When somebody asks me, “Do you believe in evolution?” it always reminds me of an old Bible Belt joke.

Somebody asked a man, “Do you believe in baptism?”

He replied, “BELIEVE in it? Hell, man, I’ve seen it DONE!”

Not only does everybody believe in evolution, everybody has seen it. The reason free enterprise works is because most businesses fail. The strong and efficient businesses tend to survive.

That’s evolution.

Any experienced person looking at a litter of puppies knows which ones are most likely to survive.

BELIEVE in evolution? Hell, we’ve seen it done!

The question is not, “Do you believe in evolution? The question is how much of the development of life does Darwin’s particular theory of evolution explain?

And, just as important, if you have a better explanation than evolution, then what is your evidence for your particular alternative? A Japanese who follows the Shinto religion would explain that the alternative explanation of life has to do with the Goddess Who Invites.

I don’t NEED to believe that evolution explains everything. I don’t NEED for evolution NOT to explain things. Some people are terrified that their version of God will not fit into a Darwinian world.

I know very well that Darwin was dead wrong about a lot of things. I also know you cannot explain many things in life by simple evolution. But nothing in my world revolves around what evolution explains.

Before you discuss any subject, you should first ask yourself what your stake in the answer may be.