Evolution, Part 1

“This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”

Sir Isaac Newton

Kirk Cameron’s Comment

Evolution is a religion that is believed by men and women, boys and girls, intellectuals and fools. I was one of them until I was willing to investigate the facts.

Questions & Objections

Lesson

The Book of Genesis tells us that God created everything—nothing “evolved.” Every creature was given the ability to reproduce after its own kind as is stated ten times in Genesis 1. Dogs do not produce cats. Neither do cats and dogs have a common ancestry. Dogs began as dogs and are still dogs. They vary in species from Chihuahuas to Saint Bernards, but you will not find a “dat” or a “cog” (part cat/dog) throughout God’s creation. Frogs don’t reproduce oysters, cows don’t have lambs, and pregnant pigs don’t give birth to rabbits. God made monkeys as monkeys, and man as man.

According to evolutionist Stephen J. Gould, professor of geology and paleontology at Harvard University, “This notion of species as ‘natural kinds’ fits splendidly with creationist tenets of a pre-Darwinian age. Louis Agassiz even argued that species are God’s individual thoughts, made incarnate so that we might perceive both His majesty and His message. Species, Agassiz wrote, are ‘instituted by the Divine Intelligence as the categories of his mode of thinking.’ But how could a division of the organic world into discrete entities be justified by an evolutionary theory that proclaimed ceaseless change as the fundamental fact of nature?”

Each creature brings forth after its own kind. That’s no theory; that’s a fact. Why then should we believe that man came from another species? If evolution were true, it would prove that the Bible is false. However, the whole of creation stands in contradiction to the theory of evolution. Evolution is science fiction.

While we do see what’s called “microevolution”—variations within species (such as different types of dogs)—we don’t see any evidence of “macroevolution”—one species evolving into another species. Microevolution is observable, while macroevolution takes a tremendous leap of faith. If Christians had as much faith in God as atheists have in the theory of evolution, we would see revival. Like little children, atheists believe without a shred of evidence. In The Answers Book, Ken Ham writes:

Adaptation and natural selection are biological facts; amoeba-to-man evolution is not. Natural selection can only work on the genetic information present in a population of organisms—it cannot create new information. For example, since no known reptiles have genes for feathers, no amount of selection will produce a feathered reptile. Mutations in genes can only modify or eliminate existing structures, not create new ones.

Evolutionists also claim that the human body has “vestigial organs”—worthless leftovers from evolution—such as the appendix and tailbone. The truth is that these do have a purpose: the appendix is part of the human immune system, and the “tailbone” actually supports muscles that are necessary for daily bodily functions.

The Peppered Moth: Evolution Comes Unglued

According to Mark Varney, “Almost all textbooks on evolution include the peppered moth as the classic example of evolution by natural selection. There are two types of peppered moths: a light-colored speckled variety and a dark variety. Most peppered moths in England were the light variety, which were camouflaged as they rested on tree trunks. The black variety stood out against the light bark and were easily seen and eaten by birds. But as the industrial revolution created pollution that covered tree trunks with soot, the dark variety was camouflaged better, so birds ate more of the light moths.

“The peppered moth story has been trumpeted since the 1950s as proof positive that evolution by natural selection is true. In 1978, one famous geneticist called the peppered moth ‘the clearest case in which a conspicuous evolutionary process has actually been observed.’

“However, this ‘clearest case’ of purported Darwinian evolution by natural selection is not true! The nocturnal peppered moth does not rest on the trunks of trees during the day. In fact, despite over 40 years of intense field study, only two peppered moths have ever been seen naturally resting on tree trunks!

“So where did all the evolution textbook pictures of peppered moths on different colored tree trunks come from? They were all staged. The moths were glued, pinned, or placed onto tree trunks and their pictures taken. The scientists who used these pictures in their books to prove evolution all conveniently forgot to tell their readers this fact. If the best example of evolution is not true, how about all their other supposed examples? It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”

Aside from the pictures being staged, consider what is actually occurring in this “conspicuous evolutionary process”: Before the moth’s environment changed, some of the moths were mostly white, and some were mostly black. After their environment changed, some were mostly white, and some were mostly black. No new color or variety came into being, yet we have supposedly just witnessed evolution. Even if the “evidence” had not been faked, it still does not show anything evolving—except the evolutionary tale.

