclusion is that the basic idea of biological evolution was conceived by Charles Darwin as a secular, non-theistic solution to the problem of origins (Bowden, 1982, p. 1). It is also frequently implied by Darwinists that the theory of biological macroevolution is a modern idea that could have developed only in our advanced scientific age. Conversely, critics often claim that the creation worldview is a product of our less informed ancestors, and that such a belief system is now a disproven religious relic.
Actually, organic evolution is a very ancient idea that was first taught at least as early as the seventh century B.C., perhaps much earlier. As Morris (1997, p. 364) concluded “evolution is not in any way a modern ‘scientific’ discovery, but rather a modern revival of the primeval anti-God world religion.”
Mayans and Native Americans
The Mayan culture, which began about 600 B.C., developed a streamlined evolutionary view that taught that the rain-god created humans by both adding to, and in other ways modifying, his previous creations. This rain-god first made rivers, then fish, next serpents, and lastly, humans.
Another example of other cultures that embraced evolution can be seen in the American Indian totem clans who believed themselves to be the descendants of a “common ancestor”; i.e., that humans evolved from various animals. For example (Anonymous, 1898, p. 467):
[the Turtle clan of the Iroquois were] . . . descended from a fat turtle, which, burdened by the weight of its shell in walking . . . gradually developed into a man….
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Read more: http://creationrevolution.com/2013/04/darwinism-is-an-ancient-religious-idea/#ixzz2QNevpSNx
