Who’s Right?

Kabir Vega Castellanos

HAVANA TIMES — In Cuba, schools have been almost fascist, well at least post-1959. Ever since primary school, whenever we have talked about the universe’s origins, I remember how teachers used to give us Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution as the absolute and irrefutable truth.

Maybe two decades ago, when religious groups were small and unnoticeable, that wasn’t a problem. Religion wasn’t banned by the law, but it was in reality. Materialism was (is) official and, therefore, supreme.

When freedom of religion or belief was finally legitimized (up to a certain point) and Christian beliefs were made attainable, for example, not only were they ignored in our education but were also sometimes the subject of our teachers’ mockery.

A lot of the time, this led to students denying their own beliefs or to becoming fanatics of their faith as a sign of social protest. I have seen both of these things happen, and it’s unfortunate because they were good people and they used to get on with their classmates.

Now, what’s the absolute truth?

A few days ago, someone shared a movie called “Evolution Vs. God” with me. The movie is really dynamic, it asks prompt questions and uses the same cutting tone that religious people have been victim to. It features a large number of interviewees, from university students studying different degrees to graduates with vast academic experience.

They all proudly claim to be atheist and believe in the theory of natural selection as the origins of life. However, after several key questions, none of them manage to give concrete evidence to prove that evolution is “the beginning of everything”. Slowly, the interviewer proves to them that their absolute truth is quite simply a belief that they have faith in and the arrogant atheists end up admitting that they are only following an unproven theory, the opinions of those they believe to be supporters and whatever is written in science books. That is to say: they have blind faith.

If you haven’t seen the documentary I have talked about and my article has touched you in a positive or negative way, I recommend you watch it if you have an open mind, as it’s really worth your time. Nevertheless, I must say that I respect and accept what the video shows, but only until half-way through, as the interviewer contradicts himself at the end.

Maybe the absolute truth about our origins will always remain a mystery or maybe science or another movement can prove it with concrete evidence at another time. But, with what we have right now, the most honest thing to do would be to admit the following, like Socrates: “All I know is that I know nothing.”