by Ron Livesay, 1996
I recently saw, for the third or fourth time, the beginning of the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. It did not take me very long to realize why I have never watched more than just the beginning – it is not my kind of movie – so I turned it off, just as every other time I have started to watch it.
The beginning section, which is entitled “The Dawn of Man,” once again brought to mind the essential foolishness of the philosophy of mankind today. A number of apes, who were supposed to be “ape-men” or whatever name is in vogue for the mythical creature which has been imagined to span the gap between animals and humanity, fought over possession of a pool of water. Great progress was made in the evolution toward human civilization when one of the creatures discovered that a bone could be used to crush a skull. Hence, the first weapon was invented. The scene then cuts to space travel, obviously skipping quite a span of time in the alleged evolutionary process.
The opening scenes of this movie, which was made in 1968, serve only to underscore the false assumption that all people swallow the story of evolution. This assumption is simply not true. Those who pretend to be scientists by passing off a very silly and absurd story as science do not speak for the majority of people, and when the average person, educated or not, looks at the claims of evolution, the sensible response is, “Give me a break!”
I believe the Bible is 100% true. However, I understand that the same average person, who very naturally sees the absurdity of evolution, is not necessarily a Bible-believer. Therefore, to appeal to the Scriptures to such a person often produces the same skeptical response as the evolution myth produces. On the other hand, while the average person may not understand spiritual truth, he is also not stupid. An appeal to common sense makes creation by God a much more sensible answer to origins than the absurdity of evolution.
Following are a few common sense reasons, which are neither scientific nor theological, for accepting creation and rejecting evolution:
Creation requires miracles performed by a miracle-working God. Evolution requires miracles performed by blind chance, which means miracles performed by no one.
Creation requires that a designer be involved in the production of intricate design. Evolution requires that intricate design has been produced without benefit of a designer.
Creation requires a great “first cause” of all things, which is God Himself. Evolution requires that there is no “first cause.” Either matter itself is eternal, having never had a beginning, or matter was somehow created by accident out of nothing by no one.
Evolution is mathematically impossible. Chance could never intervene into natural laws to the extent of producing the universe, life, and all living things. Only the Creator could do that. If He did not do so, then we do not exist. There is a famous quote which says, “I think. Therefore, I am.” Even more true would be the statement, “I am. Therefore, I was created. If I was not created, then I am not here.”
Creation requires faith in God. Evolution requires faith in blind chance, matter, Charles Darwin, etc., all of which are much less than God.
Creation is a positive teaching, elevating man to a special creation of God, and placing him in a position of responsibility. Evolution is a negative teaching, degrading man to the status of an animal which was produced by accident, removing all responsibility from him, and ultimately leading to anarchy. There can be no law or civilization without God and His laws and principles.
That all having been said, it remains true that, for the Christian, the very best reason for believing in creation is the fact that God says He created, and we ought to take Him at His Word. It is tremendous that the scientific evidence, when viewed honestly, points to creation and totally refutes evolution. However, even if we did not have that, we know that creation is true, because God, who cannot lie, has told us so. “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:3, NASB)
The beginning section, which is entitled “The Dawn of Man,” once again brought to mind the essential foolishness of the philosophy of mankind today. A number of apes, who were supposed to be “ape-men” or whatever name is in vogue for the mythical creature which has been imagined to span the gap between animals and humanity, fought over possession of a pool of water. Great progress was made in the evolution toward human civilization when one of the creatures discovered that a bone could be used to crush a skull. Hence, the first weapon was invented. The scene then cuts to space travel, obviously skipping quite a span of time in the alleged evolutionary process.
The opening scenes of this movie, which was made in 1968, serve only to underscore the false assumption that all people swallow the story of evolution. This assumption is simply not true. Those who pretend to be scientists by passing off a very silly and absurd story as science do not speak for the majority of people, and when the average person, educated or not, looks at the claims of evolution, the sensible response is, “Give me a break!”
I believe the Bible is 100% true. However, I understand that the same average person, who very naturally sees the absurdity of evolution, is not necessarily a Bible-believer. Therefore, to appeal to the Scriptures to such a person often produces the same skeptical response as the evolution myth produces. On the other hand, while the average person may not understand spiritual truth, he is also not stupid. An appeal to common sense makes creation by God a much more sensible answer to origins than the absurdity of evolution.
Following are a few common sense reasons, which are neither scientific nor theological, for accepting creation and rejecting evolution:
Creation requires miracles performed by a miracle-working God. Evolution requires miracles performed by blind chance, which means miracles performed by no one.
Creation requires that a designer be involved in the production of intricate design. Evolution requires that intricate design has been produced without benefit of a designer.
Creation requires a great “first cause” of all things, which is God Himself. Evolution requires that there is no “first cause.” Either matter itself is eternal, having never had a beginning, or matter was somehow created by accident out of nothing by no one.
Evolution is mathematically impossible. Chance could never intervene into natural laws to the extent of producing the universe, life, and all living things. Only the Creator could do that. If He did not do so, then we do not exist. There is a famous quote which says, “I think. Therefore, I am.” Even more true would be the statement, “I am. Therefore, I was created. If I was not created, then I am not here.”
Creation requires faith in God. Evolution requires faith in blind chance, matter, Charles Darwin, etc., all of which are much less than God.
Creation is a positive teaching, elevating man to a special creation of God, and placing him in a position of responsibility. Evolution is a negative teaching, degrading man to the status of an animal which was produced by accident, removing all responsibility from him, and ultimately leading to anarchy. There can be no law or civilization without God and His laws and principles.
That all having been said, it remains true that, for the Christian, the very best reason for believing in creation is the fact that God says He created, and we ought to take Him at His Word. It is tremendous that the scientific evidence, when viewed honestly, points to creation and totally refutes evolution. However, even if we did not have that, we know that creation is true, because God, who cannot lie, has told us so. “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:3, NASB)
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