Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
Part 6: CONCLUSION
6-A: What is Permanent?
6-B: What does it Mean to Have a Definite Starting Point for History?
6-C: Closing Remarks
6-C: Closing Remarks
Background to the Evolution Theory
Evolution theory (the macro version of it) has a big reputation for being “scientific”, but a closer look soon reveals that faith, not scientific truth, is the real basis of it. Too many aspects of it require believing in processes that cannot be seen, observed, or scientifically studied.
The natural world, as the Creation of God, has a sublime, supernatural beauty to it. And it is easy to want to worship it. Many peoples of the earth have in fact done so, not through any great fault of their own, but simply because, without having the true knowledge of God, it was natural to turn to worshiping the Creation. Ideally, though, we are supposed to worship God, not His Creation.
So nowadays something similar has happened; macro-evolution theory has emerged as the modern equivalent to the ancient religions of nature worship, adorned now with a veneer of scientific respectability. To fit the secular orientation of modern times, the old primitive belief system has re-suited itself in the guise of being “scientific” .
Our modern predisposition towards macro-evolution theory has led us into misunderstanding the true nature of our ancient heritage; this has left us with a skeptical view of God’s hand in the Creation process. We have swallowed the idea that God didn’t create the natural world but that somehow it created itself.
Pushing the Creator out of having anything to do with the natural world is just a short step away from pushing Him out of having anything to do with our personal lives. We lose the sense of responsibility or accountability that our behavior and our lives need to line up with the wishes and expectations of a Higher Power. Not in a superstitious or fearful way, but the relationship is one of trust. As a father with his children, that relationship is built on love, but that love includes a healthy measure of respect for the father who expects his children to do what is right.
Brief History of Evolution Theory
In the 1850’s the theory of evolution began to gain the attention of the world. The idea was revolutionary at the time, and this change was needed to buck the tide of conventional thinking on the question of our origins. Darwin’s concepts of natural selection and diversification of species expanded science’s understanding of how growth and change take place in the biological realm.
This quest to be open-minded in the search for truth was a powerful driving force behind the new wave of philosophical thought. And there is some merit to that line of thinking; much progress has come about because scientists were willing to think in out-of-the-box ways to find solutions for the difficulties and questions that confronted them. So that was the watchword in those days: abandon the stodgy old traditions of the superstitious past. Be open-minded and accept the new scientific discoveries.
Well, as we can see now, evolutionary thinkers were a little too open-minded and went overboard, promoting some misguided theories that are now being challenged – especially in the science of DNA genetics and in more thorough investigation of missing link fossils. The old beliefs were still good; they only needed to incorporate what was genuine in the discoveries that scientists were making in the fields of biology, archeology, geology, paleontology.
Unfortunately, the new theories and discoveries of those days caused many theorists to jump to conclusions. This in turn convinced most of the academic world that the age-old belief in Creation by God and His subsequent re-creation of the Earth in the Flood were nothing more than superstitious fables of man’s unenlightened past.
Anything that smacked of “religion” was dubbed as being non-scientific and therefore not to be trusted as a source of information. And so, the new wave of scientific thought “threw out the baby with the bathwater.” (The “baby” being faith in the Creator and His role in human and geological history; the “bathwater”, superstitious beliefs and outdated concepts of biological growth and change.)
Briefly, here is how the new wave of thought developed:
1) Evolution of Species
Charles Darwin started off with his observations about what happens to animals after entering a new environment; after a few generations they can develop new physical traits that help them to better adapt to their new surroundings. From this observation he theorized that one species could “evolve” into another species.
Darwin did not realize he was was merely observing the genetic variation (or “micro-evolution”) that God has built within creation to allow plants and animals to have more variety and adaptability within their particular genetic grouping; and this makes it easier for them to adjust to new surroundings.
Even amongst human beings, this is fairly obvious: Eskimos, for example, have developed certain features that help them survive better in a cold environment: short stature, layer of fat, etc. Black Africans have a type of skin that protects them from getting burnt under a heavy sun, whereas White people need the type of skin that can absorb better the meager amount of sunlight available in northern latitudes.
So Darwin wasn’t entirely wrong. There is a certain amount of the process of “natural selection” and “diversification-of-species” operating in the natural world. But it was a mistake to conclude that the evidence of superficial changes in species could mean there is a macro-evolutionary process going on whereby one species can cross the bounds of its genetic genome and change into another more advanced species.
