Evolution: Science or Religious Worldview?
August 30, 2010
History of evolution
Since the publication of Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species", man has battled with the theory of evolution. Its clear opposition to the teaching of scripture creates much frustration among Christians and non-Christians alike. If we will be absolutely honest with ourselves, understanding the origin of man or any other form of life is not within the realm of science. Science has limitations: it must be observed, tested and repeatable. If a scientist performs an experiment in the United States, in order for it to be valid, then a different scientist on the other side of the world should be able to perform the same experiment. The beginning of the universe or the origin of life is not observable, testable or repeatable and therefore our understanding of these things cannot be supported by scientific theory alone.
The origin of the universe and of life requires us to look to an eyewitness or a trusted written document. As the Creator of everything, God is that eyewitness and the Bible is that written word upon which the beginning of everything can be known. This is not an attempt to push my religious views upon you, but to ask you to think about what you are really saying when you reject God and the Bible as viable testimonies of these first seconds of everything.
Consider the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, remember the controversy that came up with the Chinese women in the gymnastics events. They were alleged to have had women who were too young to compete. (New York Time: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/sports/olympics/27gymnasts.html ) What scientific test did they run on these women to determine their real age? Any ideas? They did not run any tests, in the end,they found copies of their birth certificates to verify their ages. Was their birth certificate valid? Who know? My point is not whether the certificate was valid, but the fact that written documentation was sought as the final authority.
So, let's not throw the Bible "under the bus" because it contains direction on ethical, moral and spiritual aspects of all of our lives that we do not want to deal with. Let's get the truth and be willing to face it. The truth has implications, but it will also change your life. The question that must be asked, "Is the Bible a valid document regarding the history of the world including its beginning?" If the answer is yes, then at least be honest with yourself and get the right answers on the tough questions. Be willing to look beyond its history to its personal message for you.
Is the Bible Valid?
It's earliest manuscripts date back over 3,000 years, early civilizations' stone tablets name individuals and events mentioned in the Bible, a vast range of Bible manuscripts all validate one another, the Middle East is full of archaeological excavations all tied directly to events and people in the Bible, and the statistical probability of the fulfillment of Old Testament Bible prophecies extends into the range of impossible and yet; New Testament writers verify and validate the fulfillment of these prophecies in their day. Do you want to ask tough questions of the Bible? Go ahead, but you will find its strength grow in your heart and mind, not diminish.
Following are some general thougths and ideas to consider regarding Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution. In them, I think you will find some points in which you should really consider questioning the validity of evolution and in turn consider what the God of the Bible has done for you. The implications are eternal.
Father of the theory of evolution, Charles Darwin (1809-1882), naturalist and author
1) He was greatly influenced by his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, who also believed in an evolutionary process.
2) Darwin’s daughter died at a very young age. Some believe this traumatic event had a profound influence upon his ultimate rejection of God.
3) HMS Beagle/Galapagos Islands. Darwin spent several years aboard the Beagle documenting and cataloging what he saw. There has never been any mention of him carrying a Bible with him on the boat for reading, but he did read. He carried with him a book titled, Principles of Geology by Charles Lyell. In this book, Lyell proposed that the earth was very old and the rock layers proved it. This book influenced Darwin to see a world from a purely natural perspective and that everything could be explained if given enough time. Fundamental questions such as beginnings and source of new information were overlooked by Darwin and his theory was being birthed.
4) “Origin of Species and the Preservation of Favored Races”: "Darwin's book, On the Origin of Species, was published in 1859. It is perhaps the most influential book that has ever been published, because it was read by scientist and non- scientist alike, and it aroused violent controversy. Religious people disliked it because it appeared to dispense with God; scientists liked it because it seemed to solve the most important problem in the universe-the existence of living matter. In fact, evolution became in a sense a scientific religion; almost all scientists have accepted it and many are prepared to 'bend' their observations to fit in with it.” H P Lipson of Professor of Physics, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, UK], "A physicist looks at evolution," Physics Bulletin, Vol. 31, No. 4, May 1980, p.138.
