Jesus
What Saith the Scripture?

Navigation

Fellow ship > How Evolution Undermines the Need for a Savior

              Thy WORD Is Truth.

How Evolution Undermines the Need for a Savior



by Tom Stewart

May 8, 2005

"In the beginning God created" (Genesis 1:1) is accepted by both Biblical Creationists and Theistic Evolutionists, i.e., those who believe that God used Evolution to create man and the universe. However, the Theistic Evolutionist must relegate the first eleven chapters of Genesis to a less literal construction than the more literal interpretation of Scripture by the Biblical Creationist, in hope of reconciling their understanding of Modern Science with their comprehension of the Bible. "According to your Faith be it unto you" (Matthew 9:29). This editorial is not an attempt to address the scientific evidence supporting Evolution or Creation, but it is an effort to focus on the philosophy of how Evolution undermines the need for a Savior. "How can these things be?" (John 3:9). Before beginning the discussion of how the underlying philosophy of Evolution undermines the need for a Savior, several items in current events are keeping the topic of Evolution-Creation in the public eye. For the Theistic Evolutionist, who interprets the evidence in support of Evolution, a May 5, 2005 Earthtimes.org article, "Missing link in dinosaur evolution found" ---New Window, which describes a new species, falcarius utahensis (half-raptor and half-herbivore), i.e., "dinosaurs called maniraptorans, from which birds are believed to have evolved," demonstrates the need of the Evolutionist to provide a progression from one species to another, whether it be from dinosaur to bird or from ape to man. As a response to Evolution, Dr. Walter Brown (1937- ) of the Center for Scientific Creation has graciously provided an online edition of his book, In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood ---New Window, where he attempts to present a scientific basis for Creation, as well as to scientifically answer many of the objections of the Evolutionists to Creation. "Through Faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Hebrews 11:3). Even now, the Kansas Board of Education has been "taking evidence from anti-evolution scientists in a bid to rewrite the state’s teaching standards to ensure that pupils learn alternatives to evolution that suggest a guiding hand in the origin of life," as reported in a TimesOnline.com May 7, 2005 article, "Scientists protest as school chiefs put Darwin on trial" ---New Window.

Does the underlying philosophy of Evolution undermine the need for a Savior? The book,
Christian Men of Science: Eleven Men Who Changed the World ---New Window, by George Mulfinger and Julia Mulfinger Orozco, sets the scene for our answer. In demonstrating the compatibility of True Science with the Christian Faith, the book portrays the events that led to Dr. Walter Brown's entry into the creation movement. As a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, as well as graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, Walt Brown was more accustomed to dealing with the scientific or applied physics solution for a problem than a theological explanation, but this matter of Creation forced Dr. Brown to the conclusion that Evolution undermined the need for a Savior. Both Walt and his wife Peggy were themselves Theistic Evolutionists and knew many other fine Christians, who also believed in Evolution. With a sense of scientific respectability and due reverence for the Creator, "theistic evolution had been a comfortable compromise." Not understanding Walt's newfound enthusiasm for the subject of Creation, Peggy finally asked, "What difference does it really make?" Walt responded, "Why do we need a savior?" "To save us from our sin" was Peggy's quizzical reply. Summarizing his thoughts on the theological implications of Evolution, Walt explained, "If evolution happened, death was already occurring before man evolved. But if death came before man, and was not a consequence of Adam’s sin, then sin is a fiction. And if sin is a fiction, then why do we need Christ to save us from our sin?" The light turned on in Peggy's mind. She then realized that the passive acceptance of Evolution completely "undermined the need for a savior." If we cannot accept the Genesis account as a "factual depiction of events," then how could we accept the Scripture as the "ultimate authority" for Salvation or anything else? Or, as the Apostle Paul was so eloquently led by inspiration to say to the Romans, "Let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That Thou mightest be justified in Thy sayings, and mightest overcome when Thou art judged" (Romans 3:4). The only scientific observation of the Beginning that has been revealed is from the Creator Himself, and His Word is the only extant picture of His observations. "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the Earth? declare, if thou hast understanding" (Job 38:4). Our certainty about the beginning of everything is founded upon our certainty that the "God, that cannot lie" (Titus 1:2) has faithfully and trustworthily represented our origins in the Genesis account of the Scriptures. "1 God, Who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these Last Days spoken unto us by His Son, Whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds" (Hebrews 1:1-2).