From our study of DNA genetics and from scientific observation in both the fossil record and the present natural world, we know that to be a scientific impossibility. To cross the boundaries like this would cause untold confusion in the natural world, not to mention violate the original order that God had built into it long ago.
Darwin had no idea in his day about the complexity of organic matter, which has become known to us now in the modern science of genetics. Sidestepping God’s role in Creation, he did not see that the genetic variation he observed in the natural world was simply God’s in-built mechanism to allow for variety and adaptability within the originally created classes of plants and animals.
Darwin’s version – with its emphasis on survival-of-the-fittest – tended to ignore the role of the Creator; it led all too easily to justification for “racial cleansing” and creation of a “super race” – ideas that wound up having negative repercussions in our modern history.
2) Uniformitarian Geology
The other major “pillar” in evolutionary thinking is the famous geologic timetable with its millions of years of separate eras of prehistory: the Cretaceous period, the Jurassic period, and so on.
As we have learned, this was just a case of misinterpreting the trail left by the Great Flood and re-casting it into an entirely different mold. To do this, of course, required a considerable amount of ignoring the plain evidence left behind in the rocks and fossils. Poor detective work!
Where to Now?
Regrettably, in their zeal to promote evolutionary philosophy, its early proponents brought forward and established their ideas before enough facts or scientific investigation could be brought forward to disprove it; and by then it was too late.
Macro-evolutionary philosophy had captured the collective imagination of the scientific world. And it seems no amount of evidence to the contrary has been able to dislodge it; it is just as difficult now to retire this antiquated model of prehistory as it was, in Galileo’s day, to relinquish the outmoded belief in an earth-centered solar system.
Several renowned scientists, however, are standing up for the Intelligent Design model as a better explanation for the origins of the natural world. The Discovery Institute published a declaration in 2001, signed by 600 PhD scientists from around the world, stating,
“We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.”
And anther list of 3,000+ academics, scientists, and scholars who are skeptical of Darwinism was compiled by Jerry Bergman (PhD), 24 Aug, 2014.
It is a sloppy sort of wisdom that tries to frame the evolution-creation debate as an issue of science versus faith (with the implication that faith walks hand in hand with ignorance). But if there is one thing this study has tried to show, it is that science and the sacred are fully compatible. Real wisdom understands the creation-evolution debate as an issue of science AND faith versus pseudo-science (ignorance) and unbelief.
As it stands now, evolution theory (the macro version of it) has taken deep root in the collective psyche of humankind and has done much to distance us from the Divine – by undermining faith in the Sacred Records that were meant to reveal to us the work and plan of our loving God, our Creator.
At this point it might help to understand this whole controversy from a more spiritual point of view. If we could look behind the scenes, we would see the powers of Darkness as the real driving force behind evolutionary thinking. These spiritual forces have waged war throughout history to see if they can separate mankind from His benevolent Creator. And in this modern day evolutionary philosophy has been one of their main “tools of the trade”.
For there is actually nothing new about evolution. In ancient times it merely took on a different form. In those days it was common for mankind to worship the gods of nature. (Of course, this is practiced nowadays as well.) In those systems of belief, the divine powers were thought to be mostly indifferent and even hostile to the plight of humanity; they were deities who had to be placated by various rituals and sacrifices.
Later on some societies took a more philosophical approach – the Greeks for example. But the same view persisted that God was an impersonal force, a mechanistic being who had little to do with mankind and his affairs; as before, God was still being identified with the creation, just in a more sophisticated way. The same practice of worshiping the gods of nature continued; only now it was couched in educated and philosophical terms.
Today we live in a scientific world. The age of superstition is no more with us. Yet the same religion of nature worship continues, but in a new guise. We now know it as evolution – what the modern world has been persuaded is the proper “scientific” way of understanding our origins. Well, if it were truly “scientific”, then we might have reason to accept it. But as we have learned, much if not most of evolution theory is not based on scientific evidence or principles.
Retrieving Our Lost Heritage
The truly “scientific” way is just to accept what has been known to mankind already for thousands of years and can still be found written in the oldest of sacred records, the Book of Genesis, and for that matter, the records of several ancient cultures around the world. But sadly, this ancient heritage of mankind has been cast aside and all but forgotten in these modern times. The academic world has exiled with its seal of disapproval any sincere investigation into our origins that does not conform to the prejudices of evolutionary thinking.