5) Darwin’s theory of evolution was rooted more in a rejection of God than a scientific discovery.
a) “There seems to me too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the (parasitic wasp) with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars, or that the cat should play with mice.” Charles Darwin
b) “He (Darwin) quoted the Romans passage where Paul revels in God’s eternal power and how it is reflected in creation but not the passage where creation groans (Romans 8:20-22) because God subjected it to futility. He quoted the psalmist’s proclamation that creation declares God’s glory but not Isaiah’s prophecy of how God creates calamity.” Cornelius Hunter, “Darwin’s God”
What is evolution?
1) Defining Terms: Science, Macroevolution and Microevolution
a) Philosophically, science lives by two definitions and they are often used interchangeably. The point we can miss is one is a valid definition of science and the other definition speaks directly to the preconceived philosophies many people actually live by. Take a moment to ask yourself, how do these two definitions differ and why. Also, which one is a valid definition of the way in which science actually functions.
i) (Definition 1) Science refers to a method of investigation involving things like careful measurements, repeatable experiments, and especially a skeptical, open-minded attitude that insists that all claims be carefully tested.
ii) (Definition 2) Or, science also has become identified with a philosophy known as materialism or scientific naturalism. This philosophy insists that nature is all there is, or at least the only thing about which we can have any knowledge. It follows that nature had to do its own creating, and that the means of creation must not have included any role for God. Phillip Johnson, The Church of Darwin
As Christians, we must understand that a rejection of evolution is not a rejection of science even though that is often how Christians are portrayed. Evolutionists will often attempt to place the Christian who opposes evolution, as one being against science; hence a perceived battle of science verses religion insues when in reality one does not or should not exist. This should not be, for science done under the authority of God and His Word is a friend and a supporter of our Christian faith.
b) Macroevolution: this term refers to large-scale evolution or species to new species changes. This is ultimately what we simply call evolution; this is the focus of this study and the battle lines of this fight.
c) Microevolution: this term refers to small-scale changes or variations within species. Scientist can see differences within species, but one species changing to another species has never been proven. (Please note that microevolution never leads to macroevolution. Some evolutionists may state that these two terms are one in the same or one leads to the other, but this is not the case. It is not the case, because definition 1 of science has never seen this occur. It is those who hold to definition 2 of science that make these claims.
One of the key differences in these two positions is the direction in which change has or is supposed to have occured. Macro claims that life is improving and micro identifies that life is actually not improving and the original “created kind” information is being lost. (For more information on “created kind” look for information on “baramin” below.
Evolution Basics:
1) Definitions (Following are different definitions of evolution and how it is supposed to work based upon a secular perspective.)
a) In a general sense, evolution means, “change through time.” This concept has been broadly applied not only to biology, but also in the fields of geology, astronomy, economics and history. Biological evolution, as understood today refers to cumulative changes in gene frequency that occur within populations through time. Over time, inherited genetic changes in populations can produce entirely new species. The central idea of biological evolution is that all life on Earth shares a common ancestor.
b) “How Stuff Works” (http://science.howstuffworks.com/evolution1.htm)
Evolution is fascinating because it attempts to answer one of the most basic human questions: Where did life, and human beings, come from? The theory of evolution proposes that life and humans arose through a natural process.i) It is possible for the DNA of an organism to occasionally change or mutate.
ii) The change brought about by a mutation is beneficial, harmful or neutral.
iii) As mutations occur and spread over long periods of time, they cause new species to form.
2) Evolutionary Formulas
a) Universe: Nothing + nothing = 2 elements + time = 92 natural elements + time = all physical laws and a completely structured universe of galaxies, systems, stars, planets and moons orbiting in perfect balance and order.
b) Life: Dirt + water + time = living creatures
http://evolution-facts.org/Evolution-handbook/E-H-1.htmElements of the Evolutionary Model
1) Big Bang Theory
a) Claim: The Big Bang theory is an effort to explain what happened at the very beginning of our universe. Discoveries in astronomy and physics have shown beyond a reasonable doubt that our universe did in fact have a beginning. Prior to that moment there was nothing; during and after that moment there was something: our universe. According to the standard theory, our universe sprang into existence as "singularity" around 13.7 billion years ago. What is a "singularity" and where does it come from? Well, to be honest, we don't know for sure. Singularities are zones, which defy our current understanding of physics. http://www.big-bang-theory.com/
b) Problem: Big Bang theory is not a theory of origins. It does not explain the beginning of matter, energy or life; it starts with something called “singularity” in which all matter and energy are supposed to have been encapsulated. It’s subsequent explosion sent matter and energy all over the universe. After billions of years it began to organize itself into stars, suns and planets. There is no known scientific theory, which allows for this process to have occurred. Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
2) Fossil Record
a) Claim: The fossil record is supposed to contain the record of life throughout the history of the world. Its record is supposed proof of transitional life forms serving as proof of evolution.
