If Evolution Is True
10 comments | Posted by Monica Hu on 10 Oct 2009 in St Pete's Journal ::
If evolution is true, there is no need for God.
Although evolution is a hypothesis, we’re being taught in science class as if it is an absolute Law of Life. And, when we believe in it, we shall stop believing in God, stop going to church, stop looking to a High One for His Guidance, stop obeying His Commandments, stop receiving love from Him, stop thinking of eternity, …
The following quote is from a person who shares his faith more times in a month than most Christians ever will in their lives.
“I am an evangelist. I go around and talk with people. One-on-one conversations. My time on college campuses and talking to high schoolers, the number one answer that I get for there not being a God, so then I don’t have to believe in [God/the gospel], is evolution. ”
That’s a Christian evangelist’s take (based on experience); how about an atheist’s opinion?
“The most devastating thing though that biology did to Christianity was the discovery of … evolution. Now that we know that Adam and Eve never were real people the central myth of Christianity is destroyed.
If there never was an Adam and Eve there never was an original sin. If there never was an original sin there is no need of salvation. If there is no need of salvation there is no need of a saviour. And I submit that puts Jesus, historical or otherwise, into the ranks of the unemployed.”
So despite many compromising Christians saying there is no conflict between faith in the biblical God and evolutionary theory, intelligent people around the world see the inconsistency clearly.
The article also says Christians that accept evolution as God’s way of “creating” are not winning the battle in debate situations.
Proverbs 26:4 says “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.” Who is the “fool”? Psalm 14:1 says “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (i.e. an atheist). So Christians should not answer atheists according to their way of thinking or else they will appear foolish themselves.
A Darwin historian, Bowler, P., in his article, Monkey Trials and Gorilla Sermons, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, 2007, p. 7, points out that:
“If Christians accept that humanity was the product of evolution—even assuming the process could be seen as an expression of the Creator’s will—then the whole idea of Original Sin would have to be reinterpreted.
Far from falling from an original state of grace in the Garden of Eden, we have risen gradually from our animal origins. And if there was no Sin from which we needed salvation, what was the purpose of Christ’s agony on the cross? Christ became merely the perfect man who showed us what we could all hope to become when evolution finished its upward course.”
Therefore, beware of what you’re going to answer the questions of an atheist friend. Describing Genesis as compatible with evolution is indefensible against an informed opponent. You will not win the debate and there is a danger that you yourself will fall into the snare and become a non-believer in the Creator God and Jesus’ dying on the cross.
Proverbs 26:5 says, “Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.” We have to point out the evidence of intelligent design discovered by various scientists to disapprove evolution. Without evolution, there must be a Creator and there is no other option at all. By answering them (atheists) “according to their folly” (“scientifically”, but without buying into their beliefs) and showing them how unwise it is to believe in evolution, Christians can remove stumbling blocks to the faith.
Very often people are seeing that taking up Christianity is an act of intellectual suicide. There will be a time in our life that we are confronted by people who have questions about Genesis and creation/evolution issue. Therefore, by equipping ourselves with answers in this area we will be able to help many people move closer to Christ. Simply telling the questioner to ‘just have faith’ gives the questioner the impression that there are no answers to his questions. But the sort of blind faith is not enough for many college students who need a stronger foundation than just warm fuzzy feelings about Jesus if their faith is going to survive their college education. (source: CMI")
So, what’s the challenge? Be prepared.
Being teenagers, this is the best time for you to know the basics of how to defend your faith. A basic education in apologetics could be critical for you when you go on to college and have your faith challenged by unbelieving professors and peers.
Start the research, start the discussion.
(Few weeks ago, a young friend (Year 12) asked me if there were any conflicts between science and God, this prompted me to write this article. Monica)
Discuss This Topic
10 people have already responded.
