The central question that worried the consciousnesses of tens of thousands of human generations throughout their existence is the recognition of whether God exists. There is no doubt that this question will remain unresolved, as it is physically impossible to discover what is felt by the followers of faith spiritually. Uncertainty gives rise to the fact that each person decides for themselves what to believe and whether to believe. Among all the arguments proving the impossibility of God’s existence, or at least the impossibility of controlling life on Earth, evolution seems to be the most convincing. As part of this essay, this argument is discussed in the context of Terrence Malick’s film The Tree of Life.
The main difference between rational thought and religion is the definition of how life was born and developed. Creationism teaches us that God created the world in six days, one great activity for each day, and on the seventh, He was rested (Fairchild). This creative hypothesis is really impressive and leads to believe in the power of the supernatural being because, according to the Bible, such fundamental changes were made in such a short time. In fact, the religious development of life was realized in two days: on the fifth day, God created all living beings, and, on the sixth day, Adam and Eve. Since then, the life history that many Christians preach has been going on. In the context of scientific knowledge of the world, such a speed is unjustified, because it took nature about 4.5 billion years for the first primitive human to appear (Redd). Evidence of this can be found in paleoanthropological findings, phylogenetic tests, and similar phenotypic features of existing related forms.
The amazing work The Tree of Life by American film director Terrence Malick was chosen as a film confirming the argument about evolution as a fact of God’s existence impossibility. It is worth acknowledging that this film has a religious orientation and explores the development of a child’s life through the prism of a relationship with parents and God. In general, it is fair to say that The Tree of Life is a grand synthesis of ideas that includes both Christian religious perspectives and scientific meanings. In the context of this work, Malick’s film is remarkable for a scene that began at 19 minutes: in this scene, the director shows the essence of evolution. In the story, the woman’s heartache comes to a climax when, after another quarrel with her despotic husband, she went into the forest to be alone and turn to God. At the same time, Malick contradicts the natural course of the plot, and instead of any religious scenes, offers the viewer to watch a video about the biological development of life. For 17 minutes, the viewer observes a complex and multifaceted evolution, starting with the Big Bang. Subsequently, the film shows the chemical evolution of molecules under the influence of natural forces, the emergence of the first cells, and their development: from the first sea creatures to giant reptiles dinosaurs. In other words, the film explores what is a postulate of theoretical scientific knowledge but cannot be observed due to the impossibility of traveling through time.
It seems that watching this extended scene of the film provides answers to all questions about the existence of God because it shows that God is not involved in such an incredible biodiversity of life. Moreover, the Bible did not mention the biological evolution of animals, and they all appeared literally at the same time. The film shows this on the other hand: through successive scenes, fossil form remains and animal similarities.
Works Cited
Fairchild, Mary. “The Creation Story: Summary and Study Guide.” Learn Religions, 2020, Web.
Redd, Nola Taylor. “How Was Earth Formed?” Space. 2016, Web.
The Tree of Life. Directed by Terrence Malick, River Road Entertainment, 2011.