If you do a Google search on Creation vs. Evolution
you’ll end up with 98 million results in less than .50 seconds.
It’s too bad there are so many results as there really is
no debate. Evolution is a word that is
used broadly by many but is defined narrowly by science. A commonly used short
definition of evolution can be found in many science textbooks. Evolution is defined as the change in the
gene pool of a (living) population from one generation to another (source: many
dictionaries and the “Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium Model”)
As such, biological evolution assumes life already
exists. As Bible believing Christians
and apologists for creation, our arguments become less impactful when we
typically broaden the topic to include not only macro and microevolution but
the origins of the universe and life itself.
We take on all comers and are typically not up to the task.
Science feels it has 'certainty', or settled science with
regard to evolution (it doesn’t and we’ll address that in a future article). But with regard to the origins
of the universe, it’s a work in progress with many unresolved issues. The latest generally accepted theory or
hypothesis is that the universe began with a ‘Big Bang’. This is a rather new theory, supported by
the observation by Hubble in 1929 that the universe is expanding and moving
away at great speed, as if it was propelled by force at some finite point in
the past. However, many scientists,
aware of the contradictions in the Big Bang and the generally accepted laws of
physics have been busy in publishing other theories.
Why talk about
Creation and Evolution?
The Bible begins with the Book of Genesis and verse 1:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The Bible gives us not only the account of
the creation of the known universe but also the sun and the moon, all of the plants,
animals and man. In the first eleven chapters of Genesis, we see God’s creation, the fall of Adam and Eve, the
judgment for sin, the promise of Redeemer, the destruction of the world by
water and the provision by God for Noah and two of every living creature, and
finally the confusion of the languages at the tower of Babel.
Through most of the past two thousand years, these eleven
chapters have not only been considered factual but they are also the basis for
much of our theology. No Adam and Eve,
no one is in the image of God. No fall,
no sin and no need for a redeemer. No
need for a redeemer and Jesus may have been a prophet but died needlessly.
In addition, while many Christian philosophers have tried
to conclude that one way to embrace the scientific theory of evolution and
still have God is to become adherents of what they call Theistic
Evolution. Of course this just makes
them islands rather than bridges as atheist scientists refuse to accept any
inclusion of deity. The other issue is
that in order to find this middle ground, the Bible begins to include both fact and fiction, truth and fables. Soon, it becomes difficult to sort out God's plan of redemption, the fulfillment of prophecy in the incarnation of Jesus and His second coming.
Answer Questions
with the Question
I’ve always admired people that illustrate the bible verse, “A gentle
answer turns away wrath.” (Proverbs 15:1) I haven’t been
a fan of the ‘gotcha’ statements that are often used in these debates. While you may be able to talk fast and throw
in some facts and statements against the uniformed, even the skilled and TV
notables don’t always win every argument against the more informed and
prepared.
Here are some simple arguments that often are in the form
of questions rather than statements of fact.
1) Did you know
that microevolution is fully compatible with Biblical Creation?
The Book of Genesis tells us often that God created life
forms to reproduce “after their kind”. (e.g. Genesis 1:24) This embraces a
great deal of variety within the ‘kind’. However, God’s creatures will always only
reproduce after their same general “kind” of animal. Don’t get confused by the technical
definition of species vs. the general reference to kind as that’s exactly what
we see today. For example, dogs and wolves are both canines and can actually
interbreed. They are of the same
‘kind’. However, pigs and sheep cannot
interbreed because they are not the same kind.
Interestingly, scientists have used this Biblical definition to narrowly
define a species as species is defined as having the ability to reproduce
“after their kind” (emphasis mine).
2) Scientists
acknowledge that Darwin’s theory of evolution is actually in crisis and at the
‘origin level’, not embraced
The amazing discoveries in molecular biology,
biochemistry and DNA that have been made in the past 50 years expose Darwin’s
fears. He surmised that complex organs
like the eye to be formed by natural selection would be absurd. We now know that there are in fact tens of
thousands of irreducibly complex systems on the cellular level and even the
tiniest bacterial cells are composed of one to two hundred million atoms, far
more complex than our most advanced man-made machines. Regarding DNA, my daughter, a Ph.D candidate
and science teacher says that DNA shows the ‘fingerprints of God, the creator”.
3) Were you aware
that the fossil record raises more questions than provides answers?
From a Christian perspective, a global flood would
explain to a greater degree the existing fossil record than those trying to
prove an evolutionary tail. The fossil
residue in what are believed to be the oldest rocks does not reveal a simple
beginning at all but instead a very complex living record consistent more with
the Christian perspective of creation than the origin of species via evolution
4) The generally
assumed ‘age of the earth’ of 4.53 Billion years has serious unresolved
problems
As Darwin’s claims of natural selection and evolution
were only mathematically probable over millions of years, the idea of a ‘young’
earth while supported by the Bible is unthinkable to most scientists. However, there are a number of observed ‘time
clocks’ that point to a much younger earth than the normally assumed 4.53
Billion years. Including:
* Decay in the earth’s magnetic field: 20,000 years
* Mitochrondial ‘Eve’ : 6,500
years
* Oldest living thing 4,900
years
* Lack of mud on the ocean floor 5,000 years
* Dinosaur DNA found 10,000
years
* Comet disintegration 10,000
years
* Too much helium in minerals 8,000 years
* Existence of Carbon 14 in diamonds 250,000 years
* Very little salt in the sea 42 million years
Not So Final
Thoughts
While many may give more, I prefer to give people less
and have them want more. The source of
truth for me has been and always will be the Bible. Many men, far more knowledgeable in both
science and the Bible have written on this subject.
We’ll take two more weeks and review some more questions
and problems with the popular scientific models of the origins of life, the
universe an the age of the earth. In the meantime, be gentile and turn away wrath.
