The preface to the 1984 pamphlet Science and Creationism:
A View From the National Academy of Sciences, Signed by the Academy’s president,
Fred Press, assured the nation that it is “false…to think that the theory
of evolution represents an irreconcilable conflict between religion and
science.” Dr. Press explained:
“A great many religious leaders accept evolution on scientific
grounds without relinquishing their belief in religious principles. As
stated in a resolution by the Council of the national Academy of Sciences
in 1981, however, “Religion and science are separate and mutually exclusive
realms of thought whose presentation in the same context leads to misunderstanding
of both scientific theory and religious belief.”
The American Scientific Affiliation, (ASA), whose membership
is made up of science teachers and others who identify themselves as evangelical
Christians committed to both Jesus Christ and to a scientific understanding
of the natural world, has generally embraced “compatibilism” and
theistic evolution. With foundation support the leaders of the ASA produced
its own 48 page illustrated booklet, titled Teaching Science in a Climate
of Controversy: A view from the American Scientific Affiliation. This booklet
was mailed to thousands of school teachers and was considered by many the
newest information available for methods in teaching science.
“Many aspects of evolution are currently being
studied by scientists who hold varying degrees of belief or disbelief in
God. No matter how these investigations turn out, most scientists agree
that a ‘creation science’ based on an earth only a few thousand years old
provides no theoretical basis sound enough to serve as a reasonable alternative.
Clearly, it is difficult to teach evolution—or
even avoid teaching it—without stepping into a controversy loaded with
all kinds of implications: scientific, religious, philosophical, educational,
political, and legal. Dogmatists at either extreme who insist that theirs
is the only tenable position tend to make both sides seem unattractive.
Many intelligent people, however, who accept the
evidence billions of years old and recognize that life-forms have changed
drastically over much of that time, also take the Bible seriously and worship
God as their Creator. Some (but not all) who affirm creation on religious
grounds are able to envision macro-evolution (The general organic theory
of evolution) as a possible explanation of how God has created new life-forms.
In other words a broad middle ground exists in
which creation and evolution are not seen as antagonists.”
This booklet was intended to encourage “open mindedness” especially on whether life arose by chance, from nothing and became intelligent human life. This was mailed out to thousands of teachers who teach our children everyday in public schools.
QUESTION 1: Did God merely create matter, a first life
form, put into effect the laws of nature and then fade from the picture?
NO
QUESTION 2: Where did man get his soul? Genesis 1:26
Man’s soul came from being created in the image of God.
No other created living thing on earth has this characteristic.
Atheists and materialists and true evolutionists
would say man has no soul.
They will not deny that human beings have characteristics
that other animals don’t have. These characteristics have no biological
survival advantage, so one must then say that Natural Selection could not
be the cause of them. The characteristics I’m speaking of are:
Having a moral sense of right and wrong, aesthetics,
ability to reason, capacity for worship, fear of death, and hope for immortality.
These characteristics cut across all cultures and are only found in human
beings. Animals do not even possess any portion of any of these.
There are many in the religious world and some in Christ’s church that think Genesis can and must be harmonized with evolution. Many people view it as a way out, of not having to make a decision in favor of either evolution or creation. Many people believe in theistic evolution because they feel it simply doesn’t matter all that much.
Now here we are, looking at theistic evolution, which has its roots in withstanding atheistic or mechanistic evolution. Which is to say there is a Creator of some type involved with the creation versus no creator what so ever. This idea says God’s methods of creation might really have been what modern scientists designate as evolution.
Theistic evolution, also known as religious evolution,
mitigated evolution, progressive creation, or threshold evolution, makes
a strong effort to get God involved in the process of evolution. Typically
there are two types of such evolutionists:
1. Those who consider it a continuous process with God
always present and working out the program constructively through natural
laws.
2. Those who believe in God at the beginning only, who
believe the process is left to itself after an original creation.
These views and all of their types assume that evolution actually did happen. They assume that scientists have proven it so conclusively that they must believe that some little piece of the Bible must be salvaged from all of this new scientific information.
Look at the theistic evolutionist’s thought: They actually are allowing God to be present during the creation of the universe.
Let’s have a reality check:
Evolution is flawed at almost every point, but it is
held to relentlessly in spite of the fact that it cannot be observed or
proven in even the best laboratories today. It directly contradicts the
second law of thermodynamics. It is mathematically impossible for the thousands
of “Miracles” the theory demands, (from the original life-forms and
all the transitions from single celled organisms to humans). Evolution
cannot explain where matter came from in the first place. It cannot explain
the Cambrian explosion of life in the fossil record. The mysterious appearance
of single cells, invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, mammals,
rodents, sea mammals, insects, flight in winged creatures, primates, or
plants. It cannot explain the non-existence of transitional or intermediate
forms in the fossil record, (a constant source of frustration for evolutionists).
In reality the Bible does not need saving from this fragile idea of evolution.
Theistic evolution is purely a compromise with those of the scientific community who arrogantly say evolution is true and science has proven it. They teach it as the truth and they teach it by collaborative intimidation, across all fields of science, and you’d better not question them. “Or else you will be “judged” by them as someone who is “judgmental.” This is just pure old-fashioned false teaching.
This compromise today is brought about by the world’s demands of people. The “in” term for this non-judgmental approach is “political correctness”, which demands we don’t hurt anyone’s feelings or offend anyone. I am not advocating bad language or anything of the sort; I am advocating speaking the truth about God’s word. Many people including some God fearing Christians will not explain the truth about God’s word because they are afraid to hurt someone’s feelings or get made fun of. If this happens and you are speaking the truth about God’s word, these people are not rejecting you they are rejecting God’s word.
