By Matthew Zuk
 |
| The Bible: Genesis 1 https://timpritchett.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/0f0f0f-uzz5pn.jpeg |
This is a question that is posed by many Theistic Evolutionists in today’s “Christian” culture. The answer to this question is derived from Scripture; God tells us how He created everything and therefore to pose this question is to doubt His inerrant Word and more than that His perfect nature. There are two primary reasons why God did not, and could not, use evolution and millions of years to create.
The first is that it contradicts and undermines the authority of Scripture. The second and strongest argument against theistic evolution, is that the theory of evolution ultimately destroys the gospel message and God’s holy and righteous character. Understanding these two reasons clearly shows that God did not and could not use evolution to create, because it would destroy His holy nature.
The first aspect to come to terms with is why Scripture is authoritative. The Bible is the inspired Word of an infallible, everlasting, unchangeable, all-knowing God who cannot lie (2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 6:18; Psalm 139; James 1:17). Because of this, Scripture can be completely trusted in its entirety. If one holds Scripture as God’s infallible Word (which is the case) then one can trust everything contained within because it comes from a trustworthy God. This is the basis for the Christian faith because if one cannot trust every word in the Bible, why should one trust any word in the Bible? If it’s wrong in even a single point then there is there is no reason that it couldn’t be wrong in another point. Therefore, if the six-day creation account is not true and not trustworthy, then why should we trust that Christ died for our sins? If God got stuff “wrong” in the very first book of the Bible then why should we trust the rest of the Bible? However, because God is completely trustworthy we can be assured that His Word is equally trustworthy. That must be the starting point; Scripture is the basis of our faith as it is God’s inerrant Word that He revealed to us.
Now that the authority of Scripture as God’s inerrant Word has been set up there are yet Christians who hold to theistic evolution and claim it is compatible with God’s Word. There are two primary theories on how this works, one is the day age theory, the other is the gap theory, while there are certainly other theories these two are perhaps the most prominent in theistic evolution.
The day age theory holds that the Hebrew word for day (yom) is speaking about a long period of time, not a literal twenty-four hour day. Much like our word for day it is possible for the Hebrew word to speak of a different period of time than a twenty-four hour day. However throughout the Bible, when the word “yom” is used in conjunction with either a number, or the word “evening” or “morning” it is always referring to a literal twenty-four hour day. Genesis 1 uses numbers, evening and morning, also Exodus 20:11 states that God created everything in six days. In the context of Exodus it is speaking of the workweek, and the Sabbath, thus there really is no room for a long period of time in this verse. Both in Genesis 1, and Exodus 20 it is clear that each day listed in Genesis was a literal twenty-four hour day, the only reason one would say otherwise is because they are trying to fit millions of years into the text of Scripture. However, Scripture is clear on this subject, the wording used is clearly speaking of six twenty-four hour days.
The gap theory claims that there are millions of years, during which the geological formations were laid down along with the fossils, between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. It claims that during this time Lucifer fell resulting in God’s destruction of the world which is why it is described as “void” in Genesis 1:2. However, this theory does not work because Genesis 1:2 is not in sequence with the other verses. Genesis 1:2 is a description of Genesis 1:1, it explains what the earth is, thus it is not in sequence describing what happened next. Therefore it cannot be used to fit in millions of years.
The best argument and reason why God could not have used evolution is that it destroys the gospel message, and thereby God’s nature. If evolution were true it must have taken place during either the six days of creation (day-age theory) or before the six days (the gap theory). In either case evolution would be prior to the fall described in Genesis 3. This is crucial as it completely disproves evolution from a theological standpoint. The catalyst of evolution is death; the entire idea behind it is that when something dies it becomes more adept and better at surviving through natural selection. However, there could not be death before the Fall as death is a direct result of sin. Romans 5:12 says “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned”. This verse makes it abundantly clear that death is a direct result of sin, and without sin there would be no death. Thus if God used evolution to create then there was death before the Fall as death is a necessity of evolution. All of the fossils that they claim were laid down millions of years ago must have taken place before the Fall. That is the only place it fits (even though it doesn’t fit there either) as there are extensive genealogies with no gaps after the fall.
