Creation & Evolution
Worldviews at War
My Family
Not a Side Issue
Brief History of Evolution
Disguised Materialism
Materialism
“The essential feature of this belief
is that everything in nature arose
spontaneously by a process of self
transformation without the necessity
of supernatural intervention. Julian
Huxley once said: "the whole of
reality is evolution, a single process
of self…”
Adopted from: Dr. Menton, http://www.gennet.org/facts/metro21.html
Thales (625-546 BC)
Jump
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/PictDisplay/Thales.html
The French Revolution
James Hutton
From: http://www.strangescience.net/hutton.htm
Erasmus Darwin
From: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/Edarwin.html
Organic life beneath the shoreless waves
Was born and nurs'd in ocean's pearly caves;
First forms minute, unseen by spheric glass,
Move on the mud, or pierce the watery mass;
These, as successive generations bloom,
New powers acquire and larger limbs assume;
Whence countless groups of vegetation
spring,
And breathing realms of fin and feet and wing.
Erasmus Darwin. The Temple of Nature. 1802.
Sir Charles Lyell
The Foundation
Uniformitarianism:
The Present is the
key to the past
Charles Darwin
“When Darwin published his book, it
created a tremendous sensation; it
seemed to be the key for which the
whole world was waiting…In the
hundred years since the publication
of Darwin our opinion of Darwin has
never been so high as it is now.”
The Ideas of Biology (New York; Harper & Brothers, 1962), p 9
“We have a prior
commitment, a commitment
to materialism ….Moreover,
that we cannot allow a
Divine Foot in the door.”
Richard Lewontin, Billions and Billions of Demons, The New York Review of Books, Jan.
9, 1997
Naturalistic Bias
“Even if all the data point
to an intelligent designer,
such a hypothesis is
excluded from science
because it is not
naturalistic.”
Scott C. Todd, World Magazine, Feb. 26, 2000, pg 32
“And even as they did not
want to retain God in their
knowledge, God gave them
over to a reprobate mind, to
do those things which are
not convenient.” Rom. 1:28
Defining Evolution
Evolution & Biology
“Gradual
accumulation of
adaptations over
time.”
Biology The Dynamics of Life, 2000
“Biological evolution, simply put, is descent
with modification. This definition
encompasses small-scale evolution
(changes in gene frequency in a population
from one generation to the next) and largescale evolution (the descent of different
species from a common ancestor over
many generations). Evolution helps us to
understand the history of life.”
http://evolution.berkeley. edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_02
Your Family Tree
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_03
Types of Evolution
• Types of Evolution:
– Cosmic – How the Universe came to be
– Stellar – How stars form
– Chemical – How the Chemicals came to be
– Organic – How Life began
– Macro – Going from One Kind to Another
– Micro- Small adaptations that create variety
in the Kinds
Two Types of Science
• Operational (True Science)
– Can be reproduced in a Lab
– Based on observations
– Little to no bias
• Historical (Science Falsely so Called)
– Can not be reproduced in the lab
– Based on assumptions
– Biased
Java Man Find
What is a Species?
“Groups of
organisms that can
interbreed and
produce fertile
offspring.” Biology
Dynamics of Life, 2000.
Does the Bible use the Word
Species?
“So God created great sea
creatures and every living thing
that moves, with which the waters
abounded, according to their kind,
and every winged bird according
to its kind.” Gen. 1:21
Variation Within a Kind
• Kinds are created
with a certain
amount of
adaptability
• This adaptability
allows a kind to
survive in a
hostile
environment
Jan. 2002
Dog Kind
Limitation to how far they can vary, dogs will always produce dogs.
Where Creation Science Draws the Line
• “The central idea of biological
evolution is that all life on Earth
shares a common ancestor, just as
you and your cousins share a
common grandmother.”
• “Evolution means that we're all distant
cousins: humans and oak trees,
hummingbirds and whales.”
Both Quotes From: http://evolution.berkeley. edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_02
1 Cor. 15:39
“All flesh is not the same
flesh: but there is one
kind of flesh of men,
another flesh of beasts,
another of fishes, and
another of birds.
Moral Implications of Evolution
Image of God
• “So God created man
in his own image”
Gen. 1:27
–“Man was to bear
God's image, both in
outward resemblance
and in character.”
PP 46
Dominion
• “have dominion over
the fish of the sea,
over the birds of the
air, and over every
living thing that
moves on the face
of the earth.” Gen.
1:28
“And changed the glory
of the uncorruptible God
into an image made like
to corruptible man, and
to birds, and fourfooted
beasts, and creeping
things. Wherefore God
also gave them up to
uncleanness through
the lusts of their own
hearts, to dishonour
their own bodies
between themselves:
“Who changed the truth of God
into a lie, and worshipped and
served the creature more than
the Creator, who is blessed for
ever. Amen. For this cause
God gave them up unto vile
affections: for even their
women did change the natural
use into that which is against
nature:” Rom 1:21-26
A Conflict of Authority
Man’s Fallible Word
vs.
God’s Infallible Word
Ps. 118:8
“It is better to trust in the
Lord than to put
confidence in man.”
A Test for Reliable Scientific
Theories
Does it contradict the Bible?