This compromise has even some being “sensitive” to denominational teachings and other religions no matter how different far they are from God’s word.
In this case the compromise is that some believe evolution is how we all got here.
Essentially if this “spirit of compromise” is not checked it will cause those who are members of the body of Christ to eventually accept false teachings.
Jesus warns us about false teachers and even explains how to identify them.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s
clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by
their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?
Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the
fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Matt.
7:15-20
We will look at what I call the “Fruits of evolution today”
in a later lesson.
Much of this acceptance of compromise is brought on by lack of study.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for
he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder
of those who diligently seek Him.
Heb.
11:6
This is one of the many problems of most popular, worldly
doctrines, falsely taught today. Many people do not seek to study
the word of God diligently. Many can’t recognize false teaching because
of spiritual immaturity. As those who were warned by the Hebrew writer:
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you
need someone to teach you again the first oracles of God; and you have
come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of
milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid
food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason
of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Heb.
5:12-14
We must be sure to:
“Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you
have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”
2 Tim.
1:13
“For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God,
but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness,
and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to
the righteousness of God.
Rom.
10:2-3
The problem is not that God’s word is difficult to understand, it is that today many lack the diligence to study it, the willingness to accept it, and the humility to submit to it.
Theistic Evolution is here because of lack of knowledge of the scriptures, lack of backbone to stand up to the teachers and professors and teaching it to our children. We need to heed Paul’s writing to Timothy, that we command that they don’t teach false ideas.
“As I urged you when I went into Macedonia-remain
in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine”
1 Tim.
1:3
Even the Ephesian elders were warned by Paul of false teachers. Paul had spent three years teaching and warning everyone continuously.
“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves
will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves
men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples
after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I
did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
Acts
20: 29-31
All of these warnings of false teaching, all of this evidence supporting God’s Creation of all things and still we stand here looking at one of the most popular false teachings in society today.
Theistic Evolution (T.E.) is wrong because:
There is no statement in the Bible that shows T.E.
to be true. Genesis 1:1-2:1, Exodus 20:11, Exodus 31:17, Nehemiah 9:6,
Psalm 33, 6-9, Acts 14: 15, Acts 17: 24-26,
and many more. Each statement speaks of God creating
the earth and all that is around us, Not starting it and then letting it
evolve into what we see today.
QUESTION 3: What does 2 Peter 3: 4 tell us about
the uniformity of creation?
…All things continue as they were from the beginning
of creation.
The seasons all come and go from year to year,
we have 24-hour days, and etc…
Theistic Evolution (T.E.) is wrong because:
It would have to choose either Adam as the first
man or Homo erectus. Genesis 1 and 1 Cor. 15:45 teach Adam was the
first man, both cannot be correct.
Theistic Evolution (T.E.) is wrong because:
It cannot explain where man’s soul came from.
How did man’s soul evolve? What other creature has portions of a soul?
Did man evolve and then his soul later? What natural pressures and selective
traits caused a soul to evolve from one species of man to another? This
is where "threshold evolution” is invented, after Man evolved God put the
soul in. If miraculously God could put the soul into an evolved man, why
is it impossible for theistic evolutionists to believe God created man
form the dust of the ground?
Gen. 2:7, It is inconsistent to believe pieces of the
creation out of convenience.
Theistic Evolution (T.E.) is wrong because:
It makes Jesus and His inspired writers into liars.
In Mark 10: 6 and Matthew 19:4 Jesus references the beginning and man being
present. Paul references the creation in Romans 1: 20-21, If the evolutionists
are correct and man has been around for about 3 million years, Who would
have been there 3 to 5 billion years ago at the Theistic Creation to clearly
see the attributes of God?
Theistic Evolution (T.E.) is wrong because:
Because the Scriptures are either the inspired
word of God or they are not the inspired word of God. There can be no middle
ground, either a line is straight or it is not.
If the Bible is writings of mere men then it would merit
no religious respect. Paul wrote this to Timothy:
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped
for every good work.
2 Tim.
3: 16-17
Paul doesn’t write to Timothy and say pick out the parts
you want, Paul doesn’t even say all except the first part of Genesis. He
says ALL.
There are over 30 references within the Old and New Testaments
that claim the inspiration of God. The Bible does not contain the word
of God; it is the word of God.
Jesus called the Old Testament the word of God in John
10:35.
The unity of the Bible proves it is God’s word.
QUESTION 4: What are the definite divisions of time, life
type, and God’s view of His creation.
Divisions of time- Day shown by evening and morning
Life Type- Kind
God’s view of His creation- it was good
Look at the distinct divisions in the creation. Each day had distinct divisions, each kind had distinct divisions, and this shows the completeness of each “piece” of God’s creation. This holds true to the fact that transitional form fossils have not been found.
And for God to see that it was good. This is so absolutely good that Man cannot comprehend it. Our good is comparative to something else. God’s seeing it was good is absolute goodness and completeness. Genesis 1:31-2:1.
We need to watch for false teaching, we need to make sure our own minds are as good ground to receive the word of God, (as Jesus taught in the parable of the Sower in Matt 13). We need to be careful to stay from among the thorns, and let the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke God’s word until we become unfruitful.
We need to train our children in the word of God, so they will learn how to see false teaching and be able to tell it from what the Bible says. We need to work hard at it so they will have strong roots, they will be able to withstand tribulation and persecution, and not stumble. These teachings of evolution are taught by intimidation, by lack of knowledge, and by teaching compromise. They are all contrary to what the Bible teaches.
“Train Up a child in the way he should go, and when
he is old he will not depart from it.”
Prov.
22: 6