Creation Versus Evolution
Creation is an important topic in the Scriptures. It is not a difficult subject to study nor is it difficult to determine the teaching of creation in the Bible. The great Book of God opens with this clearly stated sentence, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). In Exodus 20:11, the Bible states: “For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day.” The Psalmist declared the glory of the Creator and His creation by writing:
By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made,
And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap:
He layeth up the deeps in store-houses.
Let all the earth fear Jehovah:
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
For he spake, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast. (Psalm 33:6-9)
Jesus proved the truth of these creation accounts when He restated part of the revelation recorded in Genesis 1:27 in Matthew 19. “Have ye not read, that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh?” (Matthew 19:4-5). But there exist two basic different and very opposite explanations for the origin the universe as well as man and all other life in the universe. To hold to either one requires one to reject the other or else be caught in a hopeless contradiction. They represent entirely different worldviews.
The term “worldview,” as defined by Wikipedia, refers to the framework of ideas or beliefs through which an individual interprets the world and how he interacts in it. It could also be referred to as one’s world outlook.
One with an evolutionary worldview would interpret all the things in his life in accordance with the teachings in the theory of evolution. This theory states that the universe came into being without any supernatural oversight and that all the life and substance in the universe came into existence by natural processes and chance over a period of much time, without any outside intervention. This theory also states that all living things evolved from a single-celled, living organism that was formed from something non-living through some unknown process, again over much time and without any intervention from anything outside of or greater than the universe.
One with a creationist worldview would interpret all the things in his life in accordance with the teachings of God’s Holy Word, the Bible, and the creation events recorded there. The concept of creation teaches that an all-powerful, all-knowing God deliberately created the universe, the earth and all the life on the earth, in accordance with His own specific design for His own desired purpose, utilizing a supernatural process which He no longer uses today.
The idea of evolution includes the gradual appearance of our current complex human life form, evolving from simpler life forms over great amounts of time, all resulting from some non-living matter. The creation concept includes the sudden existence of our current human life form. It is indeed difficult for one to
comprehend such an awesome power as the only true and living God and His ability to speak the world and all of its life forms into existence. But it is even more difficult for one to comprehend the idea of something living coming into existence from something non-living, without any supernatural intervention, and growing into a human being over time.
History tells us of Louis Pasteur’s work in the field of biology, many years ago, refuting the wrong thinking that life arises on its own from nonliving sources (spontaneous generation). The theory that life comes only from previous life of its own kind was proven experimentally by Mr. Pasteur and became known as the Law of Biogenesis. This law is still widely accepted today, even by many supporters of evolution, and has never been refuted, even once, by someone creating something living from some nonliving substance. This law, simply stated, says that giraffes give rise to giraffes, birds to birds, fish to fish, corn to corn, and so on. This concept is clearly seen in the Bible in Genesis 1:11-12, “And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and
fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good.” Notice that God’s Word tells us that the grass, herb and fruit trees yielded after their own kind.
As we outlined in the beginning of this article, creation and evolution are totally contradictory theories. One cannot hold to one without totally rejecting the other, unless he contradicts himself. Man has tried in vain though to develop a different theory called Theistic Evolution, which would include aspects of both Creation and the Theory of Evolution. But to be pleasing to God, one must accept His revelation, the Bible, and work to rightly divide it and live in accordance with its teachings.
By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made,
And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap:
He layeth up the deeps in store-houses.
Let all the earth fear Jehovah:
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
For he spake, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast. (Psalm 33:6-9)
Jesus proved the truth of these creation accounts when He restated part of the revelation recorded in Genesis 1:27 in Matthew 19. “Have ye not read, that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh?” (Matthew 19:4-5). But there exist two basic different and very opposite explanations for the origin the universe as well as man and all other life in the universe. To hold to either one requires one to reject the other or else be caught in a hopeless contradiction. They represent entirely different worldviews.
The term “worldview,” as defined by Wikipedia, refers to the framework of ideas or beliefs through which an individual interprets the world and how he interacts in it. It could also be referred to as one’s world outlook.
One with an evolutionary worldview would interpret all the things in his life in accordance with the teachings in the theory of evolution. This theory states that the universe came into being without any supernatural oversight and that all the life and substance in the universe came into existence by natural processes and chance over a period of much time, without any outside intervention. This theory also states that all living things evolved from a single-celled, living organism that was formed from something non-living through some unknown process, again over much time and without any intervention from anything outside of or greater than the universe.
One with a creationist worldview would interpret all the things in his life in accordance with the teachings of God’s Holy Word, the Bible, and the creation events recorded there. The concept of creation teaches that an all-powerful, all-knowing God deliberately created the universe, the earth and all the life on the earth, in accordance with His own specific design for His own desired purpose, utilizing a supernatural process which He no longer uses today.
The idea of evolution includes the gradual appearance of our current complex human life form, evolving from simpler life forms over great amounts of time, all resulting from some non-living matter. The creation concept includes the sudden existence of our current human life form. It is indeed difficult for one to
comprehend such an awesome power as the only true and living God and His ability to speak the world and all of its life forms into existence. But it is even more difficult for one to comprehend the idea of something living coming into existence from something non-living, without any supernatural intervention, and growing into a human being over time.
History tells us of Louis Pasteur’s work in the field of biology, many years ago, refuting the wrong thinking that life arises on its own from nonliving sources (spontaneous generation). The theory that life comes only from previous life of its own kind was proven experimentally by Mr. Pasteur and became known as the Law of Biogenesis. This law is still widely accepted today, even by many supporters of evolution, and has never been refuted, even once, by someone creating something living from some nonliving substance. This law, simply stated, says that giraffes give rise to giraffes, birds to birds, fish to fish, corn to corn, and so on. This concept is clearly seen in the Bible in Genesis 1:11-12, “And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and
fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good.” Notice that God’s Word tells us that the grass, herb and fruit trees yielded after their own kind.
As we outlined in the beginning of this article, creation and evolution are totally contradictory theories. One cannot hold to one without totally rejecting the other, unless he contradicts himself. Man has tried in vain though to develop a different theory called Theistic Evolution, which would include aspects of both Creation and the Theory of Evolution. But to be pleasing to God, one must accept His revelation, the Bible, and work to rightly divide it and live in accordance with its teachings.