Evolution?

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on November 29, 2008 at 7:10am

Greetings Seamus,

Your question has been debated around the world and in various forums for many years.

Carla, Derek and Jonathan have given solid input. I would like to add to this discussion.

You ask several questions, of which some things need expanding. Let’s start where you are and then look at the base questions.

1. Do you believe in evolution and if so, which model, for there are many camps regarding evolution and which camp is right in your opinion?
2. Do you believe in a higher power and if so, what?
3. Where do you believe that life began? I do not mean the single cell-organism began to mutate, but rather … where did the single cell come from? Dawkins is yet to answer that question. (I encourage you to watch the video “Expelled”)

Is it possible to be a Christian and believe in evolution?
The answer to your question is yes, but not for the reason that many assume. It is not an either or, but rather begins with ones understanding of how one becomes a Christian. One does not become a Christian because they learn all of the details of the Bible and must check a list of right and wrongs or intellectually assume it is more plausible than not and there for accept it. One becomes a Christian when the Holy Spirit reveals the truth to them regarding Salvation and our need for it. There is a God who loves us (John 3:16). We have sinned, and our sins have separated us from Him. Jesus, the Son of God came from heaven to earth to die on the cross fulfilling the requirements of the law (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Colossians 2:13-15). One must repent of their sin and surrender to Christ (Acts 3:17-21; Romans 2:4-5; 2 Corinthians 7:9-10). The point of this is that Jesus is our Savior, not a full understanding of every part of the Bible. Christians are not one size fits all, but vary greatly in their maturity, but are not truly born again without a basic understanding of the salvation message, repentance and surrender to God. Therefore, can one believe in Jesus but not yet fully understand the creation truth? The answer is yes. It just proves that we are human and on a journey of faith, a journey that requires the Holy Spirit’s work in our life.

I'm not Christian per se, I just think it is possible to believe in a high power than ourselves AND embrace & understand scientific facts and theories at the same time.
Amazingly God gives man freewill in this life. You have the freedom to choose to follow evolution, believe in crystals, or follow one of the many known religions of the world. The Bible (our standard) reveals that God gives you that freedom in this life while at the same time it is His desire, and ours, for you to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). He will not force you or anyone to be saved, nor can we. Though this freedom exists in this life, a time will come when everyone will stand before God and give an account of their life. For the Christian, we have the Savior Jesus who is our advocate. He has paid the price and redeemed us. Those who have never repented of their sin and surrendered to Jesus as Savior will be separated from God for eternity (John 5:28-29; Acts 4:12).

Christianity is not opposed to science. It only is opposed to scientists that seek to explain God away with feeble arguments that do not substantiate their point of view with fact. You may say the same about Christians. There are several points regarding this. I do not attempt to prove all things true, we walk by faith (1 John 1:5-10; 2 Corinthians 5;7). This faith is not manmade, but comes from enlightenment through the work of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8; John 3). Whereas science proclaims that it deals in facts, but in the case of evolution is not based on fact but rather unsubstantiated hypotheses.

When I hear of fundamentalists claiming evolution is simply wrong, it reminds me of the folly of The Church when it accused Galileo of heresy because he discovered the earth orbits the sun.
I will address my simple view on the error of evolution shortly, but to the comment regarding the church and Galileo. 1) The church was in error, not the Word of God. 2) Scientist once believed the world was flat and now they know different. There is a learning process for everyone. The truth that the world is a sphere and is not flat was truth regardless of man’s knowledge on the subject at the time. The church is still learning things regarding God today, but not in relation to the essentials of the faith.

Lets look at several simple things regarding evolution:
If anyone really studies the Darwin theory, and does not just accept it simply because of what others have told them, to look at the various aspects of evolution and how they are proclaimed to have evolved. My favorite is the evolution teaching regarding the eye. Reasonable minds would have a hard time accepting that it took millions of years for the eye to develop and was accomplished by there being sensitivity nodes in the area in which the eye eventually developed. These sensitive areas felt positive sensation when one pointed that area towards the sun and over years the area developed optic nerves etc..

