Think on These Things
August 2000
3. Theistic evolution and the Bible
[We
thank Kenneth E. Thomas for providing the source material for the three
“Word” articles in this issue via Mars-list on the Internet.]
“In
the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn.
1:1). So powerful is God’s word
that it is personified as God Himself. “And
the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of
the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14).
It was through this powerful Word that all things were made.
While in the bible the “word of God” is not always used allegorically
to represent God, it is always powerful: “For the word of God is living and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword..." (Heb. 4:12).
God's word is never outdated, nor is it a "dead letter" as many
false religious sources have stated. It
is always modern and up to date and fills every need of the human race.
It has within it "all things that pertain to life and
godliness..." (2 Pet. 1:3). God's
word is as powerful as it was when originally written.
It will accomplish every purpose for which it was written even today. "So shall my word be, that goeth out of My mouth: it
shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and
it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).
The word of God remains as powerful as ever.
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The goal of this page is to promote morality and justice in our society (Prov. 14:23).
The
teaching of evolution.
Evolution in some form is going to be taught in public and most private
schools. Considerable political
efforts by some religious groups have been made in an attempt to combat this by
passing laws to either prevent it from being taught or else by mandating the
teaching of “creationism” along with it.
The motivations for these political actions are good, but as long as the
vast majority of the academic world accepts evolution as fact, it will be
taught, at least as a theory. There
are many public school teachers who take it upon themselves to provide a
balanced presentation, and this is commendable.
However, we should not expect secular education to teach religious truth,
and to mandate such a thing will only result in the propagation of a different
form of error.
We
never see Christians in the first century using political power or any
institution but the church to spread biblical truth.
This is the responsibility of individual Christians, and it is part of
Jesus’ commission to the church. The
bible is not a science book, and rarely does it have to concern itself with what
is popularly accepted as scientific thought. When there is a conflict, parents should explain to their
children that generally scientists do not believe that the bible is God’s word
(with several notable exceptions). Most
of them are looking for answers to the origins of the universe and life totally
separate from God, and evolution is the best that they can do.
But even the scientific community is in conflict over this, and the
theory is constantly being changed. Much
of what was accepted a few years ago is now known to be fraudulent, and most
teachings are grossly over-simplified.
The
only way to counter evolution indoctrination is to train up children to the
point where they are so knowledgeable of the truth of God’s word that they
cannot be deceived by evolution’s false claims.
We cannot expect our schools or “our universities” to do this for us.
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Theistic Evolution and the Bible
(We
thank Matt Hennecke for this excellent summary of the facts.)
There
are insurmountable problems with viewing the "days" of Genesis 1 as
eons of times (perhaps millions of years each):
1)
"Day" in conjunction with "evening and morning" suggests 24
hours - not eons. Every other use
of this phrase in the OT is a literal 24-hour day.
2)
When an ordering of days such as "second day" or "third day"
is used in the OT, it always references a literal 24-hour day.
3)
Mk. 10:6 says man and woman were created at the “beginning of creation.”
If eons had already past before day 6, they would be at the end.
4)
Vegetation was created the 3rd day, but birds and creeping things on the 5th and
6th days. Many plants require insect pollination to survive.
5)
God was said to rest on the seventh day. If
there were eons of time between each of the days, then he was resting between
days. The amount of time since the
creation is small compared to all the supposed time between days.
6)
Nothing in the creation account suggests eons of time.
7)
Moses' readers ( God's chosen people) clearly believed the days to be 24 hours
in duration - Ex. 20:11; 31:17.
8)
Most modern bible scholars see "day" of Gen. 1 to be 24 hours.
They just don't believe it.
Some
believe that the naming of the animals in Gen. 2 could not be accomplished in 24
hours. Since Eve and Adam were created on day 6, that could not be 24 hours.
But look closely at Gen. 2 - the creatures Adam named were birds, cattle
and beasts of the field (this would exclude insects, fish, etc.).
It is feasible that these classes of animals could be named in a day.
Which
is harder to believe? That Adam
named the birds, cattle and beasts of the field in 24 hours or that Noah took
all those animals on an ark in a similar time?
Those who question the literal words of the bible are likely to doubt
whether the ark story was literal. Next
they will question whether virgin birth is literal and whether the resurrection
is literal. When the bible uses
figurative language — and it does
— it is clear from the context. Genesis
1 does not sound like figurative language; it sounds like history revealed.
The details of creation are important to our faith; let us not compromise
them away.
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“We are just the same as the
animals.”
but
the Genesis account makes a major distinction (Gen. 2:7) ...
“Then the LORD God formed man
of dust from the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life;
and man became a living soul.”
This
was a unique and different creation than that of the animals.
Gen 1:27 states: “And God created man in His own image, in the image of
God He created him ...” These statements are not made with regard to any of the
animals, nor is there the least bit implication that God used the animals as a
means for creating man. Evolution
is anti-God in that it makes no distinction between mankind and the animals; how
could there be if we evolved from them? Is
it any wonder that many today will oppose hunting and the rasing of livestock
for meat while at the very same time favoring the slaughter of unborn and
partially born babies? These are
some logical conclusions of faith in evolution.
What
is worldly about evolution? Everything.
It is a teaching of man; it goes counter to God-given common sense (Rom.
1:18f); it makes assumptions that are incapable of being validated; it degrades
mankind; and, it denies the necessity for there even being a God. It is worldly because without a worldly inclination no one
would have ever dreamed it up, nor would they have given it any credibility.
It appeals to those who would be free from God and the influences of what
He has revealed in His holy word. Let
us not be deceived by it, or by the priesthood of scientists who covet the
control of our minds.
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