How to look at Evolution from a Christian perspective? Does the evolution theory conflict with the Bible?
Christianity Today has recently published a number of articles on Evolution, Evangelicals, and the options evangelical believers would have for dealing with the Creation story versus “the scientific Theory of Evolution”.
Remarkably enough, in the options mentioned, the acceptance of the Creation story is never mentioned. It is therefore not surprising that a storm of criticism arose in response to articles such as this one.
Is Evolution Science?
What I find odd is that evolution is seen as ‘science’. Since even top evolutionists confirm that Evolution doesn’t answer the questions about live and still has a lot of “issues to solve” before we could even consider it solid science. There are huge holes in the theories and there’s been a lot of scientific fraud going on as well.
In other words, it’s not science as we normally define science. The Evolution Science should be considered pseudo-science.
Apart from that, how reliable is modern science? For example: more than 30 scientific frauds are known from 2005-2011. In many areas there is scientific fraud. Evidence to the contrary of a theory, which has been devised in advance (axiom), is regularly not taken into account in the research results (a known pitfall for scientists). As a result, a theory is sometimes proven to be false decades later. In the meantime, generations have grown up thinking it was the truth!
I am in no way saying science shoulnd’t be trusted in general. On the contrary! But we must remain critical and not just embrace a research result because it fits our thinking or preferences.
This illustration should show the shared ancestry of animals and humans. The conclusion was that humans had a tailed ancestor – common ancestry becomes “undeniable”. It was presented as a ‘true’ development of embryonic development to students worldwide for decades.
Surely we all (should) know of such incidents as the Piltdown Man, Archaeoraptor fraud, Ernst Haeckel’s “embryonic development” fraud (still taught and examined at some schools today, see above!) and many others.
Empirical science is built on observation and evidence.
“You certainly don’t have to be a believer or Intelligent Design (ID) supporter to conclude that the holes are not only life-sized, but probably insurmountable. At best, you can think of evolution as a process or as a mechanism by which life arises, but the claim that it is the cause of this is unfounded.” (professors Ronald Meester and René van Woudenberg, Volkskrant, 23-06-2005).
If evolution is true, the Bible is void.
I always have held to this: as soon as the evolution theory is proven 100%, there’s no reason to believe.
If the creation story drops out, the basics of our Christian beliefs have gone. Because if so, there was no original sin and Jesus died in vain. Didn’t he?
The problem is however, people have the wrong idea that we need to “align the Bible with science” (in this case: an unproven theory portrayed as science). Well, should we? On the contrary! We should make sure our children and teens are aware of how badly constructed “evolution science” is, instead of trying to line-up the Bible with it.
The Bible ain’t no science book It’s a book about belief(s). So if it contradicts modern day science that shouldn’t be a huge problem. Especially because these days we know certain things that people in the old days didn’t. Does that make the Bible wrong if they wrote down their observations and, sometimes, related it to God’s revelations?
Evolution from a Christian Perspective
Think about what happened in the early 20th century?
The history of anthropometry shows how bad things like this can turn out, its use as an early tool of anthropology, use for identification, use for the purposes of understanding human physical variation in paleoanthropology and in various attempts to correlate physical with racial and psychological traits. At various points in history, certain anthropometrics have been cited by advocates of discrimination and eugenics often as part of novel or based upon pseudoscience.
Results of believing in Evolution
What are the results of believing in Evolution?
- Rejection or watering down of the Christian beliefs
- Evolution theory lead to the holocaust: driven by the idea there are lower- and higher forms of life
- Fraud, denial of solid empirical science
- It leads to the claim humans are nothing more than an animal species.
When we believe that humans are nothing more than animals, what does that do with ethics? With laws? How we treat each other? If Evolution would be indeed how the human race came into existence is an excuse for all the excesses we see in this world. Violence, abuse, wars, genocide. Starve each other.
Fascism also made use of the evolutionist principles. The idea that there are superior and inferior species.The idea that people are ultimately better off dead because they have no added value. No compassion whatsoever for the weak and sick. “The Winner Takes it All” as song by ABBA says.
Survival of the fittest
That is where the theory of evolution leads towards and is: “The survival of the fittest”. And those who don’t survive? Oh well, “no big loss”, eh? They were only needed for the new, better developed, form of life.
Evolution however is a complete contrast to what God’s Word teaches us, not only in regards to the Genesis account but also in regards to what the Bible teaches on care for the elderly, sick, children and the vulnerable. Love and Respect.
If we stand for the Biblical account, we stand for all other teachings of the Bible. If we don’t, we degenerate into brute beasts (Psalm 73:22, NIV).
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This article was, in part, submitted to the discussion.
