Evolution and Creation are hot topics in Christianity today. Many Christians prefer to simply keep their heads low, or sometimes in the sand, at the mention of Creation. However, others like 16 year old Katie, are bold enough to biblically tackle the issue head-on. Enjoy this well researched and thoughtful paper in its full and unedited form.
-Pastor Adam
Creation or Evolution?
A Research Paper by Katie Follett
Why are there so many arguments about the difference in a six day creation and the theory of evolution? Why can’t they both be right? Is one of them a better explanation of the origins of life than the other? These are some of the questions I am going to try and answer by comparing Creationism and the theory of evolution.
Many people say that Creation should not be considered or even taught as one of the theories for the beginning of life because it is too “religious”. While it is a very accurate explanation some, but not all of, the reason that it is accepted is because of faith. When Interviewee Pastor Gray was asked why he chose to believe in Creation he simply stated (5)“Because God says it. Plain and simple… there is no good alternative” Some are set on the fact that this view of Creation should only be considered as a faith-based belief. When Interviewee Dion Oxman was asked his opinion on creation he said this, (6) “I think [a six day] Creation is more of a belief than a scientific fact, so from a scientific perspective I have trouble with it. From a faith-based perspective I don’t have any trouble with it whatsoever so long as it is not taught within the context of science.” Others say that because the origins of life cannot be observed or repeated the belief you have in them (3) “can only be achieved by faith, not sight.” You cannot have creation done over again because, “The Creator does not create at the whim of a scientist.” Also, evolution, if it is happening it is progressing too slowly to be observed. There are evolutionists who say that evolution can be proved through the theory of the “Big Bang”. This is the theory, that (3) “a really old explosion of some unknown kind supposedly converted energy into matter. It [the explosion] may have been caused by a gravitational collapse, maybe in space.” Those who disagree with the “Big Bang” theory and are in favor of the six-day creation and support their belief in that theory by bringing to light a very large flaw in the theory of the “Big Bang.” When Pastor Gray was asked if he thought the “Big Bang” could be valid he said, (5)“No. Definitely not…some people say God said it “Bang” it was created, but God simply spoke it [creation]. The “Big Bang” is not possible and it’s not even a good theory. It’s actually really bad because they don’t have any proof.” If what Pastor Gray said is true, and there is no proof for the “Big Bang” or for evolution why is the theory of evolution still around? Why don’t evolutionists just “go along” with the creationist? It would be easier than defending a proof-less theory. Mr. Oxman was asked these questions and is quoted (6) “Easier? Sure! The correct way? No… the path of least resistance is always the easiest way but it doesn’t necessarily make it the right way…” Apparently Mr. Oxman believes that evolution is the “right way,” so let’s take a quick look at what evolution is.
The theory of Evolution is the thought that, (4) “All life belongs to one huge family tree. Some branches are plants, other branches are animals, and the sub-branches of animals are the starfish, the insects, the mammals, and so forth, everything.” All living things are somehow related, including humans, apes, and trees. An evolutionary biologist stated that (4) “50-90 % of all of our genes are shared in common with other species; depending on how related we are to them.” Pastor Gray believes otherwise and says (5)“It [evolution] is man’s idea of trying to explain where we came from and man’s way to try and remove God from the equation” Now please pause and try to understand how valid this point is. If you think about it, not having a God would make everything different. There would be no life after death and no punishments for sins (or wrong doings). Without a god, there is no one to answer to and people may have been trying to rid themselves of that important factor. Mr. Oxman said that (6)“Evolution is change…gradual change on long time scales. Not in human terms.” Therefore, evolution cannot be observed because it takes too long. If it takes so long, why do people find it so easy to believe? Mr. Oxman stated that the reason he chooses to believe in evolution is because (6) “… It’s part of my education. I was educated with a scientific background…I was kind of steered toward having a scientific view of it [evolution]… I take a very scientific approach to things like that [creation] and I was presented with all the facts and reached the same inevitable conclusion that life evolved on earth as opposed to it being created.” Some people wonder why both theories can’t be correct. Can they? I personally don’t believe that they can agree at all. In fact one man said (4) “Make no mistake about it. In the Darwinist view, God has nothing to with evolution.” Still, even though the two theories are polar opposites there are people who try to hold on to their view of the origin of life by evolution and simply “add” God to it and vice versa. Mr. Oxman says that he personally has (6)“friends that are very scientific and at the same time very religious…” and they compensate for it by saying “Who said the days are twenty-four hours to the Lord?” One scientist decided to completely disregard the six day creation and had this to say, It is “Probably too late to disentangle intelligent design from it’s commingling with religion.” So, again we must ask ourselves that if this is true why do certain people decide to believe in a six day 144 hour creation? Why Don’t Creationist just go along with evolutionist? When asked this question Pastor Adam responded, (5)“One of the reasons is because even though the majority thinks it is okay doesn’t mean it is true. Another reason is if evolution is true you would have to apply it everywhere in your life. That’s something called social Darwinism which means if you didn’t come from anything and you’re a random chance of events than you have no purpose. Nothing has any meaning, you mean nothing, you mean just as much as the bacteria you might wipe off you’re shoe when walking outside.” I agree with this and I don’t agree with people who try to “add” God to evolution.
