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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
May 1926
/ Can a Corrupt Tree Bring Forth Good Fruit? Turning the Searchlight of Fact on the " Progress Through Bloody Conflict” Fancy of the Evolutionist. PROFESSOR LEANDER S. KEYSER, A.M., D.D. Hamms Divinity School,"'Springfield, Ohio S most people know, the doctrine of evolution la largely, If not mainly, based on the so-called "struggle for existence” and the consequent “ sur vival of the fittest.’’ Darwin caught the Idea from Malthus, and then developed and argued It for all it was worth. In viewing the organic realm, he got his eyes filled with the notion that a bloody conflict among all liv ing creatures was going on, because nature herself did not ,. provide enough food for all her numerous progeny. Hence they had to war among themselves for the means of sus- tenance. Sometimes this view of natur? is called "the bloody lad der,” because according to evolution, all climbing is accomplished through this gory method. It is nature’s way of making progress. Dependent on this theory is the doctrine of natural selection, because the fittest to survive have the ability to select most wisely the rungs of the lad der for their upward climb and to beat back their rivals. For a long time I have been Investigating this question, to find out whether there really Is such a contest going on In nature, and especially whether.,« there Is, progress of the true kind Is its result. Suppose, then, we go to nature her self for our facts. We will find nature in the raw, or nearly so, In the African Jungle, although even there we find some human beings with enough Intelligence to exercise a mould ing influence on the natural status. Seeing nature thus, we do find, It must be admitted, some thing of a conflict. No one will deny that there are insects, birds and beasts of prey in the wild, living on other creat ures which they destroy. And no doubt the wilder the region, the fiercer is the conflict. This will account for the large amount of fear existing In wild nature. Every small and helpless creature must ever be on the alert against its natural foes. I have studied the birds a great deal, and know how watchful they are. But that such a fierce and constant struggle Is going on, as most of the evolutionists maintain, I must emphatically deny. Animals are not always fighting one another for their lives. Beasts of prey kill as much as they need to sat isfy their hunger, and that is all; they do not keep on slay ing in a ruthless way, but lie down peacefully and sleep while they digest their food. Moreover, their victims usually do not fight them, but only try to escape their attacks by running, hiding, or flying. If the victim is once In the clutches of its stronger foe, the struggle is very brief. Carnivorous creatures generally know Just where to strike their blows to disable or kill their quarry at once. They do not torture their victims. Conflict not Caused by Competition Again, the struggle that exists is not chiefly on account of competition over the supply of food, which the evolution ists from Darwin’s day seem to think is too meager to sat isfy the needs of all. The lion and the antelope do not fight each other for the same kind of food. The lion lives on the
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antelope, while the antelope lives on vegetation. Hence there is no conflict between them over the food question. It would rather seem that the lions would fight their fel low-lions If there was a food shortage. But the contests between lions are not very often over food, but mainly on account of their mates. So you may think through the whole list of beasts of prey, and you will find that most of them live on herbivorous animals, so that there can be no struggle for existence on account of a shortage in the sup ply of provender. Save in rare cases, the herbivorous ani mals do not slay one another. Thus the predacious animals and birds do not kill their victims because of any compe tition between the two classes, but because the former are so constituted as to be able to live only on the latter. A still more telling fact against the theory of progress through the bloody struggle is that it does not cause or enable the fittest to survive. In wild nature it is not the best and choicest that win In the fight. It Is the strongest and fiercest. Of course, if the wolf, the jackal, the hyena, the puma and the tiger are fitter animals than the beauti ful gazelle, the striped zebra, the domestic sheep, cow and horse, then the advocates of evolution are right; but we doubt whether even they would claim the palm for the fer ocious beasts of prey out in the jungle. If so, man does wrong to kill off the latter and to preserve the finer and gentler breeds. In the Vegetable World It is held by the evolutionists that the law of the sur vival of the fittest through the struggle for existence also holds in thfe vegetable world. But go to wild nature, to the swamp, the Jungle, the wilderness! do you find the best surviving? Surely not. Every form shows marks of deter- (Continued on page 304)
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