First Baptist Church

This year (2009) marks the 150th anniversary of the publishing of Charles Darwin’s revolutionary book Origin of Species. Darwin (1801-1882) believed life originated and was sustained through a process called “natural selection.” The scientific community largely accepted his theories in his lifetime, but the general populace would not be so quickly and easily convinced.

As a student at Edinburgh University, he was often neglectful of his medical studies in favor of studying marine invertebrates. He took a noteworthy voyage on the HMS Beagle for which the resulting theories and observations gained him considerable respect among colleagues and established him as a serious scientist.

Darwin investigated transmutation of species and developed his theory of natural selection in 1838. He was not the first to make similar observations and develop a theory, however he is far and away the most recognizable name associated with the theory. In Origin of Species he examined such topics as human evolution and sexual selection. He examined similar themes in other books including, The Descent of Man, Selection in Relation to Sex, and The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals.

There are a few lasting concepts which have been drawn from Darwin’s work. Notable among these include “survival of the fittest,” and the definition of evolution to include that all living matter has changed and evolved slowly over vast epochs of time to develop into that which is seen today.

Darwin has been viewed as a champion and pioneer by some while being hated by others. His theories were highly controversial at the time, and have remained so. The greatest appeal to those who quickly embraced his theories was the fact there was now a viable alternative to creationism and subsequent accountability to that creator – God. The scientific community had been toying with similar ideas for decades but it took Darwin polishing and publishing them to cause the revolution which followed.

By Darwin’s own admission, his theory could be proven false if the fossil record did not substantiate his claims. He believed that archeology would either credit or discredit what he believed to be the true origins of life. In the 150 years which have followed scantly little evidence has emerged to support his theories, but overwhelming evidence has emerged to discredit them. With almost certainty, it can be said, if Darwin himself could come back today and examine the scientific findings, and lack of findings, over the past century and a half, he would no longer believe his own theory. But, scientists today continue to believe an outdated and foolish theory because, for them, there really is no alternative. The only real alternative is to believe in “intelligent design,” and most will hardly do that! Occasionally you will find a scientist who is honest enough to admit that the evidence does not support Darwin’s theories of origins.

One might wonder what Darwin would conclude if he could work with a computer or in a modern laboratory or examine the DNA code? One might wonder what he would say about the hoaxes which have been perpetrated over a period of time trying to “prove” evolution; noteworthy among these is “Piltdown Man.” The scientific community is desperate to collect evidence to support this theory, which they no longer consider to be a theory but rather scientific fact. Unlike other science, or “true” science which purposes to de “deductive,” evolution oriented scientists are highly “inductive,” in essence having already made up their minds and grasping at any minor shred of evidence which may possibly be used to give credence to their platform.

In an ironic twist, many scientists consider creationists as foolish and dismiss their claims as blind adherence to faith in a God which is nothing more than a figment of the imagination; something Sigmund Freud claimed we created ourselves because we needed him. But when one considers the probability of life as we know it merely developing out of nothing and evolving upward for billions and billions of years to the complexities we now see, it seems unbelievable – in fact it should not be believed!

The scope of Darwin’s influence, sadly has even infiltrated the Christian community with some in high-profile positions claiming God could well have used evolution in order to bring us to this point; essentially saying the early chapters of Genesis should be taken figuratively instead of literally. Sadly they feel the need to harmonize scripture with the latest scientific discovery. One of the major problems with most scientific discoveries is that they are proven false by later discoveries. The Bible has been around for a long time and it makes no internal claims to being a book of science. In fact, the Bible is often short on details, but nevertheless dead-on accurate when it comes to the facts it does divulge. To try and harmonize evolution with Genesis is a losing proposition. Several key doctrines are destroyed in the process. Not to mention the fact that if you say Genesis does not mean what it appears to mean then how do we know Matthew or Paul or Peter, or Ezekiel meant what they appear to mean either? The bottom line is that you destroy the entire Bible if you attempt this futile effort to bring perfect harmony with Darwin’s writing and the word of God.

Sadly, children are taught in public school classrooms, all across the world, that this is where life originate; that the earth is billions of years old, that they are nothing more than apes, or even lower forms of existence, that they are here because their ancestors were among the fittest who survived. Then in a totally absurd and indescribable turn of events they try and teach kids the exact opposite that, for instance, racism is wrong, that we should be compassionate toward the weak and handicap, that they need to behave well, that they should share with and have concern for others, etc. Never before, in the history of civilization has there been any single greater justification for racism than the theory of evolution. Adolf Hitler, firmly believed in it and often appealed to Darwin in his propaganda, believing the Jews to be an inferior race, along with blacks and others. At the 1936 Olympics in Munich, Germany Hitler was inconsolably angered that Germany’s track runners were defeated by the black man, Jesse Owens. He said, “It is not fair to make my men compete against this animal.” Hitler was a true believer and you see the consequences played out in his life and reign of terror.

Surprisingly, and quite ironically, the theory of evolution and all of its propaganda has never been about science. It is about religion. Religion expects certain elements to be taken on faith. Obviously no one saw life begin, whether by the Christian understanding or by the evolutionary understanding. Evolution literally takes a greater amount of faith to believe than does creationism. The difference though is not so much in levels of faith as it is in types of faith. Evolution is largely a “blind” faith, glossing over concepts such as “life originating in pond water,” “life coming from non-living matter,” and billions of years being the operative device which somehow made all this happen. The creationist believes God created the world and the life therein, just as Genesis says He did, and that we are accountable to our creator.

There does not appear to be any end in sight for this debate. The rhetoric on both sides is often quite intense. The theory associated with Charles Darwin’s name has proven to be one of the most divisive of all times. Christians must stand firm in this debate and not give up easy ground merely because we are uninformed or lazy in our pursuit of knowledge. Know the facts, know God’s word! Stand firm!

In Christ,

Pastor Allen Raynor