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In The Beginning God, Not Darwin, Created
Post Scripts ^ | 10/11/09 | One Vike

Posted on 10/11/2009 6:56:59 AM PDT by OneVike

special thanks to hanna548 for the artwork

There is a disturbing trend that has taken hold of the modern day Christian community, and it is my opinion that this trend is causing a schism as big as the one that was addressed at the Council of Nicea over the Trinity. Now this is not a debate for those who have no faith in Christ, for what accord has Christ with Belial? No, this is strictly a debate for those who profess Christ as their Lord and Savior. Unfortunately, those who attempt to address the problem are usually labeled as rabble-rousers who only wish to spread discontent within the ranks of Christendom. This trend I speak of, is the compromising of the Word with the idea of evolution known as theistic evolution or Old Earth Creationism. I say “compromise”, because in the 150 years since Darwin offered his theory of evolution, the only side in the argument that has offered to compromise its position has been the Christian side. I have yet to see the evolutionary camp temper it's teachings to include God anywhere in the equation of creation.

If I am wrong, then I challenge someone to prove to me that the godless Darwinists have ever compromised their position on evolution. If anything they have stiffened their resolve to convert all mankind to their atheistic system that excludes a Creator other than random chance. The evolutionary thinkers are not struggling to find a way to harmonize the events of Genesis 1-11 with the words of Darwin or Stephen J. Gould. They are beating the drum of "science" versus "religion" so loud that they cannot hear the evidence that some Christian apologists would try to get them to consider. Too often, those who present any evidence that makes a case for the Biblical account of creation are even ridiculed by Christians who believe in theistic evolution. In many cases they are ridiculed in the same way the ungodly Darwinists ridicule them. Well allow me to present a few reasons why I do not have enough faith to believe in the OEC's theistic evolutionary theory.

As I said, my article is not directed at anyone who does not claim to be a Christian, so I will not be addressing the scientific or geological particulars of evolution or of space and time. This is strictly a debate between Christians who claim to be Biblical “Young Earth Creationists”, and Christians who hold to the views of “Old Earth Creationism”, “Theistic evolutionism”, or the “Gap Theory”. However, before I present my reasons why I believe these beliefs are all wrong, I must distinguish the difference between "Macro-Evolution", and "Micro- Evolution".

Micro-evolution is not really evolution at all, it is just the simple variation within a species. What scientists describe as the prominence of genes being displayed within that species. This is what allows a family to have one child with blond hair and blue eyes, while the other has brown hair and brown eyes. The children have not evolved (they are still human), they simply differ in their dominant genes. In like manner, Christian micro-evolutionists believe that all dogs in the world today have evolved within the species from two dogs Noah brought onto the Ark, and all canines would be similar to every other animal of that species existing on the planet today.

Macro-evolution on the other hand refers to major evolutionary changes over time, the origin of new types of organisms from previously existing, but different, ancestral types. Examples of this would be fish descending from an invertebrate animal, or whales descending from a land mammal. The evolutionary concept demands these bizarre changes, and this is the bases for which Darwin's theory has been propagated.

Now back to my reasons for disagreeing with theistic evolutionists. I find it sad that any Christian who would claim to hold to the truths of the Scriptures, could then turn around and say that they question the most basic and foundational truths revealed in the Scriptures such as: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" Genesis 1:1. In doing so, they are not merely questioning the curious mechanics and unique events of the creation week, but they are debating the very words and message of that week. Furthermore, to deny God created everything through Christ in a normal 6-day period is to question the very character and nature of God. It attributes to Him the evil, wasteful, chaotic, random, purposeless, death-filled processes of evolutionary "creation", that would make Him (God) the very Author and Sustainer of all that the theory of evolution demands. In my opinion those who attribute to the power of Satan any miracles which Christ performed, or generally those works which are the result of the Holy Spirit, are in danger of committing Blasphemy. Matthew 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-29; Luke 12:10

Another disturbing fact about having a belief in theistic evolution, would be the denial of the doctrine of Original Sin. Think about it, if suffering, death, and extinction are inevitable components of the evolutionary process, then it only follows that the doctrine of Original Sin makes no sense. Humans would had to have evolved into a world that was already filled with suffering and other forms of imperfection, such as hurricanes, floods, pain, and suffering. Ultimately, death would not be a punishment for sin because death would had to have always been a part of the cycle of life wich would have been needed for evolution to exist on earth. Taken to its inevitable conclusion, if humans are not responsible for suffering and evil, but instead death is simply a natural process rather than a punishment, what need is there for atonement and redemption? After all if man is not responsible for sin as the Bible says, then the Bible is wrong, and if the Bible is wrong why live by it's precepts?

Now I need to address the debate over the Hebrew word “Yom” or יום. Those who disagree with the literal translation of the Bible that claims God created everything in six literal earth days, use the argument that “yom” is sometimes used to describe an age or an era. I offer six reasons theistic evolutionists and OEC's are wrong in their interpretation of the record of Genesis.

