October 1, 2014 | David F. Coppedge

Less Darwin, More Pasteur

Pasteur’s vision of eradicating rabies remains unfulfilled 129 years after he cured a boy.  Isn’t that a nobler goal of science than storytelling about evolution?

Science Magazine says, “Pasteur’s vision is within our reach—we only need to move the hand forward to grasp it.”  That vision was the worldwide elimination of rabies, a cruel, painful way to die.  Here we are, 129 years later, “yet Pasteur’s vision for ridding the world of rabies has not been realized,” the magazine states in a Policy Forum entry (Sept 28), “Implementing Pasteur’s vision for rabies elimination.”  Instead, “Rabies remains a threat to half the world’s population and kills more than 69,000 people each year, most of them children.

The story of Louis Pasteur’s attempts to intelligently design a rabies vaccine, building on his spectacular success with anthrax, is well known (see our Biography).  He wasn’t ready when the mother of stricken Joseph Meister came begging for help, and he hesitated to use it.  But knowing the boy was sure to die without it, he gave Joseph the series of injections.  The test vaccine worked!  Other patients flocked to his lab, with hope, for the first time, of being cured from the 100% fatal disease.

Why hasn’t rabies been eradicated in all the years since?

The article in Science describes how mass dog vaccination campaigns could do the trick, since dogs are the primary vectors of the disease.  There are political and economic hurdles to overcome, but the six authors from 3 continents believe it is possible.  The only thing lacking, they say, is the will to “move the hand forward” to grasp Pasteur’s vision of eradicating the disease.

The article begins with a chilling photo of adults trying in vain to help a 16-year-old boy in agony, who, not having access to the lifegiving serum, “suffers the terrifying symptoms of rabies.”

After 14 years of reporting, we can vouch for the fact that articles about Pasteur or rabies are very, very rare in the major science journals.  But hardly a week goes by without Darwin, Darwin, and more Darwin permeating every facet of science.  If evolutionists really cared about people, they would get off their behinds, drop their handfuls of “tantalizing speculations” that do nobody any good (see 6/25/14 commentary), and use their training to save lives.  They could start right here, right now, by taking Pasteur’s vision to heart.

What has Darwin done for the world lately?  (see The Biology of the Second Reich, What Hath Darwin Wrought, and The Dark Side of Darwin).  Here’s some of what he has done for starters: evil, war, sexual license, mass murder, genocide, useless speculations, just-so stories, eugenics, purposelessness, cultural erosion, nihilism, anarchy and death.  Here’s what Pasteur has wrought: life, health, mercy, kindness, and hope.  That’s also the legacy of many others in our list of great Creation Scientists, such as Pasteur’s close friend, Joseph Lister, who brought antiseptics to medical practice, and James Simpson, who brought anesthesia to surgery.

Jesus said, “Every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit…. You shall know them by their fruits.”  (Matthew 7:15-20)

 

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