Wayne Spencer
Christians today are very concerned about the moral decay underway in our culture. Abortion, pornography, euthanasia, homosexuality, contempt for authority, and the abandonment of the Biblical concept of marriage are all culturally acceptable. There is a widespread concept that the Bible cannot be considered literally true and authoritative on certain matters, especially history and science. Many people question the historical truth of the early chapters of Genesis. Many believe that modern scientific knowledge has shown the Bible to be inaccurate about nature and generally out of date. Also, Pastors are concerned that Christians sometimes suffer from an inadequate understanding of God's nature and character. Christians today need to grasp anew God's greatness as the infinite Creator-God.
All these issues and more are linked to how people think about origins. This may sound surprising, but it is true. It has been said that the New Testament rests on the Old Testament and the Old Testament rests on the book of Genesis. The early chapters of Genesis tend to be the first portion of the Bible to be rejected and criticized. And yet, Genesis may be quoted in the Bible more than any other Bible book. If the miracles in the early chapters of Genesis cannot be fully trusted and taken as true history, then how can other miraculous events in the Bible be believed with any confidence? Since much of the Bible's teaching ultimately has its logical basis in Genesis, when Christians reject creation from Genesis they compromise the foundation of their own faith. As a result, there are many Christians today who do not understand their own faith well. Believers without the creation foundation in their thinking are not adequately prepared to answer many important questions from their children or from nonchristian. Thus at our time in history, we need to rebuild the logical foundation of the Christian world view. The diagrams below illustrate how one idea is built on another.
Evolution was put forward in the 1800's as an attempt to explain man's origin without God, though some suggest God used an evolutionary process to create man. According to evolution, man is essentially an intelligent animal and thus many aspects of man's behavior is due to having evolved from lower animals. Evolution also implies man is not fundamentally superior to other animals on Earth, man is just smarter. But the Biblical view is that man was created in the image of God and given responsibility over the Earth. If we evolved from lower animals without the involvement of God, then what basis would their be for morals or for law? On the other hand, Biblically, the Creator-God put us on Earth for a reason, which is to know and serve Him. He created all life, and we are given rule over the Earth and its resources. Morality and Law then should be based on the purposes and directions our Creator has for our lives. He has the right to tell us how to live since He is our Maker.
The Biblical concept of sin does not fit well into a strict evolutionary viewpoint. This is because various behavior, such as some violent or sexual behaviors are often explained as resulting from our evolution from animals that do the same behaviors. Nature programming on television often attempts to make such arguments. Students are often exposed to this way of thinking in Biology and Psychology courses as well. But the moral directions God gives in the Bible express what is healthiest and best for us because we are designed to live as He intended. The Bible is the Creator's unique authoritative revelation to mankind. God's general revelation to us in nature testifies to His existence and his greatness, and God's special revelation in the Bible tell us how to enter a relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ. If the Creator-God has spoken to us in the Bible, then we have a kind of knowledge that is different from what is learned from science, knowledge from God's written revelation. With God's revelation in the Bible we can have certainty about fundamental questions such as origins and our reason for existence. This is briefly how the Biblical teaching of creation from Genesis relates to the Christian world view.
Many Christians have found that learning about creation and evolution has been the key to resolving questions in their minds about many issues. Creation Education Materials exists to educate Christians regarding origins in order to restore a sound foundation for Christian thinking and living, and to promote a balanced Biblical view of science. Thus, the creation/evolution issue is much more than just a science issue. It has bearing on how we value human life, how we understand history, how we interpret the Bible, and how we worship God. The more we understand of the complexity and beauty of nature, the more it should motivate us to know and worship God. Thus science should reinforce our faith rather than undermining it. God has revealed to man wonderful answers to life's important questions, in His word and in what He has made. Consider the following questions, which are related to origins: Why is there marriage? Can marriage change to allow for homosexual marriages? Why is there right and wrong? What is the meaning of work--is it a curse due to the fall? What is the difference between spare cats and spare kids (abortion)? Why is pornography wrong? (It treats people like animals.) Who is God? Where do the races come from? Did humans evolve from lower animals by natural processes? Why was Christ's death on the cross necessary? It is impossible to adequately answer these and other questions without considering the teachings of Genesis.
Evolution has been used to justify many
evils in our world and to make nonchristian values acceptable. Some
leading atheists, scientists, and educators have known this for a long
time and have deliberately used evolution to promote a non-Biblical world-view
in our society. If we evolved from lower animals then we are only
animals, really, and there is no reason our moral values cannot change
according to what we want. But if we are created, as the Bible says, in
the image of God then He sets the rules, regardless of our opinions. Evolution
has been used to justify racism, sexual immorality, abortion, the use of
drugs, and is part of the foundation for godless world-views such as humanism
and New Age Pantheism. Even leading atheists have written about how evolution
conflicts with Biblical Christianity. Consider the following quote
by a committed evolutionist and well-known scientist, Dr. William Provine
of Cornell University. This quote represents a very strict point of view
that could be called evolutionary humanism.
'Let me summarize my views on what modern
evolutionary biology
tells us loud and clear . . . There are
no gods, no purposes, no goal-
directed forces of any kind. There
is no life after death. . . .
There is no ultimate foundation for ethics,
no ultimate meaning to
life, and no free will for humans, either.'
(Origins Research, vol. 16, (1/2):9, 1994)
In time what people believe and think tends to be worked out in their actions, though not necessarily completely. About one hundred and forty years ago the idea became accepted that humans evolved from lower animals. Since that time evolution has been used to justify many evils in the world and in society. Today society accepts people living like lower animals in some respects; and evolutionists justify alternate lifestyles by alluding to our evolution from animals. And so as we fight moral battles today over issues such as abortion or pornography or public school policies we must do more than only fight the issue itself. We must also fight the battle at its foundation--that of people's basic beliefs about who we are and how the world came to be. Of course, evolution has not caused all of societies problems, but it has had a great influence on the world view of many people. The leading humanists, who have been very influential in western society, have understood for years that attacking creation is an excellent means of attacking Christianity. Without the thinking of people in our culture returning to a Christian world-view based on creation, how could any legal and political victories last?
Unfortunately, creation versus evolution
is seldom addressed in many churches and so there is a great need for Christians
to become informed. Young people and college students should also be exposed
to creation-based materials, so they can be exposed to more than just the
evolution point of view. There are many excellent creation resources available.
There are many creation speakers, films, videos, and books appropriate
for all ages and interests. Perhaps your church or Bible study group needs
to use these resources soon. The creationanswers.net web site has a page
telling how you can contact a variety of creation ministries. If you would
like assistance addressing the creation issue in your church, contact Wayne
Spencer at the e-mail or address below.