1.) Moses repeats, “And there was evening and there was morning, one dayGenesis 1:5, Genesis 1:8, Genesis 1:13, Genesis 1:19, Genesis 1:23, Genesis 1:31.

2.) In the context of a 24 hour day, Moses again defines what he means by ”yom”, “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holyExodus 20:11; Exodus 31:17.

3.) The Hebrew word for day, or “yom”, is used 1480 times in the Old Testament, and it is translated by some different 50 words. It can mean an indefinite time, but it is not used as an age of millions or billions of years. When "yom" is used with a numerical adjective, it always refers to a literal 24 hour day.

4.) The Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, the “Septuagint”, uses "hemera" or ἡμέρα, which normally means a 24 hour day such as, “And He was in the wilderness forty days”, not forty ages or eras. Mark 1:13.

5.) Furthermore, if Moses meant a period of long eons or ages, then the translators should have used the Greek word, "aion" or αἰών. which is the word Christ used when he gave His followers their marching orders for the great commission in Matthew12:20

“teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen
6.) The creation of Genesis involves Jesus Himself, because He was there when it happened. Jesus even stated that Moses interpretation of the record of Genesis was correct, and who are we to claim Jesus is a liar? Consider what happened the day the Pharisees confronted Him regarding marriage and asked Him about the legality of divorce in Mark 10:4-9;
"Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her." And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE. FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH SO THEN THEY ARE NO LONGER TWO, BUT ONE FLESH. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

So, from this exchange you can see that Jesus obviously agreed with Moses in his interpretation of the creation story, thus rejecting macro evolution and the Old Earth theory. Jesus specifically said, from the beginning He made them. He did not say, In the beginning he started the process. Jesus believed there was a definite beginning and that Moses did not write an allegorical story because the Israelites were to primitive to understand the truth. So if Jesus said so, why would anyone want to disagree with Him?

Also, those of you who are proponents of theistic evolution are walking a very thin line, because you also must deny the very existence of the Trinity.

For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.John 5:7
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.Genesis 1:1
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him1 Corinthians 8:6
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.Colossians 1:15-17
You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.Psalm 104:30
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.Genesis 1:2.

The Scriptures, and an understanding of the texts, should be enough to prove to Christians that the Bible is right. When it comes to the debate with the godless Darwinists, we Christians are living in great times. Every day we find more evidence that proves the Scriptures are historically, archeologically, and scientifically correct. Now is not the time for us Christians to compromise our faith in God, for ultimately that is how we will be judged. Do you have enough faith in God to believe He is who He says He is, and that he can do what He said He would do? The faith of a mustard seed is all you need to throw a mountain into the sea, could you imagine the trembling of the Godless if we Christians had such faith?

I pray that those who have ears to hear will hear His voice and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen


TOPICS: Apologetics; Religion & Culture; Religion & Science; Theology
KEYWORDS: amerscientifaffil; asalist; creation; gagdad; gagdadbob; gaptheory; onecosmos; scientism; theisticevolution; yec
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To: OneVike

I usually try to stay away from religious threads because I do not want to be a stumbling block to anyone. That being said, I like to say I was a Baptist back when Baptists still believed in dinosaurs and that the Bible was inspired but not every word of it was literally true.

For some people, they have to believe the Noah’s Ark story or they can not believe in Jesus. So while I disagree, I would rather someone believe in Jesus AND Noah’s Ark, then not believe in Jesus at all. Those whose faith is strong enough to separate the two are usually going to find their way out to different denominations and groups of believers.

That being said, I think God created us and evolution was one of his tools. I don’t think “life” is an accident, even at the amoeba level. IMHO science only confirms the non-accidental basis of life, but by and large it ain’t worth risking another person’s faith over by arguing it.

parsy.


101 posted on 10/11/2009 11:28:00 AM PDT by parsifal (Abatis: Rubbish in front of a fort, to prevent the rubbish outside from molesting the rubbish inside)
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To: OneVike
Furthermore, to deny God created everything through Christ in a normal 6-day period is to question the very character and nature of God. It attributes to Him the evil, wasteful, chaotic, random, purposeless, death-filled processes of evolutionary "creation", that would make Him (God) the very Author and Sustainer of all that the theory of evolution demands.

To believe in the 6-day creation and the devolution of man attributes a failure in design by God. God is perfect. Why would he create the evil in the world.

102 posted on 10/11/2009 11:39:56 AM PDT by ColdWater
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To: OneVike
I wish more had delved into the debate

It's hard to wish to debate rationally when the stated premise
is that if one believes in evolution, one is an athiest.

Right off the bat, the broad-brush name calling leads to acrimony.

The piece was well written though. Thanks for posting it.

103 posted on 10/11/2009 11:44:39 AM PDT by humblegunner
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To: ColdWater; OneVike

No. There is no failure in design. The design allowed for infinite variety within the creation. It works as it’s supposed to.

