In a word, I was indoctrinated. My high school, college, and graduate school education was all based in evolutionary texts and teachers. Some of them were good people and good teachers, but they too were products of indoctrination. Public science education, museums, national parks, children’s cartoons, movies, and books all join together to present to everyone today that macroevolution is scientifically proven. I felt I had no choice. [Read more…]
Can you be a Christian and believe in the Bible, and still believe in evolution, too?
The Bible is clear that becoming a Christian (salvation) is a gift based solely on faith in the person of Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins and rose again to conquer death (Acts 4:12; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 John 5:11-13). A particular view of origins is not a condition for becoming or being a Christian. (See “Becoming New in Christ.”)
In my presentation “Why I Believe… in Creation,” (available on our YouTube® channel) I made it clear that microevolution (adaptation) of organisms is observable in nature and not in conflict with Christian faith or the Bible. Indeed, it gives credit to a God who creates with intelligence and wisdom. [Read more…]
Why do Christians hold different views about creation?
First, there are some Christians who have a weak view of the inspiration of Scripture as revealed by God. As a result they feel that some of the Bible is legend, has errors, and does not need to be read literally (especially Genesis). These are the people who often take the most interpretational liberties with Genesis, and their origin theories are viewed by others as compromising the doctrine of inspiration and Christian theology. [Read more…]
What is “god of the gaps” theology?
Sometimes Christians who attribute the origin of the universe, plants, and animals to a special creation by God are accused of promoting a “god of the gaps” theology. This is the practice of attributing to God’s creative power and wisdom anything in nature that we do not understand or for which we have no scientific explanation. As if to say, “We can’t explain it, so it must be God.”
The problem is that if and when science discovers a natural explanation, God would no longer be needed! The claims of intelligent design are not the result of a lack of knowledge of nature. Instead, it is the result of knowledge gained by the scientific observation of nature itself. Therefore, it is not the result of ignorance (God of the gaps explanation) but of scientific observation and knowledge.
What is a “living fossil”?
Evolution maintains that dinosaurs became extinct at least 65 million years ago because no dinosaurs fossils are found in sediments more recent than that (assuming their assigned geological ages). Imagine finding a living dinosaur today in a national park unchanged from those in the fossil record. That would be referred to as a “living fossil.” [Read more…]