Viewed from a Religious Standpoint
“Science, in order to be
fully appreciated, must be
viewed from a religious
standpoint. Then all will
worship the God of
science.” Manuscript 30,
1896.
True Science
The Earth Flat?
• This Greek idea that was accepted by
the early church was never fully tested
to all scripture.
• Is. 40:22 “It is he that sitteth upon the
circle of the earth, and the inhabitants
thereof are as grasshoppers; that
stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain,
and spreadeth them out as a tent to
dwell in:”
God is Still Upholding all Things
“Who being the brightness of his
glory, and the express image of
his person, and upholding all
things by the word of his
power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the
right hand of the Majesty on high:”
Heb. 1:3
Self Assembly not Possible
“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.
Heb. 11:3
“Moses wrote under the guidance of the
Spirit of God, and a correct theory of
geology will never claim discoveries that
cannot be reconciled with his statements.
The idea that many stumble over, that
God did not create matter when He
brought the world into existence, limits
the power of the Holy One.“ 3SM. Pg.
307
Creation Science Differs from Uniformitarianism
• Revelation is the key to the past
• Certain world altering events have
dramatically changed the way
things look & interact
–Creation
–Corruption (Sin)
–Catastrophe (Flood)
Which Worldview is
Religious?
What is Religion
“Sometimes used interchangeably with
faith or belief system—is commonly
defined as belief concerning the
supernatural, sacred, or divine; and the
moral codes, practices, values, institutions
and rituals associated with such belief. In
its broadest sense some have defined it
as the sum total of answers given to
explain humankind's relationship with
the universe.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion
Religious Commonalities
• Basic assumptions that are not
empirically provable
• Require a certain amount of faith in
those assumptions
• Affects how the person acts and relates
to the world around them
• Answers questions about where we fit
into the Universe
Christian Assumptions
• “In the beginning God”
(Gen 1:1)
• The Bible is the
inspired word of God (2
Tim. 3:16)
• God is a rewarder to
those that diligently
seek Him (Heb. 11:6)
Assumptions of Evolution
• Unknown chemicals in the primordial past…through...
• Unknown processes which no longer
exist…produced…
• Unknown life forms which are not to be found but
could through…
• Unknown reproduction methods spawn new life…in
an…
• Unknown atmospheric composition…in an…
• Unknown oceanic soup complex…at an…
• Unknown time and place.
Dr. Henry Morris
“What science educators propose to teach
as “evolution”, and label as fact, is based
not upon any incontrovertible empirical
evidence (scientifically proven facts) but
upon a highly controversial philosophical
presupposition. The controversy over
creation and evolution is therefore not
going to go away as people become better
educated on the subject”
“On the contrary, the more people
learn about philosophical content
of what scientist are calling the
“fact of evolution” the less they
are going to like it.” (Phillip E.
Johnson, The Dogma of
Evolution)
Science Falsely So Called
“O Timothy keep that which
is committed to thy trust,
avoiding profane and vain
babblings, and oppositions
of science falsely so called.”
1 Tim. 6:20
“…the theory of evolution
itself is a theory
universally accepted not
because it can be proved
by logical coherent
evidence to be true but
because the only
alternative is special
creation, which is clearly
incredible.” D.M.S. Watson, “Adaptation,”
Nature, August 10, 1929, vol. 124, #3119, pg. 231, 233
Though One Rise from the Dead
“But he said to him, If
they do not hear Moses
and the prophets,
neither will they be
persuaded though one
rise from the dead.”
Luke 16:31
The State of Arkansas &
Creationism
Popperian Test
• It is guided by natural law.
• It has to be explanatory by reference to
natural law.
• It is testable against the empirical world.
• Its conclusions are tentative (i.e. are not
necessarily the final word).
• It is falsifiable.
What about the Fundamental
Assumptions of Atheistic Evolution
Is it guided by natural law?
F
Is it explained by reference to all natural law?
F
Is it is testable against the empirical world?
F
Are its conclusions tentative?
P
Is it is falsifiable?
F
Which one is Religious?
Evolution
Creation
Life can arise from
nonliving Matter
The World is Billions of
Years Old
Man’s Ability to Know
Truth in and of Himself
No Absolutes, Man sets
the Standards
God Created Matter
Both Views are
Religious
The World is Thousands
of Years Old
God leads us into Truth
Absolutes God sets the
Standards
So if they have no Evidence
Why don’t they Believe?
• 2 Tim. 4:3-4 “For the time will come
when they will not endure sound
doctrine; but after their own lusts
shall they heap to themselves
teachers, having itching ears; And
they shall turn away their ears from
the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables.”
• Jude 16 “These are
murmurers, complainers,
walking after their own
lusts; and their mouth
speaketh great swelling
words, having men's
persons in admiration
because of advantage.”
2 Peter 3:3 “Knowing this first,
that there shall come in the last
days scoffers, walking after their
own lusts, And saying, Where is
the promise of his coming? for
since the fathers fell asleep, all
things continue as they were
from the beginning of the
creation.”
“It is not enough to believe in law and
force, in things, that have no pity, and
never hear the cry for help. We need to
know of an almighty arm that will hold us
up, of an infinite Friend that pities us. We
need to clasp a hand that is warm to trust
in a heart full of tenderness. And even so
God has in His word revealed Himself.” Ed
133
Which Religion will you
Choose?