It would be wonderful if the academic world could become more open to accepting God’s role in history, the role of the supernatural, and the Genesis record. Then the shroud that veils so much of the past could be pulled away. The mysteries of ancient times could be brought to the light of scientific enquiry instead of having to lie dormant in the hazy realm of speculation and doubt, buried in a make-believe history of billions of years of time.
If God is a God of Love, then He would not leave us in darkness about our origins. He would want us to have the reassuring knowledge of knowing where we came from (and where we’re going). As one author said about the barren consequences of modern skepticism,
“We are left as beasts, groping in the dark. No God-given ancestry to look back upon, and no certain expectation for the future; no sweet assurance for the present.” (from Hem of His Garment by Virginia Berg)
This is why God made sure the Sacred Book would get passed down to us through the ages, so that we wouldn’t be “left as beasts groping in the dark”. But the forces of Darkness hate the God of Light – and us, His creation. In the realm of history, their aim has been to steal away our heritage so that through our lack of background understanding we are more easily drawn into their make-believe world.
The Flood: God’s Intolerable Compliment
A question that may come to mind: Was it not rather harsh of the Almighty to destroy all of mankind, and so many of the animals, all in one fell swoop like that in the Great Flood? Well, this is where faith must enter the picture – faith that God has a loving plan and knows what He is doing.
His great desire is to love and care for us, and receive our love in return. He is not some kind of impersonal force or mechanistic being who got things started long ago but has forgotten about mankind and left him to fend for himself in a hostile universe at the mercy of random natural forces. The Genesis Book tells us that from the beginning God had a definite plan in mind: the natural world was created by Him for humankind to live in and enjoy, and it was man’s responsibility to take care of and populate it.
In the days before the Flood, the Genesis Book goes on to tell us that because “all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” and “the earth was filled with violence through them.” For those reasons God was compelled to destroy the world of that prehistoric age. (6:12-13) But “He was grieved in His heart”. (6:6) Destroying the world was not something He wanted to do. Nevertheless, out of His great concern for the growth and development of His creation, it had to be done.
Still, the death of so many human beings does seem a great tragedy. It helps though in this matter to realize that death does not mean the end of one’s existence. The life of the soul continues on into the Afterlife in that Realm Beyond, in the spirit world, in that dimension that remains largely unseen to us in this life except in little glimpses here and there, in dreams and other similar manifestations. So, although death is not a pleasant experience in itself, it is not a total tragedy. At least it does not mean the end of one’s existence.
And with God in control there is always hope for the future, whether in this life or in the World Beyond. God’s compassion towards mankind along this line was manifested by Jesus’ coming into the world. When confronted with those who were mourning the death of Lazarus, the Book of John says, “Jesus wept”. (11:35) Then He promptly raised Lazarus from the dead to demonstrate God’s power and promise to bring deliverance to mankind from the seeming tragedy of death.
So contrary to what we may think, the destruction of the world in the Great Flood was not a sign of God’s antagonism or indifference towards human kind. He is not an impersonal force with no concern for what is going on in the earth. Otherwise, He would not have stepped in at all. As it was, mankind had gone far astray from what God had hoped to foster in the environment He had created for him.
This was not solely the fault of humanity, however, for the Dark Forces also had entered into the picture to influence mankind to “corrupt His way upon the earth”. God had allowed the demon forces to use the earth as their domain.
We know this is true, by the way, from the account of Jesus’ sojourn in the wilderness before He was about to start His work on Earth: the Devil came along and “showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time” and tempted Him, saying, “All this authority will I give you, and their glory: for this has been delivered to me, and I will give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you will worship me, all will be yours.” (Book of Luke 4:5-7.)
Why God had allowed Satan to have dominion in the earth may be out of our realm to speculate on, but perhaps it would be safe to say that it was meant to show the universe of good and evil spirits what a mess the Devil and his cohorts can make of things if allowed to carry on in their rebellion against God and His ways. We can be ever thankful that Jesus didn’t fall for the Devil’s ruse at that time: “Get behind me Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.” (Luke 4:8)
So in those pre-Flood days when it became apparent that mankind had gone too far astray, then, as a responsible Creator, God had to shut things down, so to speak, and start over, saving Noah and his family and the land animals. We might say it was a reboot of colossal dimensions.
