Racism has plagued humanity for thousands of years, and it has especially shown its ugly head during the last few centuries. Think of the myriads of Blacks carried from Africa and sold into slavery in the New World and, more recently, of the blatant racism of Nazi Germany. Even today, there are justifiable concerns along these lines.

Johannes Kepler, the yet-to-be famous astronomer, presented a unique New Year's gift to his patron in the winter of 1611. The scientist gave his benefactor a witty, reasoned discussion on why snowflakes (more exactly, ice crystals) have six corners. Since microscopes and diffraction instruments had not yet been invented, no one really knew why crystals took the shapes they did.

As the early church grew in the Graeco-Roman world, the apostles and fathers preached to men who believed in evolution. In Athens, Paul encountered Epicurean and Stoic philosophers.¹ These and other early philosophers were also scientists. They observed the world and attempted to explain its nature and origin. They had many views on origins, all evolutionary.²