Is Evolution science, and the true implications it has for the Christian faith.

‘…be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you..’ (1 Pet 3:15).

Evolution is generally known as something happening randomly through mutations (faults in the geen pool that normally causes a loss of information and functionality in the offspring) and natural selection (survival of the fittest).

Much are said and debated over evolution, some will even call it a proven fact. Some are calling evolution science and by so doing trying to convince people that there is a debat between science and the Christian religion. that there is a war between science and the Christian faith.

However this is not the case and far from the truth. The fact is that science as we know it was mainly developed in the western world and particularly the part of the world that was under the influence of the Christian faith. It is true that many inventions are from the east as well but it was in the west that science truly developed to it’s full potential.

As one writer stated: “The science and modern technologies of today’s world have only come into being over the last 600 years. The boom in technology was preceded by a boom in the Word of God and in godliness.”

God rewards those who seriously seeks Him and respects His Word.

In a review of For The Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-hunts and the End of Slavery by Rodney Stark, Alex Williams, said the following:

“To illustrate the role of Christians in the rise of science, Stark researched ‘scientific stars’ from 1543 to 1680, the era usually designated as the ‘scientific revolution’, and came up with a list of the top 52.

• Protestants and Catholics;
• 15 of them were English,
• 9 French,
• 8 Italian,
• 7 German
• (the rest were Dutch, Danish, Flemish, Polish and Swedish respectively).
• Only one was a sceptic (Edmund Halley) and
• One (Paracelsus) was a pantheist.
• The other 50 were Christians, 30 at least of which could be characterized as ‘devout’ because of their evident zeal.”

Prov 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter

True science and true Christianity loves each other: There is no conflict between science and the Christian faith. The Bible is not a scientific handbook, but it is scientifically correct when it addresses something of scientific nature.

But what about the “flat earth” and “sun moving around the earth” stories:

A favorite argument from anti-Bible propagandists is to portray Christians as believing in a flat earth and that sciences has proved them wrong. Interesting however is that the Bible taught the earth was round long before the Greeks.

Job 26:10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end..

Isa 40:22 (a) It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth,

Prov 8:27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth;

Jeffrey Burton Russell, a history professor, at the University of California in Santa Barbara, said that the “plat earth” myth can mainly be attributed to the creator of the Rip Van Winkle story—Washington Irving— who wrote a fictitious report about Columbus defending a round earth against church leaders and uninformed professors.

Sun moving around the earth:

Aristotle (384–322 BC) and Ptolemy (AD 2de eeu) had the idea that the earth was flat and the center of the universe.

Copernicus (1473–1543) and Galileo (1564–1642) argued that it was not the case, but that the earth and other planets were moving around the sun.

The church only supported the ruling view from Aristotle’s followers. Today we know they were wrong and that they interpreted poetic Bible verses literally.

Psa 19:6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof..

Psa 93:1 The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. 

Such as Moses’ use of language indicates his perception of observing the sun rise and sun set.

Gen 19:23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

Gen 28:11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 

It is a pity that churches will follow the view of the majority scientist and misinterpreting the Word of God to justify it.

Using the “flat earth” and “sun around the earth” stories to fault the Bible and prove that creationists are not scientific , only shows the uninformed state of those who use these arguments. The Bible does not teach the earth is flat or that the sun moves around the earth and neither do creationist scientists.

But you may ask is evolution not a fact?

To answer this question, we first need to acknowledge the fact that science is about the repeated demonstration of something through which the same outcome is obtained every time. We should also be specific about how evolution is defined.

1. What is science:

Science is the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained.

Therefore something is scientific if:

1. It is driven by a law of nature.
2. It can described with reference to a law of nature.
3. The result are tentative, not finale , and can be proven wrong.

Science is therefore testable, demonstrable, and observable

2. What is evolution:

1. The process that presumably (not known) led to different types of living organisms diversify and develop over the history of the earth.
2. The gradual development of something, specificaly from a simple to more complex form.

Evolution is a very broad term and can be divided into 6 sub categories:

1. Cosmic Evolution. The beginning of time, space and matter. The big bang.
2. Star and planet Evolution. (about 11 trillion stars ar known)
3. Chemical Evolution – Elements to hydrogen
4. Organic Evolution – The beginning of life.
5. Macro Evolution – The change of one kind into another.
6. Micro Evolution – Different species; The only one that is observable.(the name is misleading, because nothing gets added)

None of the first 5 can be tested, demonstrated or observed, and as such cannot be scientific. Only the last one, difference between species, conforms to all the requirements to be scientific . The rest are very much faith based.

Also note that the Bible talks about different kinds, and not species:

Gen 1:21 – 25

And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 
And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 
And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 
And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 

It is generally accepted that Charles Darwin is the father of modern evolution is. Darwin was a Theology student who was very interested in the origin of species or the “mystery of mysteries” as he called it.

The he wrote a book – ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION OR PRESERVATION OF FAVORED RACES IN THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE.

