JUSTIFICATION FOR EVOLUTION WITHIN CREATION
HOW CAN CHRISTIANS PREACHING THE LITERAL BIBLE POSSIBLY JUSTIFY FOSSILS, THE OBVIOUS PRESENCE OF EVOLUTION, AND AN EARTH THAT IS ESTIMATED TO BE AT LEAST 6 BILLION YEARS OLD?
Christians do not have any doubt about it. God created the heavens and the earth. Furthermore, He did it all on the very first day of creation. That is absolute fact, and cannot be debated, at least according to us Christians.
Which begs the obvious question. How can we explain fossils, dinosaurs, man-like creatures that roamed the African veld more than two million years ago and all the obvious scientific evidence that proves beyond any doubt that evolution does, in fact, exist. Christians might say it proves God has a sense of humor, and He is playing a practical joke on scientists.
Biblical scholars have tried all sorts of different ways to fit the two together, but without very much success. The "Gap" theory is probably the most famous, but there are many others as well. However, none of them have been too widely accepted. Why? It seems the very Bible they are trying to justify works against them, and proves their various theories wrong.
So, here is my theory on that theory. Keep in mind that I am strictly a lay person, espousing my opinions only. I am a retired federal agent (criminal investigator) who likes to think outside the box. Every mystery has a logical, acceptable solution. And, I believe this mystery is no exception to that rule.
The primary problem in justifying evolution as being acceptable to Christianity is the language found in the first chapter of Genesis. Genesis 1:5 "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." Everything, according to the Bible, was done in "days". That just causes fits among Christians whenever evolution, fossils and other ancient things are discussed. The Bible, as it is written, and as it is translated literally, simply does not leave room for dinosaurs. Ah, but more on this subject in just a bit.
First we must discuss "time". In fact, there are three key aspects of time that must be noted. First, there is the nature of God. The entire key to logically discussing this subject lies in that very nature. You see, God exists and operates completely outside of time, at least as we know and understand it. His very Holy and absolutely omnipotent nature permits that existence. A year, a century, a millennium, a million years, a billion years, a hundred-billion years, does not matter a wit to God. Remember that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Furthermore, because of His absolutely omnipotent nature, there really is no true beginning or ending. There is only existing, and living. He is truly the ever-living God.
Next, we have to remember that "time", at least as we understand, record, and know it, did not really exist before Genesis, Chapter 11. At least, it didn't really exist for the Hebrew People, mainly because they did not then exist. That is a very important point that will be examined more thoroughly later in this essay.
And third, we have to understand that, during the first three
"days" of creation, time did not really exist in any form! The sun and moon were not created until the fourth day. Therefore there could not have been a sunrise or sunset prior to the end of the fourth day of creation. Oh, I fully realize that Genesis 1:13 reads,
"And the evening and the morning were the third day." And, I will successfully explain that Biblical fact a little later.
Now, with those facts in evidence, we continue our discussion. What, exactly, is a "day" to God who exists outside of time? How long was the first
"day of creation? Was it roughly 24 hours? Or, maybe 24 billion years? That latter figure could easily be as a day to God, especially when you remember that time did not then exist. And, as a direct result of that fact, there can be absolutely no doubt that God created the heavens (three of them, in fact) and the earth. How He created them remains unknown. I believe He caused the "Big Bang" to occur as part of His Holy Plan for creating life on earth. I also believe He controlled that gigantic explosion completely to cause the firmament to be "created." Yes, it is a glorious scientific fact (if still unproven) that God created the heavens and the earth, people!
The story contained in Genesis 1:9-13, the "Third Day," could very well describe Rodinia (the first "world-continent, which was pre-Pangaea), the giant super-continent that modern science tells us existed way back when. In fact this giant land mass may have existed as far back as the Precambrian time period, which was more than 4.5 billion years ago! Just keep in mind that "time", with respect to this discussion, did not exist back then.
God created "animal life" a long time ago, too. And yes, He did "create" dinosaurs, and trilobites, and all of the common fossils we find in rocks or see in museums today. He also caused the great geological extinctions as He guided the forces of evolution that served His own Holy creative forces. He was always in control of everything evolutionary.
And now, for the justification of this information into what we understand is the unerring word of God, the Holy Bible. You have to understand that God had a slight problem. Well, actually it was a rather big problem. He wanted to give the Hebrews, His chosen people, a "history" of sorts. He wanted to instill in them the strongest possible understanding of His awesome, unbounded power. But, He had to relate that power in terms they could understand and believe. Moses and the other Jewish scribes that penned Genesis would never have understood "big bangs," "dinosaurs," "fossils," "evolution," or any of the other scientific terms related in this essay. They were a simple people, and they thought in simple ways. They understood "days", but had no inkling that enough days, when run together, made a hundred million years. Therefore, God had to communicate His creation in terms they would understand. The simplest terms possible. And, that is exactly what we read in Genesis, Chapter 1.
What about mankind? Were their "men" that actually evolved from apes walking around on earth at the time of the Garden of Eden? Yes, according to the fossil record, there were men living in the earth at the time of Adam and Eve in the Garden. They were apparently descendants of the "Cro-Magnon" race of people. However, there was and is one major difference between those "men" and the man that God created. God's man, Adam, had a soul. Those others were, for all intents, nothing more than animals with a larger than normal cranial capacity. They may have begun rudimentary civilizations in different parts of the earth, but they were still little more than animals. They did not have souls residing inside them. God's chosen people, the Hebrews, did have souls.
Just look at the additional details God (through Moses) gives the Hebrews in Genesis 2:7. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." God created Adam, and breathed the breath of life directly into him. Did that breath from God contain a soul for the first man created by God? For a surety it did because that verse tells us Adam became a living soul.
Are there still men on this earth that do not have a soul? Yes, I believe there are such men. Probably a lot of them, if the truth be known. When you look at history, I think it is easy to pick them out. People like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Jack the Ripper, Genghis Khan, and a whole host of other despots, mass murderers, and major criminals that litter history's record. Is it possible that anyone with a soul and a conscience could do any of the things these people did while creating their own infamy? I do not believe that is possible.
The historical record contained in Genesis concerning the creation is written in the simplest language possible, the better to obtain understanding on an essentially ignorant and completely childlike race of people, the Hebrews. It had to be. I do not believe God could have given His people a literal narration of His creation activities and expected them to understand the process, much less believe in it. So, He gave them the truth, but in a slightly condensed version, using terms such as "day", that are easy to understand and believe.
Can it be expected that fundamental Christians would ever accept the version contained in this essay over what is found in the Bible. Possibly, but only about the same time that very warm place freezes over. And that is a shame when you think about it. This version is both logical and understandable relative to today's scientific bank of knowledge. It also satisfies the scientist's most sought-after answer to how life first began on earth. It began with God!
{Closed previously unclosed UBB bold code - Adminnemooseus}
[This message has been edited by Adminnemooseus, 11-30-2003]
™ Version 4.2