If there is so much disagreement concerning the two theories and their reliability and if the two can be joined what is being taught in the schools? It saddens me to tell you that evolution is the focal point of most science texts today. Joan Roughgarden author of “Evolution and Christian Faith” said that “single tree” origins and the evolution of species must be taught in all school science texts. If not it will(4) “cripple the minds of children.”
Since this is permitted to be taught in schools what kind of evidence do the schools have to support this theory? Where does the evidence come from? Apparently it comes from the fossils. Fossils supposedly show that new animals came from ancient ones. They also tell the students that the earth is approximately 4.6 BILLION years old. The “early” earth had (1)“seas of molten lava, and a harsh pinkish yellow sky that lacked the oxygen we needed to survive.” How are they so sure about this though if there wasn’t enough oxygen to survive? Over looking this though, the “early” earth (1)“cooled over time, and as it cooled, lava turned into rock and water condensed from vapor, setting the stage for life.” (1)The students are also told that they evolved from the first fish which is approximately five hundred million years old. This fish used to live in the water but later on it decided to live on the land. Originally the fish was simply bacteria that evolved to a fish over millions of years. The reason that we aren’t fish is because every fish differed ever so slightly from the last one until we were finally human. What about the dinosaurs? Where did they all go? (1)The students are told that the reason all the dinosaurs are extinct is because a huge asteroid hit the earth with the force of “183 trillion tons of TNT” the rock and ash produced from collision of rock and earth buried the dinosaurs and made the fossils. (1)This was all speculated because of one layer of clay.
What do Creationist have to say about all the things about evolution that kids are learning? And are the things that they are learning true? What kind of proof is there against Evolution? Pastor Gray says that there is proof. (5)“First I would say the Bible. That’s your first evidence. God says it, that’s His word, that’s how He did it. I would say that Creation itself is proof, just like you can’t have a piece of art without some one to create it- the artist; you can’t have a building without a builder. You cannot have Creation without a Creator. And that’s just using basic logic. And I would say maybe a third evidence…is the fossil record. The fossil record proves that there was a worldwide global flood. If there was a world wide global flood we would find “billions of dead things buried in rock layers laid down by water all over the earth” and when you dig down you find “billions of dead things buried in rock layers laid down by water all over the earth.” (3)One thing found that contradicted the evolutionary “fact” that most dinosaurs were extinct over 1300 million years ago is that an ancient Mayan sculpture of a reptile like bird that bears great resemblance to the dinosaurs archaeornis and archaeopteryx. The statue found was only 1000-5000 years old. It could mean that dinosaurs weren’t extinct yet. Also as Pastor Gray said, the fossils are also proof against evolution. (2)Certain fossils especially those of jellyfish, still contain fleshy portions proving that they were buried before they had a chance to decay. (2)Another example is fossils that have been formed where fish were eating each other and others where fish were giving birth. As we know it does not take millions of years to eat or to give birth. This shows that fossils do not take millions of years to form. When asked if he thought that fossils took millions of years to form Pastor Adam responded, (5)“There’s too much evidence to the contrary, for example, there are several layers specifically where there are huge tree trunks that divide through the layers. If we went by evolutionary time scales that would mean that that tree stayed in the same position for millions of years while the rock layers built up around it… that tree would have to decay but so slowly that it would have to keep it’s regular form…” (5)He then compares it to a tree that has been felled and is laying in a yard, “… about thirty or so after it’s dead it’s… crumbled up mulch. There’s nothing left of it.” If so much information has been found that contradicts evolution, what do people who believe in evolution do about it? (2)Well, at first when evolution was a new theory and there were only a few “gaps” people thought that they would “fill in” over time as more information was found. They “gaps” didn’t “fill in” though. They multiplied and grew larger. Many evolutionary scientists today do not even to attempt to have a theory that says how life began.
