Life: Random or Special?

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution has been at the forefront of debates by scholars, scientists, theologians and intellectuals all over the world since its publication in 1859. The theory succeeded in generating massive interest globally because it completely changed forever how humans view themselves and their relation to all other life forms on Earth. Darwin's theory leaves no place for God in the explanation of origin of the universe and of man. It attributes everything in the universe to chance and natural accidents happening gradually over billions of years. Darwin's theory boldly nullified the biblical origin of universe and its life forms including man, and the controversy around evolution versus creation implicitly became a controversy of the existence versus the non-existence of God. In the course of time, the theory became one of the most substantiated scientific theories of all times. It received overwhelming support in the scientific community, in that they accepted evolution as the key foundation on which rests the only logical explanation for the origin of the universe and all its inhabitants. Almost every major scientific organisation issued statements declaring their support for the theory and they have affirmed it time and again that they accept the theory as an established and tested fact. Despite the overwhelming evidences supporting the occurrence of evolution and the confident assurance from the scientific community that evolution is a fact, there remains unabated debates and controversy in accepting evolution as the answer to the present form of life. Darwin's theory completely plots out the picture of God in the origin of universe and mankind. However, discoveries about the universe and about the human race itself have baffled the minds of the scientists, and many ardent supporters of evolutionary theory have been compelled by the discoveries to accept that the whole question of the origin of the universe is incomplete without a Creator. As more mysteries of the universe are revealed, the scientists have started realising that the universe is quite special and cannot be simply a product of chance and time, as propagated by the evolutionists for more than a century and a half. This paper attempts to explore some of the reasons why the theory has been contradicted time and again, even by the scientists, despite the claim that evolution is a fact, which has been supported by many evidences. Why is the debate still raging and is there a path where the views of both parties can be reconciled? This paper also tries to ponder upon the crucial questions of man: who we really are? Where do we come from? Are we special or are we just another animal on the planet Earth?