b) Problem: The fossil record does not show a record of transitional life forms.
i) Events like the Cambrian explosion show life appearing rapidly and fully complete without record of an evolutionary transition either before or after it.
ii) According to Darwin, the absence of intermediate fossil forms “is the most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my theory.” In the 150 years since Darwin penned these words, not one transitional fossil has been produced.
iii) The late Stephen Jay Gould conceded this point, “The extreme rarity of transitional forms in the fossil record persists as the trade secret of paleontology. The evolutionary trees that adorn our textbooks have data only at the tips and nodes of their branches; the rest is inference, however reasonable, not the evidence of fossils.”
3) Natural Selection
a) Claim: Natural Selection is the process by which individuals possessing a set of traits that confer a survival advantage in a given environment tend to leave more offspring on average that survives to reproduce in the next generation. Natural selection is an observable process that falls into the category of operational science. We have observed mosquitoes, birds, and many microorganisms undergoing change in relatively short periods of time. New species have been observed to arise.
b) Problem: Biblical creationists agree with evolutionists on most of the ideas associated with natural selection, except the idea that natural selection leads to molecules-to-man evolution. Natural selection does not generate new species. The definition of the “fittest” individuals makes the notion of natural selection true based on circular reasoning. The fittest are the ones that survive, and you can tell which are the fittest by seeing which ones survive. (The fact that survival of the fittest is based on circular reasoning does not necessarily mean that the idea is false.) Fitness is controlled by many factors that allow the organism to survive and reproduce. The fastest zebra may be deaf and have a poor sense of smell. This combination would tend to eliminate his genes from a population. The only way to understand fitness is to study the first generation and then track the presence of those traits through time as successive generations are born. http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/is-natural-selection-evolution
4) Genetic Mutations
a) Definition:
i) Genetics is the field of science that examines how traits are passed from one generation to the next. Simply put, genetics affects everything about every living thing on earth. An organism’s genes, snippets of DNA that are the fundamental units of heredity, control how it looks, behaves, and reproduces. http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/wow/are-mutations-the-engine
ii) In biology, mutations are changes to the nucleotide sequence of the genetic material of an organism. Mutations can be caused by copying errors in the genetic material during cell division, by exposure to ultraviolet or ionizing radiation, chemical mutagens, or viruses, or can occur deliberately under cellular control during processes such as hypermutation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutation
b) Genetic mutations can either be neutral or harmful.
i) Neutral
ii) Harmful
(1) Obviously Harmful
Loss of information at the DNA level will impact the viability of the organism. Physical characteristics, mental capacity and handicaps are some of the harmful mutations.(2) No apparent harm (Also called helpful, but in the end even this is still a loss of information and not new information.) Occasionally a ‘destructive’ change will have a limited usefulness. For example, if we knock out a sentence such that there is a decrease in leg length in sheep (and there is such a mutation), this is useful to stop them jumping over the farmer’s fence. A beetle on a lonely, wind-swept island may have a mutation, which causes it to lose or corrupt the information coding for wing manufacture; hence its wingless successors will not be so easily blown out to sea and will thus have a selective advantage.
c) Created Kind: Baramin
i) Genesis 1:21, 24-25
5) Homologous Structures
a) Claim: Homology has come to mean any similarity between characters that is due to their shared ancestry.
b) Problem: Similar design means common designer, not common ancestor.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/tj/v15/i1/homology.asp
Breaking Down the Science
Evolution makes many claims, but what does science really show us?
