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I believe that the world came about by the process of evolution. However, I still consider myself a Christian. Does it really matter how God made the world?
Creation matters
It is wonderful to hear that you believe in Jesus. As Christians we treasure what Jesus did for us. As our substitute, he suffered the consequences of all human sin and evil. Then he rose from the dead, giving us the assurance of life and resurrection.
But we cannot keep those ideas separate from all other ideas the Scriptures tell us. If the creation account in God’s Word is not true, then it will not be long before Satan whispers in your ear, “Can you really believe in Jesus?”
The story of evolution
The story of evolution is an explanation of the origins of the universe, our world, and humans without God. It is a mixture of fact and speculation that has a ring of truth. It’s understandable that some would believe the story, including some Christians.
So let’s do a little exploring. Some, like you, do not believe evolution excludes God. But the evolution story assumes that there is no need for a Creator God. For the ardent evolutionist, everything must be explained as naturally occurring processes. That is a fundamental concept of science, and it has given us great blessings in medicine and technology. It is important to all research, including research on the COVID-19 virus. One simply cannot do research depending on a miracle.
The story of evolution assumes that current observable processes never changed. We can’t prove that, but evolutionists assume it is true. The changes necessary for the processes of nature to bring about life as we know it require long periods of time—another assumption. But when dealing with forces of nature billions of years ago, that stretches the scientific model beyond its capacity without these assumptions.
Evolution suggests that somewhere in the process things had to happen that would bring about life from what is not life. It is difficult to imagine that our human bodies came from inanimate elements. For example, the average heart will beat 2.5 billion times over the course of a lifetime. Our eyes have 130 million light receptors. Our bodies contain 100,000 miles of nerve fibers. The neurons in our brains send trillions of signals every day. All this came about, but for evolutionists God cannot be the explanation.
Creator or processes of nature?
If what God tells us in the Bible about creation must be rejected, then so many other ideas must also be rejected. No universal flood, as God describes it in Genesis, ever happened. The virgin birth defies the laws of nature. The miracles of Jesus were only embellishments of his disciples; they did not really occur. Did the resurrection of Jesus even happen?
So what do we believe? That life and its complexity came from a Creator or from the processes of nature? Scripture comes from God, who was there in the beginning. He knows. So “by faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews 11:3).
Why? Consider everything else God tells us. The same God who created the world entered this world two thousand years ago to save it by living for you and dying on a cross to save you. One day soon, he will return to bring us a new heaven and a new earth. God, who made the world and saved the world, will one day come back to restore this world. I choose to believe what he says—all of it.
Ask a question at forwardinchrist.net/submit.
Author: David Scharf
Volume 107, Number 08
Issue: August 2020
- Q&A: Is God fair? - 2023/02/27
- Q&A: When we pray, “Your kingdom come,” what are we praying for? - 2023/01/30
- Q&A: How can I better manage what God has given me this year so that I glorify him? - 2022/12/27
