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Entry: What's So Scary About Evolution?--For Both Left and Right, a Lot Link: http://www.takimag.com/site/article/whats_so_scarry_about_evolution#27077 Post contents: Simon Newman, I could not agree more with your observation that one can question how Biblical the "original sin corrupted" view of human nature is. Early modern answer to your objection would have been to say that being innocent and animal-like are mutually exclusive, because the animal-like part of human nature (in theological terms, the "flesh"), is the ultimate source of all sin. In this reasoning, the animal passions produced the disobedience that caused Adam and Eve to fall to the temptation and commit original sin. (Note the discrepancy in timing.) The animal vs. rational dualism, has, however, been immensely influential in modern Western history. Catholics and Protestants shared this view, and they also acted on it. The result was a massive, centuries-long, religion-based effort to enable the rational part of the human mind to control the animal passions. The historical significance was the reason why it seemed necessary to point out this serious factual error in Derbyshire's categorization. Sent at: 2008 12 01