In the past, this blog has tackled aspects of the creation vs evolution debate, and explored some of the major problems with the Darwinian mechanism of evolution which (in its various permutations) is by far the predominant evolutionary mechanism accepted by conventional academia, and which is taught as if it is proven fact by its defenders.

Among the previous posts which have ventured into this hotly contested and battled-scarred landscape are:
and
Some of those posts discuss the fact that there have been very serious proponents of evolution who have rejected the Darwinian mechanism as simply the wrong mechanism.  Among these were eminent botanist J. C. Willis who noted that the abundant evidence in botany poses irreconcilable problems for the Darwinian hypothesis, and who proposed a completely different mechanism of evolution which he called "Differentiation," and which proposed that some force caused very large new mutations or differentiations which diverged tremendously from previous forms, and which then went on to branch out into various sub-species and sub-genera, without the extinction of the parent that began the "family" (almost a complete inversion of the Darwinian mechanism).  

Others of those posts, such as those discussing the work and research of Dr. Rupert Sheldrake, who also believes in evolution but by a mechanism different from the conventional Darwinian mechanism, have noted that evidence of "psi" phenomena and other "paranormal" activity pose some serious difficulties for the Darwinian model as well.  Posts which discuss this aspect of human existence, and the evidence for consciousness that can survive the death of the body (something Darwinian evolution would not predict and which most conventional defenders of Darwinian orthodoxy would vehemently deny) include:
and
All of this "review" is pertinent, because today we will very briefly examine another theory put forward by someone who believed in evolution, but again by a very different mechanism than that propounded by almost any of the modern Darwinists.  Moreover, it is a theory which seems to be able to incorporate the evidence for psychic, paranormal, and afterlife experiences discussed in the posts found in the second group of links, as well as having some points of harmony with the evidence discussed by J. C. Willis and his "Differentiation" theory, as well as some of the other evidence discussed in the posts from the first group of links.

In his 1940 text Lost Light: An Interpretation of Ancient Scriptures, Alvin Boyd Kuhn makes this assertion, speaking of the ancient religion of the Egyptians and of many other ancient cultures:
It was designed to prevent the utter loss of purpose and failure of effort in the cosmical task to which man, as a celestial intelligent spirit, had pledged himself under the Old Testament covenant and "the broad oaths fast sealed" of Greek theology.  In coming to earth to help turn the tide of evolution past one of its most critical passages, he bound himself to do the work and return without sinking into the mire of animal sensuality.  We must henceforth approach religion with the realization that it is the psychic instrumentality designed for the use of humanity in charting its way through the shoals of the particular [. . .] evolutionary crisis in which it was involved.  91.
In these few sentences is contained a radical and revolutionary proposition: that evolution in the physical species is guided along by the incarnation of "celestial intelligent spirit" -- that we are spirits inhabiting human bodies as part of the task of helping evolution.  

In other words, Kuhn is here articulating his theory that the ancient sacred texts all dealt with the incarnation of spirit in matter (something discussed in this previous post), and that in fact they taught the doctrine of multiple reincarnations (evidence for reincarnation is discussed extensively in Chris Carter's Science and the Afterlife Experience, among other books).  One very interesting aspect of Kuhn's discussion of the idea of incarnation and reincarnation is his view of its purpose: he asserts in the passage above that the purpose of incarnation is to move evolution forward.*

In the passage above, he hints at the difficulty of this task.  One of the dangers of the business of incarnating, is that the spirit would become entangled in the snares inherent in the physical world, "sinking into the mire of animal sensuality."  For this reason (among others), Kuhn argues that the ancient wisdom was designed to remind us of our origin "as a celestial intelligent spirit," so we would not forget where we came from and why we are here. 

However, because of what Kuhn saw as a horrendous loss of the true light of the ancient scriptures, he believed that this vitally important mission is in grave jeopardy.  He writes:
All the stupendous knowledge relating to the entire cosmic chapter was once available, given by the gods to the sages.  We have nearly lost it beyond all recovery because the ignorance of an early age closed the Academies and crushed every attempt to revive the teaching.  [. . .]  We must work again to the recognition of our high cosmic mission, and revivify the decadent forms of a once potent religious practique, based knowledge.  For spiritual cultism was once vitally related to our evolutionary security, which stands jeopardized by present religious desuetude.  91.
Every reader must of course decide for himself or herself where to come down on this important subject.  The question, however, is far from settled, despite what some would have you believe.  There are many strident voices which would attempt to drown out any further examination of the subject of creation vs evolution, and would use all kinds of ridicule, ostracism, marginalization, and other forms of pressure to cause people to simply accept that evolution is the only possible answer, and that within the camp of evolution only certain strictly-materialistic forms of Darwinism may ever be discussed.  

If Alvin Boyd Kuhn is even partially right, the dangers of this kind of close-minded thinking may be enormous, and the damage that it is doing may be most grievous.  

We should encourage those around us to be unafraid in diving into this field, and not simply abandon it to those who would try to silence all opposition (and who, by their rigid intolerance, may be doing "evolution" in the sense that Kuhn is talking about a tremendous disservice).  Most importantly, each of us individually should be unafraid to examine openly all the possibilities.

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* And, for the record, I personally do not believe that by "moving evolution forward" Kuhn was talking about the "transhumanist" idea of physically modifying the human body (or even human mind-body) using implantable or bio-electronic biometric silicon-based microchips which appear to be well suited for surveillance, enslavement, and the massive restriction of higher consciousness whatever else they may be good for.  Kuhn talks extensively about the "fourfold soul," the "sevenfold soul," and other subjects which lead one to conclude that the advancement he was talking about was not based upon some form of biological enhancement.