1) No crossover from one species to another.
a) Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) was a scientist who classified immense numbers of living organisms. An earnest Creationist, he clearly saw that there were no halfway species. All plant and animal species were definite categories, separate from one another. Variation within species was possible, but there were no crossovers from one species to anther. (Encyclopedia of Evolution, 1990, p.276)
2) First Law of Thermodynamics
a) In 1847, Heinrich von Helmholtz stated the law of conservation of energy. The sum total of all matter will always remain the same. The Big Bang Theory states that all matter and energy had a beginning, but nowhere do we see evidence of matter creating itself.
i) Isaiah 45:9, 12
ii) Romans 9:20-21
3) Second Law of Thermodynamics
a) In 1850, RJE Clausius stated the law of entropy. All systems will tend toward the most mathematically probable state, and eventually become totally random and disorganized. In other words, everything runs down, wears out, and goes to pieces. This law totally eliminates the basic evolutionary theory that simple evolves into complex.
i) Romans 8:22, “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain”
4) Law of Biogenesis
a) Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) established the fact that life cannot arise from non-living materials. Pasteur concluded from his work that only God could create living creatures.
i) Genesis 1:1, John 1:1-3, Hebrews 11:3
ii) The Apple, like all forms of life cannot explain its own existence. Let me explain: hold an apple in your hand and ask, where did this apple come from? Obviously it came from an apple tree. So, now ask yourself where did the apple tree come from? Well, it came from an apple seed. So, now ask yourself where did the apple seed come from? It came from an apple didn't it? Now, you are back where you started and it is easy to recognize that no matter how many times you go around and around with the apple you will never find the reason for its own existence contained within itself. The apple requires something beyond or outside of its self for an explanation of its existence. Does evolution explain this? Based upon the laws of science (observable, testable and repeatable), can we ever know how the apple came to be? NO! The answer is an external, self-sustaining, all-powerful Creator who is the reason and explanation for everything. If there is a God, then there is a purpose. If God created you, then He created you with a purpose. That purpose was made known to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Do you know Him?
5) Information/Intelligent design
a) As we look at the world today we see amazing complexity and design. Logic alone would tell us that a book has an author and a building has an architect; this world has a Creator, God.
i) Colossians 1:16
b) DNA, the blueprint of life
c) “It does do what it does do and it does it very well don’t you think?” Ken Ham
d) Expelled, No Intelligence Allowed, by Ben Stein is a good movie to better understand the battle that occurring on this front. http://www.expelledthemovie.com/
6) Irreducible complexity
Irreducible complexity simply stated is much of the systems of life we have today would cease to function and would be no longer useful if any one element were removed. Following are examples of life systems proving this point.
a) Bacterial Flagellum, Molecular Machines
b) Eye
i) Proverbs 20:12
c) Heart, lung, blood vessels, nervous system
d) Reproduction
i) Single cell life to copulation
ii) Evolution not only requires new information, but a same species animal, evolving at the same rate, as different sexed animals and at the same geographic location.
7) Metaphysics, How do you explain those things you cannot test?
Metaphysics is that which is beyond the physical elements of the world. We can clearly see that much of life is made up of those things which we cannot see yet we rely not only upon their existence, but their uniformity in nature.
a) Love
b) Beauty
8) Laws of Logic and Reason
a) God established a world in which logic and reason are, well, logical and reasonable. The Bible admonishes us to know and to think about the various aspects of life, both seen and unseen. Logic is a process of thinking in which we can follow a common understood flow of reason and facts. If A = B and A = C, then we can deduce that B = C.
b) If evolution is true, then were did logic and reason come from. Their formula for the way this world came about is TIME + CHANCE = EVERYTHING. In other words, given enough time, anything can happen. Is this logical?
Evolution is a Religious Worldview
Definition: Worldview
“A worldview is, first of all, an explanation and interpretation of the world and second, an application of this view to life. In simpler terms, our worldview is a view of the world and a view for the world.” William E. Brown and W. Gary Phillips, Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview (Sheffield Publishers, 1996), 29.1) Empty Philosophy
a) "Evolution is the creation-myth of our age. By telling us our origin it shapes our views of what we are. It influences not just our thought, but our feelings and actions too, in a way which goes far beyond its official function as a biological theory.” Mary Midgley [former Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK], "The Religion of Evolution"
b) "Now, one of the reasons I started taking this anti-evolutionary view, well, let's call it non-evolutionary, was last year I had a sudden realization. For over twenty years I had thought that I was working on evolution in some way. One morning I woke up… it struck me that I had been working on this stuff for twenty years, and there was not one thing I knew about it. That was quite a shock, to learn that one can be so misled for so long.” Colin Patterson, presentation at the American Museum of Natural History http://www.arn.org/arnproducts/audios/c010.htm
c) 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.”
d) Romans 1:20-25 “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.”