2 Chris :: 26/10/09 06:23 PM
Thanks for posting such a challenging article Monica! It certainly does make us think. It’s certainly an issue that many Christians have different perspectives on. Some Christians believe that Evolution and Christianity can co-exist, and some Christians reckon they are mutually exclusive. And you know what, that’s perfectly ok.
Monica is right in saying that becoming a Christian doesn’t mean intellectual suicide, and it also doesn’t mean if we are a Christian we can’t trust in science. Faith and science can definitely fit together. A good friend of mine and former member of the couch is now a science teacher. She’ll teach evolution as part of the science syllabus, has no problems with it and is also one of the strongest Christians I know.
As for Adam and Eve, many Christians believe this part of Genesis to be completely literal. Other Christians believe it to be metaphoric in the same way that the story of creation in seven days is often interpreted as metaphoric. Lot’s of Christians are going to have different interpretations of creation and original sin as well. However, believing that evolution is good science doesn’t destroy the theology of original sin and doesn’t destroy the theology that we all need Jesus.
Ultimately, at the end of the day, Christians may differ on the views of creation and evolution, but we can all agree that we are all sinful, and that we need saving, and that Jesus died on the cross to provide that salvation for us.
3 Monica :: 27/10/09 11:33 PM
When you dig deep into the real core of evolution, you’ll find that in it there is no space for God’s creation. (Reference: Refuting Evolution)
When we Christians start to interpret Genesis, start to fit evolution into God’s creation or the other way round, our faith may easily be diluted by the athesists who challenge us, “If God was the great designer and had such power, he didn’t need millions of years for one cell to evolve into Adam and Eve. Therefore, we don’t need God and we don’t have God to control our lives.”
We should also be aware that there are many “intelligent” academics in UK and US who use evolution to defy God’s existence.
Articles worth for reading:
The biblical roots of modern scienceTwiddling the knobs
How dating methods work
Doesn't carbon-14 dating disprove the Bible?
4 Steven Layson :: 28/10/09 04:00 PM
I think this is a very interesting discussion.
One of the problems I have is the idea that as soon as you make any room for the evolutionary process, you immediately lose the basis for the cross. It simply isn’t true that anyone who holds this view therefore becomes a card-carrying liberal. Personally I see no necessary link between the two.
Sure, there are many non-Christian academics (and not so academics) who use evolution as part of their objection to the existence of God, but that doesn’t make a necessary link. For instance, many people use the existence of suffering as an argument against the existence of God, but no one would suggest we therefore deny the existence of suffering.
Also, I’m not convinced that we will ever “win” any argument by the use of science when talking to non-Christians. In fact, you could argue that taking the evolutionists on will only keep you away from what is really important, ie the death and resurrection of Jesus. All that ends up happening is both sides line up “experts” who support their case, and neither listens to (or is prepared to accept) anything the other says.
What is certain from the Genesis accounts of creation is that it is God who was responsible for everything; that when he created it, it was good; and that when we sinned, we brought death into the world and separation from the previously intimate relationship we had with God. This relationship can only be restored through the atoning death of Jesus on the cross.
5 Matthew Johnson :: 29/10/09 10:21 PM
This blogging n stuff is professional! loving it.
6 Monica :: 31/10/09 06:32 PM
Science is our attempt to observe, understand, and explain the operation of the universe and of the living things it contains (D Gish, Ph. D.) A scientific theory can only attempt to explain processes and events that are presently occurring repeatedly within our observations. Theories about history are not scientific theories, even though they possess a scientific character or are supported by scientific data. Evolution and creation are two general theories attempting to explain the origin of the universe and of its inhabitants. No one has ever seen anything created except God, nor has anyone ever seen an ape evolve into man. Therefore, creation and evolution are theoretical inferences about history, based on circumstantial evidence.
Since it is not at all a scientific theory but based on a kind of belief of philosophical or metaphysical world view, evolution is basically religious in nature. But, there are fundamental contradictions between evolution and creationism – they are irreconcilable world views – one denies the role of God in the universe, and the other suggests a designer or multiple designers. Therefore, it can be stated unequivocally that evolution is as religious as creation, and conversely, creation is as scientific as evolution.
