I really enjoyed the creation/evolution articles in the Feb. 12 edition of the Religious Herald. Bob Allen did a good job of covering the debate and ongoing discussions on the subject of origins.
 |
The “Clergy Letter Project” is indeed most interesting, as it shows we are nearing the last days. As God said through the apostle Peter, “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished” (2 Peter 3:3-6).
It is especially sad that “Christians” have believed the lie of evolution and tried to reinterpret Genesis 1-11 to accommodate the philosophy and religion of secular humanism. When the first 11 chapters of Genesis are interpreted any way except at face value, we destroy the foundation of every major doctrine in Scripture. This is most importantly true of the doctrines of sin, death and salvation. It also causes serious issues within the rest of Scripture. Jesus spoke of creation as if it were literal. He spoke of man and woman from the beginning, as if Adam and Eve were real people. So in essence, it would also make Jesus a liar.
Let me be careful to point out that I see absolutely no dichotomy between the Bible and science. However, we must be clear on what science is. Science is the study of observable data and events. Can science observe the existence of God? Can science observe the non-existence of God? Can science observe the creation of the universe by God? Can science observe the Big Bang or other evolutionary origin of the universe? The answer to each of these questions is no. Science cannot prove the theory of evolution, nor the biblical scenario of creation. I have absolutely no problem with this limitation of science.
Can’t we look at the world today and observe evidence that evolution took place? Or can’t we observe that the rocks are not “young” as the Bible asserts?
All scientific observations can parallel the following scenario. An evolutionist and a young-earth creationist are looking at the Grand Canyon. The evolutionist says, “See what the Colorado River did over tens of thousands of years.” The creationist says, “See what God did in a matter of days or weeks as the water from Noah’s flood drained back to the oceans.”
The observable data is that the canyon exists. How long it took to erode is based on human interpretation of the data. Either you place your faith in the God of the Bible, or you place your faith in secular humanism. Then you interpret the scientific data you observe to fit your system of belief.
We must be careful not to let ourselves be deceived by the lies of the theory of evolution, which is falsely called science. We would do well to preach and teach from Colossians 2:8: “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
John Klink Jr., Hot Springs