Christopher Hitchens, author of the book God is Not Great, wrote an article for Slate.com titled “Losing Sight of Progress: How blind salamanders make nonsense of creationists’ claims”.

I read the article, and frankly, I wasn’t that impressed.

The basic premise is this: There are salamanders in caves who do not need eyes, do not have eyes, yet have indentations where eyes would be. According to Hitchens, the evidence overwhelmingly points to the fact that the cave salamanders used to have eyes there, but through evolution and natural selection, they no longer do. Here’s his own words:

“Whereas the likelihood that the post-ocular blindness of underground salamanders is another aspect of evolution by natural selection seems, when you think about it at all, so overwhelmingly probable as to constitute a near certainty.”

“A near certainty”??? Am I the only one who thinks that is a bit of a stretch? Would you be comfortable saying that anything that may have happened millions of years ago is a “near certainty”? Not me.

Here’s what Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, had to say about Hitchens’ thoughts:

“Vestigial eyes, for example, are clear evidence that these cave salamanders must have had ancestors who were different from them—had eyes, in this case. That is evolution. Why on earth would God create a salamander with vestiges of eyes? If he wanted to create blind salamanders, why not just create blind salamanders? Why give them dummy eyes that don’t work and that look as though they were inherited from sighted ancestors?”

See the words he uses? “clear evidence“? Really, Rich? You mean to tell me you could prove in a court of law that these cave salamanders used to have eyes back in the day? Hm. I’m no lawyer, but I don’t think that would hold up.

The other issue that I have with Dawkins’ argument is that he’s using human logic to try and guess at why God would create things in a certain way. If there is a God capable of creating a salamander (and I know for Dawkins’ that is a huge “if”) , do you think that we, as created humans, would be capable of understanding the reasons why He did and did not do things a certain way? I don’t know, it just doesn’t hold much water with me.

I’m the last person to sit here and preach a 7-day creation to you. You know why? Because I don’t know. The Bible teaches that God created this world, and I believe that. Do I believe it took a literal 7 days? I think so. Am I sure? Not at all. Smarter folks than me have argued about it for decades. To be honest, it’s not something i think about all that often. I know believing in a 7-day Creation and a young earth is a bit of a reach, and I guess I’m okay with that.

And while there’s lots of great points that evolutionists can make to support their theories, if they think that vestigial eyes in cave salamanders “make nonsense of creationists claims”, they have to realize they’re reaching more than I am.

Big Breaking News over at our Family Blog:

Click here to find out –>It’s Out! (and yes, there’s even a picture)

Erica and I are with the kids in Rehoboth Beach, DE right now. This is the 3rd year in a row we’ve come down here for 2 nights, and we always have a good time. (in fact, as i type this kylie is putting someone’s underwear on my head and telling me I’m the King and today is my day).

We all have our favorite things about coming here. Kylie loves the breakfasts here at the Inn we stay at. She wishes every morning she could have a wide array of foods to choose from. Parker loves the FunLand at the Boardwalk. There’s rides, arcade games, and lots of fun ways to waste quarters. Erica loves the beach. Sun, sand, water, and people - it’s one of her favorite combinations.

Me, I like the ride home.

No, I kid. I like just being here with my family. I enjoy the beach, but it’s not my favorite thing in the world. Same can be said for the Boardwalk. But while I’m here, I make sure I enjoy every moment with Erica, Kylie, and Parker. Moments like these are here and gone before you know it, and I am so thankful for these amazing people God has put in my life.

And wouldn’t you know, when you make up your mind that you’re going to have a good time…you usually do. Attitude is everything.

You might not be on vacation today, but whatever you’re doing, wherever you are, enjoy every moment of it.

+ my mom and sisters are visiting for a few days, so that’s fun.

+ my softball team is 6-5 with a big game tonight against 6-6 Calvary Monument.

+ I’ve got a quick article on enjoying your fantasy football draft up at Suite 101.

+ new Coldplay album is as good as expected in my book. Standout tracks so far are “Lovers in Japan”, “Death and all his friends”, and “Lost!”. According to Chris Martin, their tour dates will feature magical balls. They’ve also announced that Santogold will be opening for them. Not super excited about that…but whatever.

+ we’re about 2 weeks away from Parker’s maiden voyage to Fenway.  With Big Papi likely to be on the sideline, I really hope Manny plays when we’re there. Can’t wait to see the look on Parker’s face when he sees the Green Monstah for the first time.