Evolution is a theory. As such, I think one would have to say that it requires faith to believe in it. It is an idea that has been around for a long time. However, it is only in the last hundred and 50 years or so, especially since Darwin's time, that it has become such a pervasively accepted theory in our world.
Those who have faith in this theory, or should I say believe in it, often tend to ridicule those of us who do not accept it to the degree that they do. I don't know why they don't understand that it is no harder to believe, to have faith in, the existence of a supernatural figure who could have created everything we know than it is to believe in their theory. As someone brought up in our Western educational system, and having graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, I put a good deal of effort into studying evolution. I took special courses on it. Like many, I wanted to believe that there was no conflict between the theory and the beliefs that I hold as one who believes in a Creator. I really wanted to synthesize those viewpoints. However, I have given up on that pursuit. That theory leads to too many unanswered questions when it comes to what I believe in as a Believer in God.
Those who believe in evolution have been working hard at finding evidence to bolster their theory. They claim to use scientific methods, but have not always been honest with what they do. What many do not realize is that there is also a group of scientists who look scientifically at the universe, at our solar system in the world in which we live, and find much evidence that corroborates with what The Bible says.
I have also studied the Bible and theology to a considerable extent. I am no theologian or philosopher though. There are those who would say that The Bible is a book that is meant to tell us about God, man and our relationship. They would say that it is not concerned with scientific and historic fact. However, the conventional orthodox view, to which I ascribe, still holds that the writings we accept as The Bible were "inspired" by God. If that is the case, I think we would have to accept that God, who is Truth, would not allow statements to stand in His Word that are untrue. Many Bible scholars and theologians interpret the content of the Bible differently, and come up with different conclusions about what its passages mean. I believe that too many have been too ready to relegate too many passages to the realm of poetry, by which they mean that the images contained can be interpreted quite loosely and are not factual. They would also apply similar thinking to the 1st few chapters of the book of Genesis.
Let me list some of my objections to all of this thinking about evolution. If we believe that God is good, and that what he makes is good, which is the message in the Bible, how could he allow life to go through millions of years of evolution where many forms would have suffered horribly because of the unsuccessful mutations that occurred in them before they were eradicated? If God did not create the world, why does Jesus keep referring to God and creation? Why do the apostles refer to Jesus as The Creator?
The orthodox Christian view of man is that what had originally been meant to be good, according to the Scriptures, fell out of relationship with God because of evil. In an entirely evolutionary system, there is no room for any of this kind of thinking. There is no good or bad. There is no morality.
Furthermore, Orthodox Christians also believe in the existence of something we refer to as The Holy Spirit. Again, it would be self evident that in the universe that occurred by evolution, there simply is no supernatural. If evolutionists open up that possibility, they are making themselves vulnerable to possibilities that could obviously challenge their entire system. So how can Christians hold these views and still accept evolution? I don't think they have really thought through things honestly.
Another problem for me is that, as I believe it would be for many who think about this, evolution cannot answer what some call 1st questions. Scientists talk about the Big Bang theory of the beginning of the universe. Where did the energy or the matter come from that may have been there at the beginning?
Some would have us believe that it is not that important whether we believe in evolution or not. To the contrary, I want to make some comments about how I think the belief in evolution has resulted in a number of serious and deeply-entrenched negative consequences for us as persons and society. In the 1st place, the widespread acceptance of this theory by those who do not want to believe in God or what he says has resulted in many turning away from faith in God. Secondly, if we leave God out of the picture, there is no place for value or rank in the universe. Man just happens to be at this point the most highly evolved specimen that we know of on this Earth. These lines of thinking are what has taken away belief in the value of life, or even what those of us who have a faith would describe as the sacredness of life. We're just another creature in the universe, of no special consequence, so what is the problem with abortion, the misuse of sex or euthanasia? We have no more intrinsic value than animals, so what is the problem with spending thousands and millions of dollars on our pets, for example, when people around the world are suffering, starving and dying. Thus we also have the sometimes ludicrous positions of those who have developed the whole concept of animal rights and would place them on a par with, and sometimes seemingly, above human rights. I have no problem with well thought out and followed vegetarianism, but sometimes the extremes associated with that can be seen to have their roots in evolution too. According to the Scriptures, God not only allowed man to eat animal life, it was part of the God-worshiping religious system at one time to sacrifice animals.
Simply put, when we leave God out of the picture and turn to evolution as the system we have faith in, we lose our way. Those who believe in evolution, humanists, would still talk of civil society and such values. However, if we push them on that, I don't know how they could defend the appearance of all of that from evolution. If God had never been in the picture from the beginning, society would be much more evil and cruel than it is. We know that from history and from knowledge of peoples before their contact with Christianity and other great religions.
Indeed, other religions would have no place in the realm of man if we only subscribe to evolution either. The fact that it seems believers of other religions are less criticized then Christians suggests to me that proponents of evolution sense that there is more to fear from Christianity than from other religions. Or, if I wanted to go further and speak from another Orthodox or fundamental vantage point, the powers of evil that drive everything that works against God, according to our Bible, know that there is a God and are afraid. Thus, they would know that Christianity provides the best understanding of this God, his creativity and his relationship to his creation. That would be the reason why Christians suffer more persecution than those of other religions. It would also be why our fellow religionists, the Jews, are also high on the ranks of those who are hated and persecuted, because their religion also believes in the same God.
These are some of my thoughts and conclusions, based on 50 years of thinking about this. I know there are many apologists who have spelled this out in much greater detail and with much greater strength than I have. Some of those individuals today work with an organization called the Institute for Creation Research, which I would invite the reader to look into.
No comments:
Post a Comment