2) Evolution’s Religious Structure
a) Church= public schools and liberal colleges
b) Priests/clergy= science teachers and professors
c) Parishioners= students
d) Sacrament= abortion and ethnic cleansing
e) Holy Scripture= science textbooks
3) Impact of Evolution’s Worldview
a) Nazism and Hitler
i) Adolf Hitler pushed for a master race. That would eliminate all inferior people.
ii) “The evolutionary philosophy is the intellectual basis of all anti-theistic systems. It served Hitler as the rationale for Nazism and Marx as the supposed scientific basis for communism. It is the basis of the various modern methods of psychology and sociology that treat man merely as a higher animal and which have led to the misnamed "new morality" and ethical relativism. It has provided the pseudo-scientific rationale for racism and military aggression.” Dr. Henry Morris
iii) “The support which I receive from Germany is my chief ground for hoping that our views will ultimately prevail.” Charles Darwin, “The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin” Volume 2, pg 270
(1) Charles Darwin was not a Nazi, but his thoughts, ideas and teaching ushered in a thinking that encouraged people like Adolf Hitler.
iv) Holocaust
b) Marxism, Socialism and Carl Marx, Father of Communism
c) Murder for Convenience
i) Forced Sterilization (Eugenics)
Eugenics was a social movement that presumed to divide the human race between the so-called “fit” and the so-called “unfit.” In other words, decide which humans where better than other humans. This movement was a push to eliminate the “bad” genes. “Darwin’s Deadly Legacyii) Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger
(1) She was a supporter of the eugenics movement and through this movement sought to stop the wrong people from breeding.
iii) Abortion
iv) Ethnic Cleansing
v) Euthanasia
d) Moral Relativism
i) Freedom is what the fallen nature of humanity desires freedom from God, freedom from rules and restrictions and freedom from absolute truth. But to remove the absolute authority of morality that God delivers to us through the Bible brings not freedom, but captivity. If there is no absolute morality, then everything becomes permissible and no one is free to life with in the shelter and protection that absolute truth and morality bring.
ii) Spiritual pluralism
e) Free Sexuality
i) Homosexuality
ii) Fornication and adultery
*At the heartbeat of evolution are not scientific discoveries, but a rejection of God and His Holy Word.Evolution’s Victories and Defeats
1) Scopes Monkey Trial
Dayton, TN, July 1925 Even though at that time the outcome of the trial did not immediately over turn the law that only creation could be taught in schools, one thing was accomplished; the authority of the Bible could be openly questioned and scrutinized.2) Prayer out of schools
a) In America’s drive to eliminate religion from the classroom, we have not actually eliminated religion from the classroom. We have shifted from a Judeo-Christian foundation to a secular humanist religion.
b) “In my opinion, using creation and evolution as topics for critical-thinking exercises in primary and secondary schools is virtually guaranteed to confuse students about evolution and may lead them to reject one of the major themes of science.” Eugenia Scott, National Center for Science Education
3) Roe v Wade, 1973
Over 40,000,000 unborn babies aborted in the United States since 1973.4) Science textbooks
With the largest purchasers of science textbooks coming from liberal states like California, what choices are available?5) Darwin Sunday
a) Next year 2009 will be the 150th anniversary of the release of the book "Origin of Species."
b) Next year will also be the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday.
c) Charles Darwin is buried in Westminster Abbey.
Is Evolution or Darwinism the real problem?
No, sin is. Is there a teaching, in the Bible, about the root of evolutionary thinking?The deep seeded message of evolution is explaining life without God. In Genesis 3, Satan seems to saying to Eve, "You can become more then you are without God.”
Genesis 3:1-7
Resources for more information:
Shattering the Myths of Darwinism, Richard Milton
The Evolution of a Creationist, Dr. Jobe Martin
Creation & Evolution 101, Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz
Darwin’s God, by Cornelius Hunter
The Lie, by Ken Ham
The Case for a Creator, by Lee Strobel
Darwin on Trial, by Phillip Johnson
Darwin’s Deadly Legacy, by D. James Kennedy (DVD)