It All Just Happened? I Don’t Think So!
We had just arrived home after our Thursday night worship service. It was a cold, clear winter night, and in our rural area the brilliance of the sky is unhindered by street lights. Above us a countless array of stars sparkled like diamonds set against black velvet, and the soft misty glow of the Milky Way arched across the panorama like a veil draped carefully for effect. In spite of the cold, it made you want to just stand and drink it in. I found myself saying, like an over-awed five year old, “My Daddy made that! He’s so clever!”
The Letters section of our local newspaper has recently carried an ongoing debate about evolution versus creation. In one sense I can understand where the evolutionists are coming from. When I was in high school, we were taught the theory of evolution as if it were proven, indisputable fact. I clearly remember, when I first went to Bible College, being utterly horrified to discover that there were actually intelligent people in the world who did not believe in evolution. It was only as I began to look at the science behind creationism that I began to see just how full of holes the theory of evolution is.
Now, I wonder how I – or anyone else – could have ever had the faith to believe such a crazy theory.
In summary, the evolutionary theory of the beginning of the world goes like this: Once there was nothing. Nothing became something. Then that something exploded and became everything.
Yeah, right.
It reminds me of a story I heard one time – I’m not sure if it was true, or just a kind of modern parable. A doctor who was a creationist had a friend who was an evolutionist. One day the evolutionist came to see the doctor. On his desk was a wonderful, intricate sculpture. The evolutionist admired it from all sides. “What a wonderful piece!” he said. “Who made it?” With a slight smile, the doctor replied, “Oh, nobody made it. It just happened over millions of years.”
The only way I could even begin to accept such nonsense is if I absolutely refused to believe in the existence of a Creator, and needed something – anything! – to replace Him. And that is exactly why many evolutionists embrace this theory. Some have even gone as far as to admit that the theory is incredibly shaky, but since the only alternative is to believe in God, they would rather cling to the shaky theory.
The alternative, creationism, says that the eternal, infinite, omnipotent and omniscient God one day decided to make some stuff. Simple. Elegant. Logical.
But of course, if you acknowledge that God created the universe, that means that He also created you, and that in turn means that He has a claim on your life. If you can suspend common sense long enough to believe that “it all just happened”, then your existence is the result of blind chance, your life has no purpose or meaning, and you are not accountable to anyone. Good luck with that!
As for me – I just don’t have enough faith to embrace the belief system (a.k.a. “religion”) known as evolutionism. I find it far simpler – and far more intellectually satisfying – to simply stand in awe and say, “My Daddy made that! He’s so clever!”