The aged old idea of the missing link: Name one species that has ever been “proven” to have evolved from another species. We are also told that in evolution this transition takes millions of years to occur. If that is true, then the fossil record must be littered with millions of skeletal remains proving the transition, yet there are none. The common answer given is that the reason for the gap is that s a cataclysmic event occurred that accelerated the change and therefore only a brief time lapsed and therefore we have not found the fossil record from that specific time frame in history. So, which is it? Was it millions of years or rapid acceleration? If the change only occurred in rapid acceleration then what has happened to all the other species that are supposedly evolving over millions of years? There still should be a fossil record of their change or if the cataclysmic caused the rapid change, could it be called evolution or rapid change caused by extenuating circumstances? (Let me be clear that I am not arguing on behalf of any of these processes, but simply am simply pointing out their views and the “folly” of the view).

Again you could argue, where are my facts regarding my faith? The answer is I have not been put in a box that requires only facts. Science is supposed to be guided by fact, whereas Christians are guided by faith, yet are not without ample fact. The Bible has never been proven wrong and never will be, but, I repeat, that having knowledge of the Bible alone will not save a person. Salvation comes to man through Jesus and is proven by the Holy Spirit in the heart of man (John 16:8-11). I could give you a list of facts from the Bible that are known to be absolutely true, but that will not change a person’s mind. The “rich young ruler” asked Jesus what he must do to be saved. When Jesus told him he went away sad, because he could not let go and trust God. He was free to walk away, for now. The rich man asked Abraham to send someone back to warn his brothers. Abraham replied, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

Regarding being a fundamentalist and a literalist.
I am both, but will not be mislabeled by those on the other side. This simply means that I accept the Bible as God’s Word. Inspired by Him and authored by the Holy Spirit using various men to write down the words. I believe the Bible is without error as originally given. Often the question is asked of literalist, “Do you believe that everything in the Bible is true?” The answer is yes. “Do you do everything the Bible says?” The answer is no. I do not do follow the recorded words of Satan or obey the statements of Job’s three friends. Their words are useful for teaching us truth, but not because they illustrate truth themselves, but because the inclusion of these words are a part of a larger teaching. Being a fundamentalist does not mean being intolerant either. I have already stated that God gives you the freedom to choose your path in this life. He wishes you to choose the path to life in Christ, but will not force you. Therefore, as a believer in Jesus I acknowledge you have the freedom to reject, but fear for your eternal soul and am now praying for you.

As this response is quite long, I will stop and gladly discuss this further.

May God guide you into the light of His salvation,
LT

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Permalink Reply by littlesheep88 on November 29, 2008 at 3:15pm

I thought that I could believe in both in the tenth grade, but growing and learning more through the years, I can't see how a person can believe in both creation of the earth by one God, and mere chance and rapid atoms and molecules moving about to form things. Evolution is basically the transformation from apes to humans and an unbelieving logic that doesn't seem to answer any questions. The problem that faces many people that believe in evolution lies in the beginning. Well, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.." Frankly,evolution had nothing to do with it. Thanxs for question. God Bless!

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Permalink Reply by Rita Cullimore on December 15, 2008 at 6:55am

Seamus,
In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, in the first few chapters, it give the origin of the universe, with more information given in the last few chapters of Job. Because the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, we who are Christians believe what God, through the Holy Spirit, had man, Moses, to write.
There have been many follies committed by man, through the history of humanity. That, in fact, has nothing to do with God. The church that you mention here, made many errors in reference to God and the Bible, the accusation against Galileo and accusations against most Christians.
It is my understanding, that Darwin denied evolution on his death bed even though he never embraced God.
I would suggest that you get a copy of the Bible, and read at least Genesis and Job. That might give you a clearer understanding as to why Christians do not embrace evolution.
Thanks for listening.
Rita

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