There can be little doubt that God’s Word is under attack in
our world. The portion that is most often the target of these attacks is the
first eleven chapters of the book of Genesis. Of course, this section records
for us the narrative of the very creation of the world by God in six days. The
reason that such is under attack is because it is much different that the
common model that is adhered to by popular science – the Theory of
Evolution. This theory seeks to explain
the origins of the diversity of life we see on this planet as arising from a
singular single celled organism that is commonly referred to as the “Last
Universal Common Ancestor” (LUCA). The
changes required to go from a single celled organism to any of the complex
animals that can be seen today is said to be possible when given extremely
large amounts of time. Proponents of
this believe that since we can see animals exhibiting the ability to adapt and undergo
certain changes, that given enough time, would result in the type of
biodiversity that we see today. They acknowledge that such would take billions
of years and as a result they have placed the LUCA at 3.5 to 3.8 billion years
ago. It is easy to see that this claim is at great odds with the Biblical text
of Genesis, which records for us a creative process wherein God took only six
days, and created all of the animals on one day. As troubling as this belief is, it is
something that we have grown to expect and are not surprised to see it
proclaimed at universities and museums. What is problematic, however, is to
witness the compromise that has been taking place among those who call
themselves believers in God.
It has
gotten to be commonplace that theologians have no hesitation whatsoever in
accepting the teachings of Darwinian evolution. Many times this amounts to
redefining certain aspects of the text of Genesis 1-11. One common way this is
done is to label the account of creation in Genesis 1-2 as poetry or myth. There
is a great example of a presentation of Genesis 1-11 along these lines on the website of a group called Biologos which
can be read here.
Of course, there is no reason to reinterpret Genesis 1-11 in the manner they
are espousing. This reinterpretation of the literary genre of Genesis 1-11 as
myth has given rise to such interpretations as Theistic Evolution (the thought
that God used the Darwinian Evolutionary process in the creation of things –
God is still the Creator), Day-Age Theory (where Yom is redefined from meaning
day to mean a long age), or the Gap Theory (where a “gap” of a very long time
is placed between Genesis 1-2). Each of these views does damage to the text of
Genesis and, therefore, crumbles the foundation for the entire Word of God.
This
type of redefining and interpretation is really done because there is a greater
respect for the thoughts of men than the thoughts of God given in the Bible.
None of those viewpoints has any basis in reality from the text of Genesis. The
first 11 chapters, along with the rest of Genesis have been viewed as
historical narrative for millennia. It is incredibly recent that men have
sought to recategorize these verses into the realm of myth. Yet many do not
want to fight the battle that is being waged for the truthfulness and
trustworthiness of God’s Word. They would rather bend the Scriptures to what
man claims to know than subject what they believe to what God has plainly said
in His Word. Such a compromise should not happen among the Lord’s people.
Indeed, there are many reasons to believe in the Biblical account of creation
and to reject evolution. We just have to look at the evidence for ourselves,
and look at it objectively, not assuming an evolutionary explanation nor
accepting one when it has been taught by “experts”. In fact, much of what is
believed about the evidence that we see around us has more to do with the
worldview of the one studying the
evidence (in this case Biblical or Darwinian). If we believe that the idea of
long ages for earth’s development is true, then we will interpret the evidence
through an evolutionary lens. If we believe that God created all over six
literal days, then we will interpret the evidence we see through that lens.
Scientists do that too. The reason that Darwinian evolution has become so
popular is because the common scientist (not all, however) have come to all
evidence that is encountered with the idea that evolution is the paradigm
within which to interpret it. We have to realize this and recognize that there
is an alternative way of interpreting the evidence, not compromise our belief
in God so we can be respected and accepted by men.
Have a Great Day!
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