Chapter 2: The Concept of Evolution as Cultural Myth

• Jul, 12 2025

In The Concept of Evolution as Cultural Myth, R.J. Rushdoony argues that evolution is not scientific fact but a modern cultural myth—a foundational belief system that reflects and shapes the spirit of the age. According to Rushdoony, evolution functions as a secular religion, offering salvation through progress, meaning through randomness, and god-like power to man—without God.Rushdoony defines a myth as a powerful cultural narrative that explains life and origins, even if logically inconsistent. Evolution, he claims, is embraced not for its scientific rigor, but because it satisfies modern man’s desire for autonomy while preserving a sense of purpose. It replaces divine creation with blind natural processes, granting man the illusion of freedom while denying moral accountability. Key Takeaways:Evolution is a myth rooted in the twin modern ideals of nature and freedom, two incompatible premises that must coexist to sustain humanism.The evolutionary myth promises the same things Christianity does—purpose, order, destiny—but without a sovereign God or absolute morality.Rushdoony argues that science now rests on borrowed theological presuppositions, such as law, order, and rationality, which only make sense in a Christian worldview.Modern science has replaced divine predestination with evolutionary determinism, trying to preserve man’s autonomy while claiming the totality of divine control.He critiques scientists like George Gaylord Simpson and J.H. Rush, who invoke chance, order, and progress simultaneously—demonstrating evolution's logical contradictions.Evolution is resistant to criticism because it functions as a faith-based worldview. To question it is to become a heretic to the established "church" of science.The myth is so entrenched that even the Church often accepts it, failing to recognize its theological implications and incompatibility with Biblical creation.Rushdoony concludes that only Biblical Christianity offers a coherent worldview in which man, science, morality, and purpose can coexist. Until the Church reclaims its theological foundations and challenges the myth of evolution, modern man will continue worshipping at the altar of science—chained by myth while imagining himself free.

Author

R.J. Rushdoony

Chalcedon Founder

Narrated by

Nathan F. Conkey

Narrator, teacher, missionary