Of course, the Theistic Evolutionist would maintain that the scientific evidence supports Evolution and that Genesis 1-11 should not be interpreted literally, but less rigorously and more figuratively. However, let us Scripturally examine the logic of Dr. Brown's explanation to his wife Peggy to see how Evolution undermines the need for a Savior.
"What saith the Scripture?" (Romans 4:3). The gist of Dr. Brown's reasoning was either: (1) If Evolution is true, then death was already present before man evolved, or (2) If Creation is true, then death did not take place until man had sinned. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our LORD" (Romans 6:23). What did the Genesis account describe? The Creator promised Adam death, if he disobeyed, i.e., "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" (Genesis 2:17). The Genesis account does not describe death until after man sinned. Following Adam and Eve's sinful disobedience of the LORD's commandment, Scripture records the introduction of physical suffering and death: (1) sorrow, i.e., "Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children" (Genesis 3:16), (2) labour, i.e., "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life" (Genesis 3:17), (3) murder, i.e., "And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him" (Genesis 4:8), and (4) the new, normal Genealogy of Death, i.e., "And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died" (Genesis 5:5). We now accept as normal a world of pain, sorrow, suffering, and death, all because our First Parents sinned. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). It is the emphatic statement of the New Testament that "sin entered into the world, and death by sin." And, why should sin precede either physical death or spiritual death? The Creator is the Head of the Moral Government of the Universe, i.e., Christ is "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" (Revelation 19:16). His rule is the Law of Love, i.e., "37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:37-39). Sin or transgression in His Government is to violate or break the Law of Love, i.e., "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the Law: for sin is the transgression of the Law" (1John 3:4). The penalty or punishment for sin is to earn the wage of death, i.e., the "wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Since Adam lived to the age of 930 years old, he must have immediately died a spiritual death, when he sinned. And, he evidently began the physical process of dying that resulted in his final physical death at the age of 930. So, death is always the necessary consequence of sin, while sin is not necessarily the consequence of death. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20).

Notice that Dr. Brown accepted the literal interpretation or concept of the Bible that the wage, result, or consequence of sin is death-- the
"wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). From the vantage of accepting the plain statements of Scripture, e.g., "Thy Word is Truth" (John 17:17), he correctly looked at the context of the Genesis account of Creation to see if the Scriptural evidence indicated the presence of death before Adam and Eve sinned. You will notice everything that God created, i.e., "it was good" (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25) or "it was very good" (Genesis 1:31), and that death and its consequences of pain in childbearing (Genesis 3:16) and sorrow in earning a living (Genesis 3:17) were not enumerated until after Adam and Eve had clearly sinned. "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat" (Genesis 3:6). Sin then has become man's chief problem, necessitating man to come under God's judgment and wrath. "For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18). Dr. Brown correctly reasoned that the Theistic Evolution rejection of the Creationist scenario of Creation-man-sin-death was tantamount to weakening or undermining the need for a Savior, if the penalty of death was already being executed before man had even violated the Law of Love. Instead, it is clear that God could not have wisely done more or differently than what He has done in His dealings with man, i.e., "1 Now will I sing to my Wellbeloved a song of my Beloved touching His vineyard. My Wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: 2 And He fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and He looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. 3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt Me and My vineyard. 4 What could have been done more to My vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?" (Isaiah 5:1-4). How sincere would be God's offer to save us, if His penalty of death was already sentenced and put into effect upon Innocent Adam and Eve, even before their Original Sin? "That be far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from Thee: Shall not the Judge of All the Earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). If God unfairly penalized man with the penalty of death, even before Adam and Eve had committed their Original Sin, how could that breed confidence in the Justice of God? And yet, the very foundation of man's acceptability with God is based upon man being able to trust God. "But without Faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). God's conduct and character must be beyond reproach. And, they are. Christ, Who is the "Wisdom of God" (1Corinthians 1:24), hates the evil way and perverse mouth. "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate" (Proverbs 8:13). If God did not rigorously police His Kingdom, then it would not be true that "every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward" (Hebrews 2:2). God has fairly warned us all, "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23).

