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Photo Courtesy of Arthur Smith
The Bible and Evolution In Conflict
By Dr. Jobe Martin
Book exerpts from The Evolution of a Creationist
Republished with Written Permission
From Chapter Three, "Has God Been Toppled?" (pg. 67)
As God's creatures, we do not subject the Bible to science; we subject "science" to the Bible. The challenge whether to believe God and His Word of to believe theoretical evolutionary science is presented by Scott Huse, a Christian thinker, in his excellent book, The Collapse of Evolution. The conflict of evolutionary theory against the Holy Scripture is impossible to reconcile. Huse lists 24 contrasts between the Bible and evolutionary thinking:
Biblical Worldview |
Evolution Worldview |
1. God is the Creator of all things (Gen. 1). |
Natural chance processes can account for the existence of all things. |
2. World created in six literal days (Gen. 1). |
World evolved over eons. |
3. Creation is completed (Gen. 2:3). |
Creative processes continuing. |
4. Ocean before land (Gen. 1:2). |
Land before oceans. |
5. Atmosphere between two hydrospheres (Gen. 1:11) |
Contiguous atmosphere and hydrosphere. |
6. First life on land (Genesis 1:11) |
Life began in the oceans. |
7. First life was land plants (Genesis 1:11). |
Marine organisms evolved first. |
8. Earth before sun and stars (Gen. 1:14-19). |
Sun and stars before earth. |
9. Fruit trees before fishes (Gen. 1:11). |
Fish before fruit trees. |
10. All stars made on the fourth day (Gen. 1:16). |
Stars evolved at various times |
11. Birds and fished created on the fifth day (Gen. 1:20, 21). |
Fishes evolved hundreds of millions of years before birds appeared. |
12. Birds before insects (Gen. 1:20, 21). |
Insects before birds. |
13. Whales before reptiles (Gen. 1:20-31). |
Reptiles before whales. |
14. Birds before reptiles (Gen. 1:20-32). |
Reptiles before birds. |
15. Man before rain (Gen. 2:5). |
Rain before man. |
16. Man before woman (Gen. 2:21-22). |
Woman before man (by genetics). |
17. Light before sun (Gen. 2:21-22). |
Sun before any light. |
18. Plants before the sun (Gen. 1:11-19). |
Sun before any plants. |
19. Abundance and variety of marine life all at once (Gen. 1:20, 21). |
Marine life gradually developed from a primitive organic blob. |
20. Man's body from the dust of the earth (Gen. 2:7). |
Man evolved from monkeys. |
21. Man exercised dominion over all organisms (Gen. 1:28). |
Most organisms extinct before man existed. |
22. Man originally a vegetarian (Gen. 1:29). |
Man originally a meat eater. |
23. Fixed and distinct kinds (Gen. 1:11, 21, 24, 25; 1 Cor. 15:38-39). |
Life forms in a continual state of flux. |
24. Man's sin the cause of death (Rom. 5:12). |
Struggle and death existent long before evolution of man. |
In addition to these specific direct contradictions, there are stark differences of general principle between atheistic evolution and biblical Christianity.
Jesus said:
"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit (Matthew 7:18)."
The truth of evolution has been all sorts of anti-Christian systems of belief and practice. It has served as an intellectual basis for Hitler's Nazism and Marx's communism. It has prompted apostasy, atheism, secular humanism and libertinism, as well as establishing a basis for ethical relativism, which has spread through our society like a cancer. The mind and general welfare of mankind has suffered greatly as a result of this naturalistic philosophy.
According to the Bible, man is a responsible creature. One day he will give an account for his life's actions and motives. But when man is viewed as the product of some vague, purposeless evolutionary process, he is conveniently freed from all moral obligations and responsibility. After all, he is merely an accident of nature, an intelligent animal at best! Scott Huse, The Collapse of Evolution (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House 1983) pp. 122-124
Evolution or creation: you cannot have both! Scott Huse's list is brutally clear. Look again at #14, for example. The Bible says in Genesis 1:20-31 that birds came on the firth day and reptiles on the sixth day. That means birds came before reptiles. Yet evolution teaches as fact that reptiles came before birds. The two views are mutually exclusive. You either believe the Bible or you believe the speculations of men.
Evolution and the Scientific Method (pg 79-81)
Scientists often make proclamations and publish papers that elevate them to god-like stratus. Are we forced to believe that science and scientific method have "toppled" God? From our earliest school days, we are taught that science is based on careful experimentation, observation, and disciplined thought. Science gives us facts. We can trust it. We are further educated by television programs and interviews with Ph.D.s like Carl Sagan stating that "evolution is no longer theory, put a proven fact." This is not the scientific method! Evolutionist, Hy Ruchlis, defines the scientific method:
"The Scientific Method is the basic set of procedures that scientists use for obtaining new knowledge about the universe in which we live." Hy Ruchlus, Discovering Scientific Method (N.Y.: Harper & Row, 1963), p. 7
Making a proclamation that evolution is no longer a theory, but a proven fact is just that-a proclamation. It is not testable science. It does not fit within the definition of the Scientific Method. Scientific Method begins with making an observation. Then, prior knowledge is consulted about your observation and a hypothesis is formed (the hypothesis is some kind of prediction you make about your observation). Once you arrive at your hypothesis, you design an experiment, collect whatever information (data) you can from the results of your experiment and then attempt to interpret your data (results). At this point you again consult prior knowledge and then form your conclusions about your experiment. Ruchlis continues:
"Unless the teachings of the authorities on a subject are based upon scientific method, error can be just as easily transmitted as fact..." The most important point to remember about the method of science is that it rests upon the attitude of open mind. In accordance with this attitude, one has the right to question any accepted fact. One who searches for truth has to learn to question deeply the things that are generally accepted as being obviously true (Emphasis added). Ibid., Ruchlis, pp.7,8
How does evolution as a "scientific" explanation for origins measure up under Ruchlis' explanation of scientific method? It receives a failing grade. Could evolution be "error...transmitted as fact?" It certainly could. Do evolutionists present an "open mind?" Do they permit their classroom students to question evolution as perhaps not being "...obviously true?" One the contrary, evolutionists have amply demonstrated they want only one view taught in the classrooms of the world. When a credentialed scientist who is a creationist presents hard evidence to support the Creator and His creation, he or she is accused of teaching religion.
But evolution from one cell to man is not based on the scientific method and is therefore a faith system. That means it is just as "religious" as belief in special creation. The question is not, "Are evolution, science, and creation religions?" but "which system of belief- creation or evolution-has the most factual science to back it up?" For example, evolution offers no experimentally verifiable explanation for the origin of matter. There is also no scientific explanation for the origin of life. No doubt about it, Creation and Evolution are both religious faith systems when talking about origins.
Special thanks to Dr. Jobe Martin for permission to reproduce portions of his book, The Evolution Of A Creationist on our website. The following text is under U.S. Copyright protection. Please contact Dr. Martin at Biblical Discipleship Ministries before reproducing this text