The implications of this are drastic; the first implication is that if there was death before the Fall and throughout the six days of creation then God called sin and death “very good” (Genesis 1:31). This is contradictory to God’s holy nature and character. Because God is holy He is incompatible with sin, therefore, by saying God called sin “very good” is to destroy His holy and righteous character. Also, if there was death, decay and sin before the Fall then God created it and if God created sin then why should we be judged for our sin? Therefore it also destroys the just nature of God. Because we sinned against a holy and just God then we deserve eternal separation from Him. We brought sin into the world God did not. Sin came into the world because of our disobedience, not because God created it.
The second implication is that it ultimately, when taken to its logical conclusion, leads to the destruction of the gospel. If there was death and sin before the Fall then Christ’s sacrifice is meaningless. God promised the seed (Genesis 3:15) to redeem us from our fallen state, however if we never fell and caused sin then there is nothing to be saved from because if God used evolution to create then He created sin as well. It also destroys God’s character because Christ died for sin (2 Cor 5:21; 1 Cor 15:3-4), and if sin was there before the fall then God created it and therefore Christ died for something God created. This cannot work as it would mean God made a mistake in creation that had to be corrected by Christ's sacrifice. However God is perfect, all-powerful, all-knowing, and cannot make mistakes. Therefore the gospel is attacked by the very idea that God used evolution to create, as it would mean Christ died for us to be redeemed. However, if evolution was used then there is nothing for us to be redeemed from as the Fall loses its effect due to the presence of sin prior to the fall. So the implications of God using evolution to create destroy the primary emphasis of Christianity; God’s holy, just, and righteous nature and character, and the means of salvation through the gospel.
In conclusion evolution is incompatible with the Bible, the very nature of evolution is that all things are a product of evolution, which includes God. Evolution will not stand for any “gods” before it, which is why it is dangerous when Christians hold to evolution. It will eventually lead either them, or those they instruct, to compromise their faith. As soon as a foot is let into the door it becomes very easy for the door to open all the way. As soon as one doubts God’s authority, and His nature, it will lead to the abandonment of Scripture and Christianity itself. While it is possible to be a Christian and not hold to a young earth view, it does eventually lead to compromise. Thus because evolution undermines the authority of Scripture, and because it destroys the nature of God and the gospel, God not only did not use evolution, He could not have used evolution for the same reason He cannot lie, or change. To do so would go against His nature and character and thus He would cease to be God.
The first is that it contradicts and undermines the authority of Scripture. The second and strongest argument against theistic evolution, is that the theory of evolution ultimately destroys the gospel message and God’s holy and righteous character. Understanding these two reasons clearly shows that God did not and could not use evolution to create, because it would destroy His holy nature.
The Authority of Scripture
The first aspect to come to terms with is why Scripture is authoritative. The Bible is the inspired Word of an infallible, everlasting, unchangeable, all-knowing God who cannot lie (2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 6:18; Psalm 139; James 1:17). Because of this, Scripture can be completely trusted in its entirety. If one holds Scripture as God’s infallible Word (which is the case) then one can trust everything contained within because it comes from a trustworthy God. This is the basis for the Christian faith because if one cannot trust every word in the Bible, why should one trust any word in the Bible? If it’s wrong in even a single point then there is there is no reason that it couldn’t be wrong in another point. Therefore, if the six-day creation account is not true and not trustworthy, then why should we trust that Christ died for our sins? If God got stuff “wrong” in the very first book of the Bible then why should we trust the rest of the Bible? However, because God is completely trustworthy we can be assured that His Word is equally trustworthy. That must be the starting point; Scripture is the basis of our faith as it is God’s inerrant Word that He revealed to us.
Does the Bible teach evolution?
Now that the authority of Scripture as God’s inerrant Word has been set up there are yet Christians who hold to theistic evolution and claim it is compatible with God’s Word. There are two primary theories on how this works, one is the day age theory, the other is the gap theory, while there are certainly other theories these two are perhaps the most prominent in theistic evolution.
- The Day Age Theory
The day age theory holds that the Hebrew word for day (yom) is speaking about a long period of time, not a literal twenty-four hour day. Much like our word for day it is possible for the Hebrew word to speak of a different period of time than a twenty-four hour day. However throughout the Bible, when the word “yom” is used in conjunction with either a number, or the word “evening” or “morning” it is always referring to a literal twenty-four hour day. Genesis 1 uses numbers, evening and morning, also Exodus 20:11 states that God created everything in six days. In the context of Exodus it is speaking of the workweek, and the Sabbath, thus there really is no room for a long period of time in this verse. Both in Genesis 1, and Exodus 20 it is clear that each day listed in Genesis was a literal twenty-four hour day, the only reason one would say otherwise is because they are trying to fit millions of years into the text of Scripture. However, Scripture is clear on this subject, the wording used is clearly speaking of six twenty-four hour days.