Projecting into the Future
The question now is, has the world since the Flood reached a similar stage of incorrigibility as it had in the days of Noah? Jesus warned that such a time would come in the earth before His second coming: “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:37) Looking at our world today and its capacity to destroy itself through nuclear war, its wanton destruction of the environment through pollution, irresponsible management of earth’s natural resources, or unfair distribution of wealth, one cannot help but wonder if the end of this post-Flood age of history might be just around the corner.
In this post-Flood era, the world has witnessed a great and monumental event – the entrance of Jesus Christ into our earthly realm. As God’s Son, He not only represented God the Father but was Himself the part of God that we can see. This entity we call God is too vast and incomprehensible for us humans to understand, but Jesus was that part of the Almighty that we can relate to. He Himself said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
He revolutionized our relationship with God and taught us the ways of love, setting down new rules about loving our neighbor. (See the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.) So God has done His part to instruct His creation on the proper mode of unselfish living and behavior. But in spite of all this, mankind, under the influence of the forces of Darkness, has brought the world into the sad state that we find ourselves in today.
We can expect, though, that our loving Creator will step in once more, this time to remove the forces of evil and bring about a grand new start for the world, called the Millennium, a golden Age of peace and heaven on earth. Christ’s First Coming introduced the Kingdom of God on Earth; His Second Coming will see it established in full strength.
The Book of Revelation outlines this, God’s plan for the future of mankind. It is under God’s control, just as the former destruction of the earth in the Flood happened under His control; it was not a freak accident of nature. The same would apply to the future worldwide cataclysm the earth will experience; God will be in control of it.
Briefly, the Daniel and Revelation Books describe a final horrific war that will engulf much of the world. (As in Noah’s day, the earth will be and already is “filled with violence”.) This will be also a time of great upheaval involving natural forces (as in the Flood). According to the Revelation Book, earthquake and volcanic activity and other plagues will ravage the earth.
But those who survive by the protection of the Almighty will witness the dawning of a new age of peace in the world. It will be a return to the Garden of Eden, and the harsh conditions that feature in our present environment will be changed. No more will man and animals kill each other; no more poisonous creatures and insects, or plants, and probably many other changes will appear.
Another major difference about this new era: the forces of Darkness, Satan and his demons, will be removed and sent off to their prison in the Netherworld. They will have no more influence in our earthly domain – God’s domain really, since He is the Creator of it. But, of course, we are the ones to whom He has given the responsibility to take care of it.
In that day there will be no more make-believe about evolution. But for the time being, the powers of Darkness are still with us, and they are using this deception about our origins as one of their means of separating mankind from His loving Creator.
But the weapon of Truth is far stronger. And there is no barrier for any man or woman who wants to re-unite with the Creator. That is because God has experienced the earthly life and lived it Himself in the person of His Son Jesus Christ. That great sacrifice to leave the halls of Heaven and walk the dusty roads of earth in the form of a human being, was the action that built the bridge that we may cross over – a bridge from the realm of darkness and deception into God’s realm of Truth, Light, Love, and Heaven.
This invitation to find acceptance with God is always open to anyone who is willing to humbly open their heart to the One Who sacrificed Himself to build that bridge for us.
If you’ve never done so, won’t you cross that bridge now?
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END
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Review of “Retrieving Mankind’s Lost Heritage” Study
1) The Prehistoric world was a different and warm environment because of the water vapor shroud that once surrounded the Earth.
2) As a result giant-sized animals, plants, and even humans existed at that time, even in polar regions of the Earth.
3) Gradual processes cannot explain the kind of geologic and fossil evidence that we see today. It took a sudden cataclysm, the Great Flood, to cause the formation of fossils and the sedimentary rocks that contain them.
4) Nor can gradual processes account for the Ice Age, which is easily understood as resulting from the climactic conditions introduced into the environment by the Great Flood cataclysm.
5) Our biological make-up is far too complex to have evolved by itself.
6) We are not descended from monkeys. We are a creation of God.
…and finally,
7) We have a loving Creator and a wonderful purpose for being here in this life and on this Earth.