Evolutionist John Reader (Missing Links) explains this biased interpretation: “Ever since Darwin’s work ... preconceptions have led evidence by the nose.” Harvard professor and evolutionist Steven Jay Gould admits this scientific bias: “Facts do not ‘speak for themselves’; they are read in light of theory.”

Even Charles Darwin concedes, “Alas, how frequent, how almost universal it is in an author to persuade himself of the truth of his own dogmas.” When scientists proclaim the theory of evolution as “fact,” keep in mind that they are not unbiased observers who are simply reporting the evidence. Men devised the theory of evolution precisely because it eliminates the need for God. If mankind has no Creator to whom he is accountable, each man can do what is right in his own eyes.

H.S. Lipson, professor of physics at the University of Manchester, UK, stated, “In fact, evolution became in a sense a scientific religion; almost all scientists have accepted it and many are prepared to ‘bend’ their observations to fit in with it.”

In the Foreword to Origin of Species (100th edition), Sir Arthur Keith admitted, “Evolution is unproved and unprovable. We believe it only because the only alternative is special creation, and that is unthinkable.”

Preacher’s Progress

A sample witnessing conversation, written in the style of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress.

Feathers for Arrows

A magnificent doe stands with its foal and drinks cool water from a mountain stream. The sun sparkles off the dew on deep green leaves of native tree branches. The mother gently caresses her offspring as it begins to drink from the brook. The scene is one of incredible serenity ... the picture of innocence. What more could optimize the beauty of God’s creation?

Suddenly a mountain lion leaps from a tree and digs its sharp claws deep into the mother’s neck, dragging the helpless creature to the ground. As it holds its terrified prey in a death grip, its powerful jaws bite into the jugular vein, turning the mountain stream crimson with the creature’s blood.

It is a strong consolation to know that this isn’t the way God planned it in the beginning. Animals were not created to devour each other; they were created to be vegetarian (Genesis 1:29, 30). The original creation was “good” and was not filled with violence and bloodshed. We live in a fallen creation (Romans 8:20–23). As a result of Adam’s sin, the perfect creation was cursed and death was introduced into the world (Romans 5:12). The day will come when the entire creation will be delivered from the “bondage of corruption” and there will be no more curse. In the new heaven and new earth, “the wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock ... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain” (Isaiah 65:25; see also Isaiah 11:6–9).

Words of Comfort

I once helped a middle-aged man get into his vehicle. The poor man was from out of state and had locked his keys in his truck. As I was walking by, he approached me and asked if I had any wire. When I found out what the problem was, I rushed home and grabbed a thin wire coat hanger. With a little twisting, he fashioned it into a tool, maneuvered it through his window, and opened the door.

It worked so well, as I walked away I thought, That was great. I would be a fool not to keep a wire coat hanger in my van (in case I ever locked myself out). That was intelligent. Think about it.

Questions

1. Does an explosion create beauty and order, or chaos and disorder?
2. Define microevolution and macroevolution. Which one is not scientific?
3. In natural selection, can an organism create new genetic information?
4. What are some of the problems with the peppered moth story, supposedly “proof positive” of evolution by natural selection?
5. How would you counter the argument that scientists are unbiased observers who are simply reporting the evidence?
6. Why is it a good idea to go through God’s Law with an evolutionist?

Answers to these review questions are provided in the back of the printed book / source PDF.

Memory Verse

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Isaiah 64:6

Last Words

Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1587) prayed fervently for peace in the world and for cruel Queen Elizabeth. Before the death stroke beheaded her, she exclaimed: “Like as Thy arms, Lord Jesus Christ, were stretched out upon the cross, even so receive me with the outstretched arms of Thy mercy.”

Mary, Queen of Scots