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Paul Smithson
The Bible teaches that God created man in his present form in
the beginning (Gen. 1:26). The theory of evolution says that
humans developed millions of years later from less advanced
forms of life. Another theory, one of which Pope John Paul II
recently declared his acceptance, is theistic evolution. This
theory states that God initiated life on earth and allowed
evolutionary principles to bring man to where he is today. In
other words, God guided the process outlined by Darwin.
The Scripture however states, "For in six days the Lord
made the heavens and there earth, the sea and all that is in
them, and rested on the seventh day..." (Ex 20:11). The
question is, 'If in six days God created everything in the
heavens and on the earth, what does that leave out that God did
not create?' The obvious answer is, "It doesn't leave anything
out!" The animals were created, according to the Scriptures on
days 5 & 6. They state man was created on day 6. These are
literal days; for after each creation it is stated that "there
was evening and there was morning , one day", or "a second day,"
etc. Gen. 2:1-2 states, "Thus the heavens and the earth were
completed, and all their host. By the seventh day God completed
His work which He had done..." It is true that God allowed
variation in the gene pools of animals and humans. However,
God's creating of kinds and types was finished.
The opening verses of the Bible speak of the creative word
of God. God "created", i.e. when God speaks; it occurs. He
said, "Let there be..." and there was. These passages do not
teach that God said, "Let there be a slow development through an
evolutionary process over a period of millions of years."
The Scriptures teach that man was made from the "dust of
the ground" (Gen. 2:7). Evolution teaches that man evolved from
life forms that developed in the ocean.
If God allowed man to come into existence through the
evolutionary process then how is the creation of Eve explained?
The Scriptures teach that she was created by God out of one of
Adam's ribs (Gen. 2:22). The consequences of denying the truth
of Gen. 2:22 is to deny the validity and authority of Jesus
Christ; for Jesus, quoting from the book of Genesis declared,
"But at the beginning of creation God made them male and
female'" (Mk. 10:6). There is no way to accept both Jesus' words
and a theory which includes the process of evolution.
Thus, the term "theistic evolution" is actually an oxymoron.
"Theism" is the belief in the existence of God, especially
belief in a personal God as Creator and Ruler of the world.
"Evolution" is the theory that life developed by chance out of
inorganic material and then grew over a period of millions of
years in complexity and variety into all the species we have
today. Though much more could be stated, it should be obvious
that theistic evolution and the Scriptures cannot be
harmonized.
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