One of the major issues about evolutionary theories is where the logic of the theories takes you in questions related to man's social problems. Survival of the fittest can be used to justify a lot of aberrant human behavior. In recent years, there has been an attempt to explain a great deal of male behavior in both mammals and humans in terms of promoting their genes. The idea is that males participate in promiscuous sex and adultery to produce as many offspring with their genes as possible. According to the theories, the instinctive drive to spread their genes around the animal kingdom is even stronger than their instinctive drives to survive.

The latest proposal is highlighted in a book by Dr. Randy Thornhill and Dr. Craig Palmer titled A Natural History of Rape. This theory says that rape has nothing to do with violence and domination. The proponents of the theory say that rape is just another gene-spreading technique favored by natural selection. Thornhill and Palmer attempt to show that a majority of rape victims are women of child-bearing age, thus supporting their view that rape has to do with procreation. They also maintain that no more than 22% of victims of rape suffer "gratuitous violence beyond that necessary to subdue the rape victim."

We want to emphasize that the authors are not endorsing rape; they are trying to explain it from an evolutionary perspective. They are saying rape is just a natural biologically-driven product of our history.

There are so many logical fallacies in an approach like this that it is hard to tell where to start in showing the errors. Without getting into the broad subject of evolution or creation, consider the following problems with this proposal:

Rape is frequently used as a political or religious tool. Recent wars in Moslem and Hindu cultures have seen mass raping of the enemy's women. The belief system is that once she has been raped, she can no longer be a fit wife and mother so raping all of the women serves as a political tool.

Rape does not produce more children with your genes in a primitive society. The man who rapes a woman and leaves in most cultures dooms her and her child. If she is excluded from her support group, (as mentioned above) or has no male supporter, she has no way to get food. There is no one to protect her or her child from the dangers of the natural world. The offspring likely to survive are those where the male is available to defend, provide food, and assure participation in the group.

Rape is incredibly destructive. In the modern world, rape victims suffer enormously. Many rape victims suffer depression and memory loss. Aberrant behavior is frequently associated with rape. Suicide among rape victims is extremely high. Children who were conceived in rape frequently experience poor acceptance at a minimum and violence at the maximum. To maintain that evolution favors the rape environment to a functional family environment in the producing of children is ludicrous.

Rapists are frequently people with severe psychological disorders themselves. It is not uncommon to read in the paper of a child or a senior citizen being raped. Homosexual rapes in prison or army situations are among the most common of crimes in these environments. None of these rapes can conceive a child and pass on one's genes.

Sexual gratification cannot be ignored. All of the biologi- cal attempts to explain why we behave instinctively fail to recognize that sexual gratification in and of itself provides an end to behavior. Masturbation does not produce babies, and yet a huge percentage of the population engages in it. To try and provide an evolutionary explanation of everything humans do not only makes the assumption that all of evolution is true, but also that all of human behavior and activity is evolutionarily based.

We would propose that God created sex with procreation being only a small part of its purpose. Also involved in sex are love, caring, security, pleasure, bonding, trusting, and sharing. These things are peculiar to humans and reflect our creation in God's image. Rape is a perversion of all of this-totally destructive in nature and contrary to our very makeup.

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