Q – What’s The Big Deal About Between Evolution & Creationism?
Evolution, aka Darwinism, rejects the existence or relevancy of the God of the Bible in the making of the universe and in the bringing forth of life in any form. Its premise is that the required elements of the cosmos for life were already and somehow in place to spontaneously give rise to a life form which evolved into the human species.
Creationism, aka intelligent design, asserts that all that exists, including life, came into being because of God. God, however is an uncaused being who has always existed and is self-sustaining.
The evolution versus creationism debate involves a fundamental & irreconcilable clash of world views regarding the truth about God and thus the worth of human beings and their accountability for their behavior.
Q – What Does It Take To Make Evolution Believable?
Lee Strobel, a former atheist and journalist, writes in The Case For A Creator that his exhaustive research on the doctrine of Darwinism, the theory behind evolution would, require belief that[1]-
- Nothing produces everything
- Non-life produces life
- Randomness produces fine tuning
- Chaos produces information
- Unconsciousness produces consciousness
- Non-reason produces reason
Charles Darwin the founder of the theory of evolution said in his Origin of Species, “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.”[2] This means the fossil record needs to show the required life form transitions in order to substantiate the belief in evolution.
Q – What Does It Take To Make Creationism Believable?
The great philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle saw that the universe had a plan and a purpose. Judaism and Christianity added the teachings of the Bible, which explained that this plan and purpose reflected the nature of a rational and energetic God who had created the universe. The advent of science enabled a means to find and understand the laws governing nature which were established by God who created these laws of being.
So a key starting point in believing that a Creator God exists is simply by observing the world about us. The Bible puts it this way: “For the truth about God is known to them instinctively; God has put this knowledge in their hearts. Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of his existence and great eternal power. So they will have no excuse.”[3]
Q – What Else Makes Creationism Believable?
Ralph Muncaster a former atheist and author of A Skeptics Search For God, set forth 3 standards of proof that would need to be met in his quest to resolve the issue of whether God was real. The standards are analytical, statistical and legal proofs.
He started by pursing the analytical proof first because, “It seemed to me that analytical proof of the existence of a Creator God depended largely upon disproving naturalistic evolution.”[4] After researching the basic building block of life, the single living cell, he said, “As I came to understand the vast complexity of a single cell, this was my first clue that there might be some technical and mathematical problems with naturalistic evolution.”[5] This led him to conclude, “The sheer complexity in even a simplified cell structure caused me to wonder how these billions of parts could randomly come together in just the right way, at just the right time. And that would be just the first step of naturalistic evolution. When I considered further that there are about 75 trillion cells in the human body, with 210 cell types, I started to have my first doubts about evolution. The sheer numbers of parts and changes and the specialization, seemed almost too incredible to believe.”[6]
Q – Is There A Fatal Flaw In The Case For Evolution?
The fossil record does not provide a record of the transition in life forms that Darwin’s theory requires. “Rather than harmonize into a consistent case for Darwin’s theory, the fossils are a discordant cacophony that cannot reasonably account for the monumental leaps Darwinism must make, for example, between fish and amphibians or amphibians and reptiles.”[7] Darwin said his theory would “absolutely breakdown” without the existence of this type of proof.
Q – What Are Some Key Implications & Consequences For Accepting Evolution As Truth
Deciding to believe the case for evolution leads to that person and the society that does the same to reject absolute authority and morality. Authority and morality become relative based upon preference, persuasiveness or power. This ever shifting relativity leads to ever increasing break down in the home, families, society, nations and civilization. This is in fact what we are seeing in real time today all around us, e.g. divorce, sexual impurity, corporate greed, government corruption, national disunity, crime, wars, disease etc.
Q – What Are Some Key Implications & Consequences For Accepting Creationism As Truth
Deciding the evidence creates a convincing case for a Creator God says there is meaning for life, a foundation for right and wrong and hope for the future.
According to the Bible, it also means we are obligated to God as our creator and accountable to Him for our behavior towards Him and others. God’s standards for evaluating us are based upon his character and nature which are rooted in His holiness, i.e. being without sin.
Our sinfulness, e.g. doing our own thing, rejecting God, makes it is impossible for us to meet his high, perfect standards. The sentence for not meeting his code of conduct is eternal separation from God which is known as spiritual death.
But God’s justice system also provides for a substitute to serve one’s sentence in their place. That person is Jesus. Jesus, God the Son, came to earth 2000 years ago for the explicit reason of dying on the cross to receive the punishment God decreed those in rebellion against Him deserved.
God gives each of us free will to choose whether we serve our own sentence or let Jesus take our place. In either case God is being perfectly fair. In fact He is double fair because He lets us choose and the Bible says “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;”[8] which means either option does not violate His holiness.
The person electing to serve their own sentence will exist in darkness and aloneness forever.
The person electing to have Jesus serve their sentence will go to Heaven to live eternally in the presence of God. Their trust in Jesus’ death in their place causes them to be seen by God as sinless and thus eligible to be in the presence of a holy God.
[churchpack_divider style=”solid” margin_top=”20px” margin_bottom=”20px”] [1] Lee Strobel, The Case For A Creator (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2004), 277.
[2] Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species (New York: New York University Press, sixth edition, 1998), 154.
[3] Romans 1:18-20 TLB
[4] Ralph O. Muncaster, A Skeptics Search For God (Eugene, Oreg.: Harvest House Publishers, 2002), 77.
[5] Ibid., 78.
[6] Ibid., 82.
[7] Lee Strobel, The Case For A Creator, 278.
[8] Psalm 89:14 NIV