What would it be like to

question the very nature of your existence and everything you had previously believed in, not because of what someone else told you but because of your own observations?
We went to see "Creation" last night - the story of Charles Darwin. It is not being widely screened in Adelaide. It has received very little publicity here. I rather suspect that there is a significant group of the church-going community who would find the film an uncomfortable experience. That may be why there has been so little said about it and why there were just eight people at the late afternoon screening. That is a pity because it was well worth seeing.
I am not particularly fond of going to films. It is not something I do often. I prefer to read but t this film was a challenge. Of course I already knew the Darwin story - or did I? Of course I knew it at one level. I knew what Darwin had done but I had never really considered the personal trauma he must have suffered in finally accepting what he had observed. I had not really considered how it must have clashed with what he had been brought up to believe or the beliefs of many of those around him. I do not think I wanted to know that.
I know my views do not always agree with the views that are considered to be 'politically correct' by some people with whom I have daily contact. I remain silent because I have to live with these people. Is that cowardly? I know I am not likely to change their views. I do sometimes speak out. There is a letter by me in a newspaper today. I know I will be challenged about that. Someone may even publicly disagree on the same letters to the editor page tomorrow. I can live with that. The issue is not a personal one and it is one that does merit discussion. It challenges the way we select those who take on the responsibility for representing us in government but it does not challenge the existence of government. If I challenged the existence of government I would perhaps be locked up and declared certifiably insane. It is a frightening thought and that is what leads me to wonder about the idea which confronted me again last night.
Darwin challenged existence itself and it must have been a terrifying thing to do.