As Chris and Steve both commented, not all evolutionists are atheists, nor all creationists are Bible-believing fundamentalists. But each group has its own inclination of world views – atheistic or theistic. Evolutionism tends to convince us that we are hardly more than a mechanistic product of a mindless universe, that there is no God, that there is no one to whom we are responsible. This is also another purpose that I wrote this article, urging you to have an enquiring mind, collect information and think critically, so that you are well prepared for any challenges in defending and proclaiming your faith in God.
When confronted with things which contradict to the Scripture, always go back to the authority of the Word of God. Historical people and events in the Bible are authentic and not metaphors to entertain or frighten us.
As Steve said in his comments, science has practical limits and cannot fully explain the wonders of God. Using bad (science) arguments will only allow our beliefs be refuted easily and sidestep the actual case for biblical creation, the fallen of Adam, and Jesus’ death and resurrection. After all, we should pray for God’s mercy to reveal Himself to the non believers, and the wisdom for us to spread the gospel. Honour Him and represent Christ well when we defend His Word. Stand firm in the faith and uphold the authority of the Bible from the very first verse – Genesis 1:1.
7 katja :: 04/11/09 12:17 AM
This is a very interesting topic of discussion, and I have heard of Christians who are dead set against the idea of evolution and there are others who aren’t.
As Steve said on Sunday, science and religion shouldn’t be used against each other, because they are explaining different things…science explains the ‘HOW’ and religion the ‘WHY’. Personally I think that evolution could have happened, though I think that yes, we should keep in mind that it is still the ‘theory’ of evolution and there are gaps in the evidence for it, but at the same time scientists have been studying fossils which seem to support the theory.
Creatures, including humans, seem to have similarities (and differences) in structure, but God has his reasons for creating them that way…he might have used evolution, he might not have. I think we have to be careful not to be too naive and ignorant as that might also turn non-belivers away from becoming a Christian as they already think that we threw away our brains when we came to faith, but I agree that at the same time we should make sure that people know that we believe that God created the world, whichever way he chose to do it, he is our creator and we are his creation.
In the end though, Genesis tells us, be it metaphorical or literal, that God created everything, including us, and that we stuffed up…we sinned and therefore God saved us by sending his one and only son into the world so that we may enjoy eternal life with him in heaven. That’s what we should keep coming back to when we are having discussions with people who question our beliefs.
8 Christen :: 12/11/09 09:28 AM
heyyy look this debating, how cool is this? :)
thanks guys, this is really really interesting! I hadn’t though of a lot of what you guys have said, especially Monica.
Things to ponder… :)
but yeah you guys are so so right to keep pointing it back to Jesus cause really this is just a little side show to the big important crazy amazing event!
very interesting though…may explore it further when i get some more brain space!
9 Monica :: 24/11/09 11:23 PM
Here is a link led to a series of discussions regarding science and bible and God which may interest you. The discussions started since 2005 till now.
You’ll find devoted Christians and non-believers here. Interesting stuff. I’ve read all the posts and felt that when we do not expell God’s existence, we find more wonders of him and applaud at his great design through science. Sadly when those scientists tried to deny the existence of God by all means, they had to make up a lot of excuses to explain the design.
10 Christen :: 28/11/09 10:46 AM
Fantastic! Thanks Monica!
1 Chrispy :: 25/10/09 03:02 PM
What do you think of the view that Adam and Eve are a metaphor for human beings as a whole. And that evolution was the mechanism that God used for creating humanity?
I don’t really think that negates original sin?
Because couldn’t it be that perfect Adam and Eve are a metaphor for a choice to be holy and not sin, which God wanted us to take!
But the fall in Genesis is a metaphor for our inevitable choice to be sinful?
I don’t know. I’m still not convinced haha but it’s an interesting thing to talk about!