The design was perfect, but no design, no matter how perfect initially nor how perfect the designer, can remain perfect once corruption enters into the mix.

Evil entered the world with sin. God did not create it. With the capacity for choosing good, comes the capacity to reject it and choose *not good*. That is what evil is.


104 posted on 10/11/2009 12:12:42 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: ColdWater; OneVike

Corruption also entered the world with sin. That was man’s doing, not God’s.

He told man how to choose and what the consequences would be. Man could have learned the knowledge of good and evil by obeying God instead of disobeying Him.


105 posted on 10/11/2009 12:15:02 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: metmom
The design was perfect, but no design, no matter how perfect initially nor how perfect the designer, can remain perfect once corruption enters into the mix.

A perfect design cannot be corrupted.

BTW, who created the corruption?

106 posted on 10/11/2009 12:15:49 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: Gordon Greene
You, my friend have become what you wish to be... a god.

Really? I never knew. Suffice it to say, I am a mortal human being and am quite comfortable with that.

Of course, you once again miss the point. Why not discuss your particular creationism vs. others' particular creationism. THAT'S what this thread is about. Are you an OEC or a YEC? Are you a geocentrist? Stake you claim and make your point.

And stop worrying about me.
107 posted on 10/11/2009 12:16:33 PM PDT by whattajoke (Let's keep Conservatism real.)
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To: metmom
Man could have learned the knowledge of good and evil by obeying God instead of disobeying Him.

You have that backwards. They learned the knowledge of good and evil by disobeying God. Read your Bible!

----------------------

17: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die

108 posted on 10/11/2009 12:19:18 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: metmom

1: Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Serpents can talk and think! Who would have thunk it!


109 posted on 10/11/2009 12:23:23 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: Gordon Greene
you wish to be

Reading the mind of another Freeper - or attributing motives to him - are forms of "making it personal."

Discuss the issus all you want, but do not make it personal.

110 posted on 10/11/2009 12:31:36 PM PDT by Religion Moderator
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To: parsifal
. That being said, I like to say I was a Baptist back when Baptists still believed in dinosaurs and that the Bible was inspired but not every word of it was literally true.

They still believe in dinosaurs, they just put saddles on them now.


111 posted on 10/11/2009 12:34:50 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: metmom

I’m afraid if I must die for the cause, I must.

I fall on my sword, milady...


112 posted on 10/11/2009 1:06:14 PM PDT by Gordon Greene (www.fracturedrepublic.com - Evo's place much faith in something for which there is no proof. Crazy!)
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To: whattajoke

Don’t take it personal... I’m not the least bit worried about you.


113 posted on 10/11/2009 1:06:50 PM PDT by Gordon Greene (www.fracturedrepublic.com - Evo's place much faith in something for which there is no proof. Crazy!)
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To: Religion Moderator

I will do my best.

Thanks.

GG


114 posted on 10/11/2009 1:07:10 PM PDT by Gordon Greene (www.fracturedrepublic.com - Evo's place much faith in something for which there is no proof. Crazy!)
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To: OneVike
No problem with the ping.

To consider just one one point, #5, I'll return to others later, in the comment about the Greek word “Aion” which at Matt. 28:20 is used for the Hebrew ‘olahm’.

“Aion”, according to the examples given in Thayer’s Greek/English Lexicon, indicates an indefinite time period marked by something peculiar to it, as in the “age of steam”, or as Matt. 28:20 uses the “aion” as the end of a system marked as Paul said at 2 Cor. 4:4, the influence and sway of Satan. Often “aion” is translated as “world” which carries a wrong idea.

So “aion” would not be an appropriate translation for a time period of definite duration however long.

115 posted on 10/11/2009 1:10:07 PM PDT by count-your-change (You don't have be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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To: OneVike

Thanks for the ping!


116 posted on 10/11/2009 1:13:43 PM PDT by Alamo-Girl
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To: ColdWater

What does the word “knowledge” as used there mean?


117 posted on 10/11/2009 1:27:52 PM PDT by count-your-change (You don't have be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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To: count-your-change; metmom
What does the word “knowledge” as used there mean?

Which? Metmom's, mine or the Biblical?

118 posted on 10/11/2009 1:35:55 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: whattajoke

[[Understood and accepted. I promise to never point out your typing skills if you promise to never - for the millionth time - make some lame joke about my screename reflecting upon my intellect. Truce?]]

Why would I start soemthign I’ve Never done in the past? I’ve never made fun of your screenname- you’re confusing me with others I’m afraid


119 posted on 10/11/2009 1:47:54 PM PDT by CottShop (Scientific belief does not constitute scientific evidence, nor does it convey scientific knowledge)
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To: ColdWater

Take your pick.


120 posted on 10/11/2009 3:59:08 PM PDT by count-your-change (You don't have be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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