Of course, neither evolution nor any other phenomenon which occurs over millenia is completly comprehended or explained to the fullest extent possible.
Right. It becomes a matter of faith, an extension of one's noetic structure through which he interprets observed facts. Einstein posited a theory that, again, may or may not be fact. The speed of light has been measured for about 300 years, and has been shown to slow down slightly. Of course, that could just be tolerance error in the methods employed for the tests (Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle), but the reduction was pretty consistent over the centuries, albeit small. The only point is that it too is a theory.
Reality is a black box. The more science advances, the more we come to grips with our own ignorance and smallness in the universe. Yet we are able to observe these things and draw conclusions. Reason! Requisite to reason is a set of univerally accepted transcendental laws, like the laws of logic, which point to an absolute reference point, something unchangeable and eternal.
There is something really special about man, something that separates us from the animals. True, we contain many of the same building blocks. We all need food and drink, light and air, work and rest. We respond favorably to those we find pleasant, whose company we enjoy. Pavlonian responses. But science reaches its limits when we speak of beauty, morality, dignity, and nobility - experiences animals cannot be said to know. No animal ever prayed. Knowledge crosses the rubicon from science to philosophy, which is the outer sphere containing the truths on which scientific endeavor depends.
To your credit, you've indicated you make that distinction. I'm contending, though, that the implications of evolution by natural causes stand in opposition to the teachings of holy Scripture. It is not "In the beginning" to which I refer, but rather, "love your neighbor"; "pray for those that persecute you"; "do not resist an evil person"; "repay good for evil"; all of these teachings, pure and perfect, stand in irreconcileable contrast to the principle of survival of the fittest, taking advantage at the expense of another, and other Darwinian dogma that has given foundation to some of the bloodiest and most ruthless regimes in human history.
I think perhaps we're more in agreement than either of us
thought. Heisenberg's Principle of Indeterminacy is
close to the existential view that ultimately "logic"
and "reason" have ineluctable limits. Did you read his
book, "Physics and Philosophy" ? I agree that the view of
evolution as being something "red in tooth and claw" is
inimical to Christian moral values. But I think perhaps
in its evolution humanity at some point took a quantum
leap and changed qualitatively. Have you read anything by
that Jesuit paleontologist, Teilhard de Chardin? Perhaps
we are headed towards some evolutinary Omega Point. Then
there is the fact that in the section of the brain called
the "reptilian cortex" we still are "red in tooth and
claw" as we sleep into the deeper unconsciousness. And
when we awake and see the horrors we've created we're
tempted to believe in an atavistic DEvolution. Perhaps
Nietzsche and Kierkegaard were right -- all truth is
subjective -- even that Objective Truth that we subjectively call transcendant and universally valid.
At this point I'm beginning to feel like St. Paul when
he was told by the Athenians that "learning has made you
mad." Would like to hear your views. All best,