Evolution vs Creation

Introduction

You see the question on the screen before you that’s really what we’re dealing with tonight. Where did you come from? What was your origin? And I don’t mean by that Beaumont, Texas. I mean if you trace your family ancestry back far enough, where did you come from? Is that a vital question? Well, ladies and gentlemen, it only makes all the difference in the world, that’s all. It is only a matter of life and death. It is only a question that determines whether or not you have any basis for purpose for your existence. Because how you answer that question greatly determines the answer to the question, why are you here? And why you are here makes all the difference. And I must tell you, if you take some views that are taken about this question, there really isn’t any basis for answering the why question very well at all.

1. Genesis 1: A Distinct Creative Act by God

So I want to turn our attention first of all to this book, which I believe is the Word of God. We’re going to start in Genesis chapter 1 and read just a few verses here as a way of beginning. Genesis 1, verse 1 says, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters, then God said, Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

And this magnificent account of the creation of this world continues day by day until the sixth day, I’d like for us to read a couple of verses there, beginning in verse 26. Then God said, Let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them.

Genesis 1 is very clear about that. Genesis 1 teaches that you came from a distinct creative act by God. That he created the first human beings distinct from all other creatures in his own image. And that he set them to have dominion over the rest of his creation. That’s what Genesis 1 teaches very plainly.

2. The Testimony of Things That Are Made

If you are here tonight and you are convinced that this book from which I have just read is God’s word, then what I have just read to you is sufficient for you to answer this question. And for many of you tonight, maybe all of you, that would be sufficient. Because God said it in his word. You surely understand, however, that there are many people who do not believe this is God’s word. They have not become convinced of that, like you have.

For, since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power in Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. If I understand that passage, it is teaching us that there is no human being that has the capacity to think that has any excuse for missing that there is a God. Not on the basis in this scripture of what the Bible said, but on the basis, verse 20 says, of things that are made. In other words, the argument made in this passage is one can examine things that are made and come to the conclusion there had to be a Maker that was powerful and that was divine.

It is to that argument that I turned this evening. And I want it very clearly understood by this group of people, that as I turn to the testimony of things that are made, I am doing so on the basis of an argument that God made in this book. And it is to me a powerful expression of the existence of God, and it is a way to convince people who are not convinced that God exists, provided by God Himself. Now, I suspect that most of you in this audience tonight, if not all, are already believers in God. But if you’re here tonight and you have question about that, or you doubt God’s existence, I want you to know I’m thankful that you’re here. I appreciate the willingness to come in a setting like this and to listen to some reasoning with regard to that setting.

I’m going to do my best to be respectful and to be honorable in this presentation. And I do not wish to misrepresent anyone or anything. And I’m thankful that you’re willing at least to think about it. If you’re here tonight and you’re already a believer in God, then what I hope to do, a couple of things. I hope to show you some powerful lines of evidence that you yourself can use to help convince non-believers. And secondly, I hope to shore up your own faith and the great God who made us. But there’s a third thing I’d like to do. I’d like for you to try to put yourself in the other fellow’s place. And to try to think like someone who is not a believer in God.

I believe that is a valuable thing to do in order to help folks. So those are some of the goals I have tonight. That’s a pretty hefty set of goals for only four hours of speaking.

I just wanted to get you prepared.

3. Turn to God’s Other Testimony

So, for the rest of our time this evening, for the most part, I’m going to set this book right here, and I want to turn to God’s other testimony. This is a powerful testimony. And I certainly have nothing against using biblical arguments. But God Himself said there’s another testimony. And it seems to me it is the most powerful testimony for one who doesn’t accept this yet, and certainly doesn’t accept that God exists. So for the next little while, I want to turn with you to a line of reasoning based on things that are made. And so I want to start this way. I want to recommend some books to you. In this subject, there’s a whole lot of material out there now, and for you folks living here in the year 2000, you’re very fortunate if you’re interested in this subject, that there’s been more good material published on this in the last ten years than all the subjects put together, all the material put together before that.

And I want to show you a few things. We also have a bibliography available here, a partial one if you’re interested. Brother Caldwell will have it, and you can get copies made of that. But there’s some books I just want to show you here. Here’s one called The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins, from which I’m going to quote in just a moment. Richard Dawkins is a modern day preacher for the evolutionary view. And he makes no bones about it, as you will see. If you want to get into the evolutionist’s way of looking and how you got here, this is a wonderful book to do that. In fact, I’d recommend it to you so you can learn the other fellow’s position. A second one that I’d like to recommend is a book called Life Itself by Francis Crick.

Francis Crick was the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA. Extremely knowledgeable man in the chemistry of life. And he wrote a book about life, which we’ll refer to a little later tonight. Then, of all the books I’m recommending to you, this one I think is the absolute best for young people. It’s written to be a supplement to your biology textbook. It’s called a pandas and people. And you really ought to have this in your library for the Coldwell here at the church building, I think. Because it’s a wonderful approach to this subject. And I’d certainly recommend it to those of you who are studying with your children or your grandchildren as they try to face these issues. Another one is called Darwin’s Black Box by Michael Beehe.

Michael Beehe is from a Roman Catholic background. So there’s nothing about his religion that would keep him from believing in the evolutionary theory of life, seeing as how the Pope himself has blessed it. But Michael Beehe has come to quite a different conclusion as a biochemist. And this is one of the most powerful new books that you can read. I highly recommend it to you. And then there’s another one you ought to read if you’re into this subject at all, and that’s called the book, The Origin of the Species. Now, one of the things I’m going to do tonight, I’m not going to ask you to speak out, but I do want a little bit of audience participation. I wonder in this audience, how many of you have ever read Charles Darwin’s book, Origin of the Species?

Raise your hand. Okay, I see about five hands. I’m not saying you need to read this to be saved, folks. But if you’re going to study this subject we’re studying tonight, this book changed the world when it came out in 1859. And within less than 30 years, the worldview of the scientific community had shifted. In fact, Richard Dawkins says in this book, in his introduction, that Charles Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist. And believe me, ladies and gentlemen, associated with the evolutionary view of life is the view that there is no God. And certainly connects with it. And in this gentleman’s opinion, it allows you to be an atheist and realize it’s