There are still many scientific issues that puzzle both the Theistic Evolutionists and the Biblical Creationists, which can be better addressed as scientific tools and opportunities become available. Dr. Walter Brown has dedicated himself to advocating and demonstrating the viability of Scientific Creation-- as demonstrated by his Hydroplate Theory, which establishes a catastrophic flood as the defining geological event of the Earth. Of course, without Dr. Brown's foundational appreciation of the Word of God in the issue of Creation and his desire to promote the cause of Christ, his admirable scientific explanation could only be for him (at best)
"wood, hay, stubble" (1Corinthians 3:12); but, of course, "we are persuaded better things of" (Hebrews 6:9) him. Today, to be a Creationist does not necessarily imply a strong, Biblical belief basis; nonetheless, Scientific Creation supports and confirms the Faithfulness of God to man as revealed in the Genesis account. "Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a Faithful Creator" (1Peter 4:19). If the God of Love so faithfully provided an Earthly Paradise in the Garden of Eden to Adam and Eve, then why shouldn't we trust such a Faithful Creator? Even more astounding is the realization that the Almighty God willingly forgave and covered our Sinful First Parents-- the LORD God made "coats of skins, and clothed them" (Genesis 3:22)-- making possible their acceptance with Him again, i.e., "without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). The great wonder of having a Savior such as Jesus Christ is that we need Him so much! "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Jesus is the "Desire of All Nations" (Haggai 2:7) and the "Altogether Lovely" (Song of Solomon 5:16) One. "Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded" (1Peter 2:6). All of this is based upon the understanding that it was our sin that caused our condition of death and not His "premature execution" of the penalty of death that brought upon us all the misery and suffering in the world. "For every man shall bear his own burden" (Galatians 6:5). Instead, our God should be greatly praised for the Wisdom and Power of His Creative Acts. "1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise Him in the heights. 2 Praise ye Him, all His angels: praise ye Him, all His hosts. 3 Praise ye Him, sun and moon: praise Him, all ye stars of light. 4 Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. 5 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for He commanded, and they were created. 6 He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: He hath made a decree which shall not pass. 7 Praise the LORD from the Earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: 8 Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling His Word: 9 Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: 10 Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl: 11 Kings of the Earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the Earth: 12 Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: 13 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for His name alone is excellent; His glory is above the Earth and Heaven. 14 He also exalteth the horn of His people, the praise of all His Saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto Him. Praise ye the LORD" (Psalm 148:1-14).

Maranatha!


[For a greater appreciation of the Scripture, which gives us a more sure understanding of the Beginning, you are invited to read "
Seven Reasons Why I Believe the Bible is the Word of God" ---New Window by Dr. Ian R. K. Paisley. Also, our editorial, "Survival of the Fittest" ---New Window, attempts to Scripturally discuss the Natural Selection or Survival of the Fittest "mechanism" that "drives Darwin's Theory of Evolution" in contrast to "God as the agent of change."]

.
Tom Stewart


Next article "From the Editor's Desktop"



back

Section Index for Fellowship


Readers are permitted and encouraged to copy and freely share this article with others.


What's New

.
Homepage Holy Bible .Jehovah Jesus Timeline .Prophecy Philadelphia Fellowship Promises Stories Poetry Links
WhatSaithTheScripture.com
Purpose ||.What's New || Tribulation Topics || Download Page || Today's Entry
Topical Links: Salvation || Catholicism || Sound Doctrine || Prayer
Privacy Policy
.