What about “ape-men” and the “missing link” though? Are they real? Many stories claim that ape-like fossils have been found but as one man put it (2)“It is now universally known that Piltdown man [one of the ape men] was a hoax, and yet it was in text books for more than forty years [after the fact]” (2)The more famous Neanderthal man was brought into being from one tooth of an extinct pig and yet still people believe he was real no matter how large the lack of evidence is. There is no “link” missing or not between humans and apes, but what about humans and fish, or reptiles and birds? The “link” that was supposed to relate reptiles and birds, was the archaeopteryx. (3)The fossil of this bird showed that it had teeth and is one of the “most emphasized” examples in most science texts because it is thought to be in one of the transisting stages. This is an incorrect assumption. (3)The archaeopteryx is one hundred percent bird. Just because it differed from other birds doesn’t mean it isn’t a bird. Just because dolphins have different features than humans doesn’t make them not mammals. The “missing link” that supposedly connect fish and humans was the coelacanth. The coelacanth was a fish that was believed by evolutionist to have feet-like fins and was one of the ancestors of the fish that walked on land. (2)Several coelacanths were found near Madagascar in 1958 in the same exact condition that their fossils were with no changes. (3)They had no feet or lungs.
The last contradiction that I’m going to look at is the “geologic column.” The geologic column is what evolutionist use to date layers of rock and fossils. Each layers age depends on the one above or below it.(2) Almost nowhere in the world can the “geologic column” be found. Most places have over half of the column missing. (2)“Only 15-20% of Earth’s land surface has even one-third of these periods in the correct consecutive order… more than 150 million years of this imaginary column are missing” including in the Grand Canyon. Evolutionists use this column to date fossils and bones that they find in the layers of the Earth.
In conclusion, I would say that out of the two theories the theory of Creation is not only more logical but also a better explanation for the origin of life. The reason there are so many arguments about the difference in a six day creation and the theory of evolution is because they differ so much. As was said before a six-day Creation is the more logical and more valid of the two theories but having a Someone to answer to is one of the reasons it is rejected so often. We, as humans are created in the image of God, Not apes or fish.
So God created man in His own image,
In the image of God created He him,Male and female created He them.Genesis 1:27
Works Cited
1. Dinosaurs: the most complete, up to date encyclopedia for dinosaur lovers of all ages.
Written by: Dr. Thomas R. Holtz Jr.
Illustrated by: Luis V. Rey
Copyright 2007
2. In the Beginning
Written by: Walt Brown, Ph.D
Copyright 2001
3. Scientific Creationism
Prepared by: the technical staff and Consultants of the Institute for Creation Research.
Edited by: Henry M. Morris, Ph.D
Copyright: 1981
4. Evolution and Christian Faith
Written by: Joan Roughgarden
Copyright 2006
5. Pastor Adam - Interviewee
6. Dion Oxman – Interviewee
7. Dictionary (used for definitions of cover)
Houghton Mifflin Company
Copyright 1992
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