Theology 101 No. 32

Creation Vs. Evolution: Does it really matter?

Did people come from monkeys? Is the Earth billions of years old? Did it all begin with a ABig Bang@? For Bible believing Christians these questions raise even more questions. If Evolution is true how does that affect the Bible? What does that do to the Doctrine of the Inspiration of the Scriptures? Of God? Does Evolution affect the Doctrine of Salvation? Does it even matter?!?! The answer to the last question is, AYes, it matters.@ Before we can understand how it matters one needs to understand what the Theory of Evolution is and what it is not.

First of all, the Theory of Evolution is NOT fact though it is often taught as such. It is a theory that attempts to explain origins while at the same time dismissing the supernatural (meaning it is intentionally atheistic). Charles Darwin, credited with being the founder of the Theory of Evolution, was openly hostile to the God of the Bible. His starting point for his ideas stem not from observation and curiosity, but from the desire to prove origins minus a God. In reality his now famous theory is a model created to fit preconceived notions rather than a model built solely to explain his observations. (Please understand that as Christians we can agree with aspects of his theory because they are observable/@provable@ - like aspects of adaptation and natural selection. But the idea than man descended from apes is contrary to Scripture and has no proof.)

Evolution is also a theory that is contrary to the principles of the Scientific Method which requires observation and repeatable, verifiable experimentation. No one was around a million let alone billion years ago. Evolutionary scientists create models based on assumptions and fall into the same trap Darwin did. They take their preconceived notions and conclusions and make their evidence fit the model rather than let the evidence show forth the model.

In order to make some of their models work, evolutionary scientists use ideas that defy and ignore established scientific law. For example, in physics there are the Laws of Thermodynamics. One of these laws states that in a closed system everything tends toward great entropy (disorder) over time. We see this everyday. Buy a car and you know it does not get better and better the longer you drive it. It begins to wear, break down, rust and eventually it heads to the junk heap. The Theory of Evolution=s founding principle is that everything started out simple and is getting more and more complex and in fact better and better. Again a simple look around the world about us (and even the mirror as the years go by) show us this is not true.

The Theory of Evolution is a destructive theory to humanity. In fact it dehumanizes us. Simply put, if we are nothing special (not the crown of God=s creation we truly are) we are no better or more important than any other animal in this world. If we evolved from apes that must mean that some Araces@ are further down while others are further along the evolutionary path. Evolutionary thinking is behind racism, genocide (remember Hitler?), gives justification for selective euthanasia of the mentally or physically disabled, abortion (41 million dead children in our country alone since 1972), the promiscuous sexual activity so prevalent in our society, and many other ills. The end result of the Theory of Evolution is that there is no God and the strongest shall rule and make the rules (in essence they become God).

Christians are often ridiculed for believing the truth of the Bible on the matter of creation. They are accused of being anti-science or flat earth lunatics. Others try very hard to make evolution and the Bible work together in a so-called Theistic Evolution. But as we have seen in earlier Theology 101's, any compromise of God=s Word leads down a path that is unacceptable. The truth is we need not compromise nor do we need to accept a godless theory that in the end desires to deny God even exists.

Christian creation scientists use and see the same evidence as the secular evolutionary scientists. The scientific evidence, however, goes much further toward actually proving things like a young earth (6,000 years old) and the global flood of Noah. Many of the most important scientific discoveries have been made by Bible believing individuals. We include in this group Christians like Isaac Newton (calculus and gravitation), Michael Faraday (electromagnetism, field theory), Robert Boyle (Chemistry), Johannes Kepler (astronomy), Gregor Mendel (botany and genetics), and Francis Bacon (the scientific model).

Many people (even Christians) discount the first eleven chapters of the Bible as myth or analogy. This is unfortunate because it says that God cannot be trusted from the start and begs the question of how He can be trusted to tell the truth in the rest of the Bible. Changing or devaluing the first parts of Genesis also has a dramatic effect on a whole host of Biblical doctrines that effect teachings on original sin, the nature of sin, death and dying, salvation, and even the purpose and need for Christ to come into the world. Sadly, most people do not realize the profound effect the Theory of Evolution truly has on their faith.

It is recognized that such a short document is not going to convince an individual who is entrenched in the Theory of Evolution that Biblical creationism is true. With that said, I would strongly encourage any such person to open their mind to the Truth of God=s Word and examine the issue further. See the pastor and he can supply you with many resources appropriate for a wide range of audiences and comprehension levels. The Theory of Evolution has truly destroyed or damaged the faith in Jesus Christ of many. For this reason alone it does matter.