Walking with Cavemen... Straight into a Mammoth Trap!

The BBC series Walking with Cavemen falls into the trap of presenting evolution as though it were a proven "fact" when it is actually no more than a hypothesis - a scientific hunch or best-fit theory - based on available "evidence". Whilst television producers and journalists seem comfortable critiquing deeply held religious and/or political beliefs (even though such scrutiny may shock or offend) they are much less rigorous when it comes to scrutinising truth claims made by scientists.

Question: How did the universe come into existence?
Answer: That's easy peasy! There was a Big Bang!

Question: How did modern humans come into existence?
Answer: Come, come! Everyone knows humans evolved from apes which, in turn, ultimately evolved from single-celled life forms.

These answers are actually statements of faith - they are not scientific proofs. We can only wonder whether, two centuries from now, scientists and journalists might not look back at their early twenty-first century counterparts and cringe as they ask, "How on earth did so many educated people allow themselves to swallow all that rubbish hook, line and sinker?"

Walking with Cavemen presents human evolutionary theory as though it were a single, objective, proven truth and makes absolutely no reference to the existence of rival explanations of the hows and whys of human existence - whether theological or scientific.

In contrast, The Association of Christian Teachers, which represents the views of Christians working in schools and colleges in England, states that children should learn about evolutionary theories (and the way they shape contemporary thought, language and culture) in school, but goes on to argue that children should not be forced to unquestioningly accept theory as fact. Yes, children need to understand the scientific and philosophical ideas that underpin concepts such as "random genetic drift", "natural selection" and "survival of the fittest" but, according to ACT, children should also be: (a) taught to critique each and every theory or explanation presented to them; and (b) exposed to a broad range of alternative schools of thought.

And, says ACT, Christian teachers - regardless of their personal views about the theory of evolution - would want to assert that all humans exist precisely because God planned it that way.

This item was cited in the following publications:

Baptist Times   (10 April 2003)
Times Educational Supplement   (11 April 2003)
War Cry (12 April 2003)
Christian Herald (12 April 2003)
Church of England Newspaper   (24 April 2003)
Christian Herald   (26 April 2003)