- The Gap Theory
The gap theory claims that there are millions of years, during which the geological formations were laid down along with the fossils, between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. It claims that during this time Lucifer fell resulting in God’s destruction of the world which is why it is described as “void” in Genesis 1:2. However, this theory does not work because Genesis 1:2 is not in sequence with the other verses. Genesis 1:2 is a description of Genesis 1:1, it explains what the earth is, thus it is not in sequence describing what happened next. Therefore it cannot be used to fit in millions of years.
The Effect of Evolution
The best argument and reason why God could not have used evolution is that it destroys the gospel message, and thereby God’s nature. If evolution were true it must have taken place during either the six days of creation (day-age theory) or before the six days (the gap theory). In either case evolution would be prior to the fall described in Genesis 3. This is crucial as it completely disproves evolution from a theological standpoint. The catalyst of evolution is death; the entire idea behind it is that when something dies it becomes more adept and better at surviving through natural selection. However, there could not be death before the Fall as death is a direct result of sin. Romans 5:12 says “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned”. This verse makes it abundantly clear that death is a direct result of sin, and without sin there would be no death. Thus if God used evolution to create then there was death before the Fall as death is a necessity of evolution. All of the fossils that they claim were laid down millions of years ago must have taken place before the Fall. That is the only place it fits (even though it doesn’t fit there either) as there are extensive genealogies with no gaps after the fall.
- Destruction of God’s Character
The implications of this are drastic; the first implication is that if there was death before the Fall and throughout the six days of creation then God called sin and death “very good” (Genesis 1:31). This is contradictory to God’s holy nature and character. Because God is holy He is incompatible with sin, therefore, by saying God called sin “very good” is to destroy His holy and righteous character. Also, if there was death, decay and sin before the Fall then God created it and if God created sin then why should we be judged for our sin? Therefore it also destroys the just nature of God. Because we sinned against a holy and just God then we deserve eternal separation from Him. We brought sin into the world God did not. Sin came into the world because of our disobedience, not because God created it.
- Destruction of the Gospel
The second implication is that it ultimately, when taken to its logical conclusion, leads to the destruction of the gospel. If there was death and sin before the Fall then Christ’s sacrifice is meaningless. God promised the seed (Genesis 3:15) to redeem us from our fallen state, however if we never fell and caused sin then there is nothing to be saved from because if God used evolution to create then He created sin as well. It also destroys God’s character because Christ died for sin (2 Cor 5:21; 1 Cor 15:3-4), and if sin was there before the fall then God created it and therefore Christ died for something God created. This cannot work as it would mean God made a mistake in creation that had to be corrected by Christ's sacrifice. However God is perfect, all-powerful, all-knowing, and cannot make mistakes. Therefore the gospel is attacked by the very idea that God used evolution to create, as it would mean Christ died for us to be redeemed. However, if evolution was used then there is nothing for us to be redeemed from as the Fall loses its effect due to the presence of sin prior to the fall. So the implications of God using evolution to create destroy the primary emphasis of Christianity; God’s holy, just, and righteous nature and character, and the means of salvation through the gospel.
Conclusion
In conclusion evolution is incompatible with the Bible, the very nature of evolution is that all things are a product of evolution, which includes God. Evolution will not stand for any “gods” before it, which is why it is dangerous when Christians hold to evolution. It will eventually lead either them, or those they instruct, to compromise their faith. As soon as a foot is let into the door it becomes very easy for the door to open all the way. As soon as one doubts God’s authority, and His nature, it will lead to the abandonment of Scripture and Christianity itself. While it is possible to be a Christian and not hold to a young earth view, it does eventually lead to compromise. Thus because evolution undermines the authority of Scripture, and because it destroys the nature of God and the gospel, God not only did not use evolution, He could not have used evolution for the same reason He cannot lie, or change. To do so would go against His nature and character and thus He would cease to be God.
No comments:
Post a Comment