Episode 25 – Tomatoes and the Vitamin of Success

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Introduction: The Netherlands and the Vitamin of Success

Muawiyah's friend: Muawiyah. Muawiyah: Yes. His friend: What do you know about the Netherlands? Muawiyah: Well, the Netherlands has a football team... His friend: No, no, the Netherlands as a country, not as a team. Muawiyah: Honestly, I do not know very much. His friend: Did you know the Netherlands has an area of only 41543 square kilometers and a population of only 17 million, yet it is the second-largest exporter of agricultural and food products in the entire world? Muawiyah: Really? His friend: Yes. In 2011, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranked it the happiest country, and in terms of per-capita income it ranked tenth... Muawiyah: Honestly, I admire your knowledge. His friend: May God bless you, my dear friend. I lived in the Netherlands for 5 years. During those 5 years, I learned their language and read their books. I read about the secrets of their success—about 12 books concerning their success and the secret of their creativity. It truly is a magnificent civilization. Muawiyah: You are honestly impressive. His friend: Thank you. The point is that after reading all of this, I developed a theory. Muawiyah: I see. His friend: My theory says that the secret of the Netherlands' success is tomatoes. Muawiyah: Tomatoes? His friend: Yes, tomatoes... Muawiyah: Why tomatoes? His friend: The Netherlands accounts for a quarter of global tomato exports, and tomatoes contain the vitamin that accounts for all that success. Muawiyah: I admire all this information, but although I believed your facts, your final conclusion is not logical. His friend: How is my conclusion illogical? Wait. When I asked what you knew about the Netherlands, you knew nothing. Since I know more about the Netherlands than you, my conclusion must be more correct.

Mixing Facts with the Evolution Myth

This is what promoters of the evolution myth practice skillfully: mixing observations with a hypothesis and facts with a myth. They spend hours explaining biological details, discoveries, and research, then insert the myth among them so that it can be swallowed easily and so that the stated facts and the evolution myth appear inseparable.

A package, as they say in English: you are expected to accept both together. You tell yourself that this person's discourse is scientific because he speaks about experiments and precise observations. In reality, he inserted a lie or misinterpretation that employed all those observations in a completely wrong direction, regardless of whether he personally believes the lie.

You may debate someone who asks what you know about finches, guppy fish, Italian lizards, bacterial resistance to antibiotics, and citrate-digesting bacteria. When you ask what these examples signify, he says that all of them underwent microevolution before our eyes: random mutations in genetic material accidentally produced beneficial traits for finches, guppies, lizards, and bacteria, enabling them to adapt better to a certain environment so that they underwent natural selection, all within a limited period.

Accordingly, over hundreds of millions of years, bacteria could have evolved through random mutations into every kind of living being. If we establish that microevolution occurs within a few years, we can imagine macroevolution producing different kinds of organisms over hundreds of millions of years.

Our speaker goes into great detail about the changes in these creatures’ structures, then says: “You know nothing about these things, yet you come to argue about evolution, you ignoramus!” You feel yourself shrinking before this scientist who knows far more than you and has apparently based his convictions on knowledge.

Adaptation Is Not Random Evolution

Upon scientific examination, however, you discover that he is simply lying or has been lied to. Every example he gathered to make you think random mutations happened by chance to suit the environment is, according to the scientific research, an example of adaptation through precisely designed mechanisms with no place for randomness. These creatures, their genetic material, and the way it is read possess an ability to alter their characteristics in response to environmental changes. This points to their design, and that of their environment, by an all-knowing, all-powerful, and wise Creator who sustains His creation, as we saw clearly, brothers, in the episode about citrate-digesting bacteria and as we will explain further, God willing, concerning the other cited examples.

The myth's follower claims these are random mutations. He dazzles you with many examples but lies precisely at the point he is supposedly proving. In reality, every example he cites is evidence for you, not against you.

A serious mistake made even by some opponents of the myth is to say, "We do not deny microevolution; we deny only macroevolution, which transforms one organism into another kind. Bacteria evolved but remained bacteria, and Darwin's finches evolved but remained finches." No, brothers. Evolution is defined by its supporters as random changes combined with blind, patchwork natural selection. This is what the term signifies for them.

When you agree with what they call microevolution, you concede that randomness grants organisms beneficial traits, which is rationally and scientifically false. Every example they cite concerns marvelous and precise adaptations in which randomness has no place. They are neither macro, micro, nano, nor femto evolution.

One cannot answer that terminology does not matter. The myth's priests rely heavily upon manipulating labels. They want to appear broad-minded, scientifically imaginative, and profound when they say that microevolution occurs within years, so why should macroevolution not occur over hundreds of millions of years? You, who deny their claim, are made to appear superficial and narrow-minded. Yet calling adaptations microevolution reverses reality: adaptations are true, while microevolution is an illusion and a lie.

Adaptations imply wisdom, intention, and measured design, while evolution implies randomness and chance. Calling adaptations microevolution is like calling knowledge ignorance and wisdom absurdity. This is what we mean by mixing facts with myth and observations with theory, and noticing it is extremely important, brothers. It resembles our friend's mixture of correct information about the Netherlands with his theory about the vitamin of success in tomatoes.

The Prohibition against Mixing Truth with Falsehood

Mixing truth with falsehood is an ancient method that God Almighty condemned among the People of the Book: “O People of the Scripture, why do you confuse the truth with falsehood and conceal the truth while you know it?” [Ali ‘Imran 3:71]. In the same way, these people mix facts with the falsehood of the myth and conceal facts that destroy it.

In addition, cosmic observations pointing to God are mixed with lusts. You can hardly watch a documentary without seeing scenes inserted to arouse instincts and divert reason. It is as though Satan inspires his allies to prevent faith from entering hearts when viewers witness the wonders of creation and to prevent their tongues from saying: “Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You above such a thing; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire.” [Ali ‘Imran 3:191]. Desire instead overwhelms them, and heedlessness becomes entrenched through those scenes.

The first method we have discussed, brothers, is therefore mixing fact with myth. You hear enjoyable scientific discourse that genuinely adds much to your knowledge, you become impressed, and then through a magical touch that discourse is employed to promote the myth.

Brother, train yourself to separate information from conclusions. Ask whether what a speaker tells you is factual information or his own inference. If it is information, demand evidence. If it is an inference, verify whether the inference is sound, because correct information does not necessarily produce a correct conclusion. Be a deep critic and distinguish fact from myth. Peace be upon you.

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