Darwin defined evolution as, descent with modification in different species. Nobody debates the fact that species differ, but the question is how did all the different plants and animals appeared at first?

The difference between a kind an a species: A kind is when two species can produce offspring e.g Dogs and coyotes can interbreed, they are the same kind but different species. Through observation of animals we can see the differences within a certain kind, but we never observe one kind changing into another kind. The whole agricultural sector is based on that, a farmer planting corn expects to reap corn and that his cows will have calves and sheep will birth lambs. etc. etc.

3. Natural selection.

First, natural selection happen, it is observable, can be tested and is scientific.

Using the letters m; i; s; p; l; a; c; e; d, i can create words like misplaced, place and space, but will never be able to build words such as “queen”, “rock” of “sock”. WHY? The information is just not there. I can only select what I need from existing information. And that is exactly what natural selection does. it keeps a species strong and healthy. It has no creative abilities, it cannot create anything new.

Any dog breeder wil tell you, you can select any attributes you want to breed the perfect dog, but it still is a DOG! Applying quality control in a car factory, checking everything, every door, engine, tyres etc. How long before an airplane wil emerge? Well , never. And that is exactly the point, natural selection is nature’s quality control. it ensures the strongest survive, but it cannot change the strongest into another kind. On the contrary, natural selection does not create something new, rather it eliminates from what already exists.

4. The Big Bang

most people associate evolution with the big bang (something exploded). let us look at the big bang.

We are told today that about 18 to 20 billion years ago all the matter in the universe was compressed into a compact small little ball smaller than a “.” (point) on this page, it spin very fast and then exploded.

In 1965 the thing that exploded was about 275 million miles in diameter.

In 1974 54 000 mile in diameter.

In 1983 one trillionth the diameter of a proton (that is very small ).

Today – nothing Discovery Magazine Apr. 2002.

For evolutionists the following is true:

“The universe burst into something from absolute nothing – zero, nada. And as it got bigger, it became filled with even more stuff that came from absolutely nowhere.

And the following questions must still be answered by evolutionist:

Where did the matter came from?

Where did the energy came from?

Where did the natural laws came from?

Eg. gravity?

Why does laws not evolve today?

Let us look at some problems with the big bang:

When an object turns clock wise in a friction free environment as with the big bang, then, when it explodes all the piece breaking off will also turns clock wise. So if this original point was turning clock wise then everything in the universe should be turning clock wise. But Venus and Uranus rotate anti-clock wise. 8 of 91 known moons rotate anti-clock wise.

It would also be expected that matter and stars be evenly distributed through out the universe, but that is not the case, our universe has kilometers of nothing, and then clusters of matter.

Which brings us to another important question .

Is the matter of teaching evolution really important when it comes to the Bible and Christian doctrine?

Many will say no, you can believe in God and evolution. However the reality is that evolution undermines the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus. We can just have a look at some quotes from leading evolutionists and atheists, from whom it would appear that they have a much better comprehension of what is going on than many Christians.

Richard Dawkins

“Oh but of course the story of Adam and Eve was only ever symbolic, wasn’t it? Symbolic?! Jesus had himself tortured and executed for a symbolic sin by a non-existent individual. Nobody not brought up in the faith could reach any verdict other than barking mad!”

And

“It seems to me an odd proposition that we should adhere to some parts of the Bible story but not to others. After all, when it comes to important moral questions, by what standards do we cherry-pick the Bible? Why bother with the Bible at all if we have the ability to pick and choose from it, what is right and what is wrong?”

This quote from Richard Bozarth in die American Atheist magazine just about gives a clear summary of it:

“Christianity has fought, still fights, and will continue to fight science to the desperate end over evolution, because evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus’ earthly life was supposedly made necessary. Destroy Adam and Eve and the original sin, and in the rubble you will find the sorry remains of the Son of God. If Jesus was not the redeemer who died for our sins, and this is what evolution means, then Christianity is nothing.”

Atheist Frank Zindler also said,

‘The most devastating thing though that biology did to Christianity was the discovery of biological 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. I think that evolution is absolutely the death knell of Christianity.’ (Frank Zindler, in a debate with William Lane Craig, Atheism vs Christianity video, Zondervan, 1996).

The atheists know more about salvation than some professing Christians.

The Hierdie atheists / evolutionists knows exactly what it is all about, the total Christian believe system rests on the foundation that Genesis being accepted literally .

If Adam was not a real man and Eva not a real woman, then there never was an original sin and Jesus cannot be the last Adam, and He cannot be our kinsman redeemer. Also sin could not have entered into the world through the action of man and death as the result of sin. The we did not inherit a sinful nature.

Death cannot be the last enemy that must be destroyed because the death through natural selection brought the bigger and better into the world.

If evolution is true the following verses has no real value for us:

Rom 5:12 -19 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 
But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 
And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 
For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 

1 Cor 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

1 Cor 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.