Why
is evolution pushed as true and authentic? Do you really, I mean do you really believe you evolved
from an ape? Next thing you know, that ape evolved into another ape, and so on and so forth. Why are scientists and philosophers so convinced that there is
no God and evolution is legit? From a well researched perspective, I just may have an answer.
Now we even have numerous Christians who see evolution as authentic and true. Are they right? The
second most conversed upon genre within the doctrine of God, behind the Trinity
is the doctrine surrounding “God and Creation.” It begs the questions of “Where
did we come from?” and “How did we get here?” Academia has been one of the
avenging culprits, alluding to evolution over creationism, science over
Scripture. However, evolutionary theory is just one of an array of theories
proclaiming origin decisiveness. Dualism as a theory of origins takes various
forms, but the fundamental idea of dualism is that there exist two distinct,
coeternal, self-existent principles.1 These are God and matter. One
of the basic maxims of this sort of theory is ex nihilo nihil fit (“from nothing comes nothing”).2 Rather,
God must be coeternal with matter so there is something to work with as he
frames the world.3 Notable philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle
held to this theory, as well as Gnostics Basilides and Valentinus. According to
the Zoroastrian variation of this view, matter is not necessarily negative and
imperfect, for it is the creation of the good being.4 This general
form of dualism also explains evil in a way that doesn’t attribute it to God or
the good spirit.5 So, from a dualistic perspective, God needs matter
in order to fully be God, for he lacks divine providence over matter. Then
there is the gaining exposure of the “gap theory.”
The gap theory was
founded in 1814 by minister Thomas Chalmers. Chalmers decided that because science
has spoken, and what it said must be accepted as true, it then was necessary to
modify the Bible to make it agree with science.6 Chalmers suggested
that a large gap of time passed between the first two verses of Genesis 1.7
This supposed accounted for “the heavens and earth being created,” and suddenly
“the earth being formless and void with darkness covering the face of the
deep.” This gap of time could account for both an old earth for the
evolutionists and a more recent six-day creation for the creationist.8
Yet, evolution is inconsistent with any other portion of biblical text.
Additionally, this theory implies a pre-Adamic race or creation that became
lost to darkness; nowhere in Scripture is that emphasized. So this theory
stands alone, apart from this Genesis 1 interpretation. Then there are
emanation theories which are extremely pantheistic. Hence, the One or “God” is
part of all that is.9 Though, as mentioned earlier, the grandest
culprit used within the world of academia is evolution.
Evolution is in direct opposition to biblical creation.
But there are those claiming these are of like minds. There are the theistic
evolutionists. Theistic evolution teaches that God initiated the original
creation process and then used the life-and-death struggle of natural
selection’s proverbial survival of the fittest to complete the job.10
Then there are the day/age theorists. Advocates of the day/age theory believe
that life evolved over billions of years.11 And similar to theistic
evolution, God guided evolution through evidences such as the geologic column
and fossil records. Although the nuts and bolts of this controversy is between
only two theories: Naturalistic evolution and creationism. Naturalistic
evolutionists claim that the origin and development of the universe can be
explained in entirely natural terms in virtue of purely natural laws operating
over natural phenomena.12 Many are unaware of the two diverse forms
of evolution––micro and macro. Micro-evolution is the change within species.13
On the other hand, macro-evolution claims that the processes described also
resulted in changes from one species to another, ultimately culminating in
human beings.14
The macro-evolution present disturbing accounts such as
humanity evolving from apes or common birds forming into dinosaurs. As to the
origin and development of life, evolution says that from nonliving matter there
ultimately resulted a living cell capable of reproducing itself.15 Contrary
to every evolutionary theory is the biblical form of creation. Biblical theists
have invariably held that God created the universe and all its contents.16
Creationists hold to ex nihilo
indicating a miraculous creation. Creation out of nothing means creation
despite the absolute absence of anything. 17 Implying this, God is
sovereign, even over matter and science. Herein is where much of the
controversy lies. Most evolutionists are atheists or share some form of
agnosticism. And the thought of God agitates them. But the thought of a God
that transcends what they worship, which is science and the ego of their superior
knowledge within it, infuriates and belittles them. Instead of getting upset,
they should surrender to a God of this magnitude that cares deeply about them,
so much so to redeem their souls.
_______________________
Bibliography:
Feinberg, John S. No
One Like Him. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2001.
Hindson, Ed and Ergun Caner, The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics.
Eugene, OR:
Harvest House Publishers,
2008.
_______________________
1 John S. Feinberg,
No One Like Him. (Wheaton,
IL: Crossway Books, 2001), 541.
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid.
5
Ibid.
6
Ed Hindson and Ergun Caner, The
Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics. (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers,
2008), 155.
7
Ibid.
8
Ibid.
9
Feinberg, No One Like Him, 543.
10
Hindson and Caner, The
Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics, 154.
11
Ibid., 156.
12
Feinberg, No One Like Him, 543.
13 Ibid.
14
Ibid., 544.
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid., 548.
17
Ibid., 552.