Origins are important. Where you came from may have a lot to say about where you are going. If man evolved out of muck, slime, and chemical soup, then that is probably where he will wind up after death. Conversely if man was created in the image of God and placed originally in the Garden of Eden then he may one day return to God his Maker and to a paradise once lost. If history began with God creating man to worship and serve him might history not end with men before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ to give an account of how they have lived their lives? And important as all this may seem it is surprising how little thought we give it. But those who really dwell on it have mainly been driven to accept one of the above alternatives. Other alternatives such as our colonization from outer space merely dodge rather than answer the question of our ultimate origin. If we want to know where we are going, we need to know where we came from.
For all its popularity and common acceptance, the myth of evolution actually has very little solid science to support it. As a British scientist answered when questioned why most scientists believe in evolution when there is so little scientific proof for it, “Because the only other alternative, divine creation, is unacceptable to us“. Statistically speaking evolution has always been a long shot. To cover this weakness evolutionists have traditionally argued that there were billions of years for all this to happen and therefore improving the odds. But the discoveries of modern science regarding the incredible complexities of molecular biology and DNA have made accidental evolution a statistical impossibility. As the psalmist put it thousands of years ago, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works” (Psalm 139:14).
Ultimately it all comes down to a matter of faith. Either by faith we believe the statements of scripture which declare, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), or by faith we believe the staggering claims of evolution. As the Apostle Paul stated it, “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” (Hebrews 11:3). It has to be by faith for there were no eyewitnesses to the creation. Science, whether it be used to support the claims of creationists or evolutionists, can only tell us so much. It cannot definitively answer the question of ultimate origins. As God expostulated with Job, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding” (Job 38:4). We either have to believe Moses who said, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is” (Exodus 20:11), or we have to believe in accidental auto genesis as postulated by Darwin. But we have to believe; we have to exercise faith!
Man is constantly shocked at man’s inhumanity to man. The twentieth century has been characterized by more savagery, genocide, mass murder, and senseless slaughter and cruelty than even the Dark Ages. But should we be shocked? After all this is the age of evolution. And if evolution is true, as we are incessantly told, then we are really nothing more than animals anyway: Animals that can be expected to behave according to the law of the jungle. And evolutionists are always reminding us that the law of evolution is “survival of the fittest”. That was the premise that Adolph Hitler and the Nazis consciously acted on when they declared the Germans the master race and set out to exterminate the lesser races. The only antidote to this is Christianity and its doctrine of divine creation. Under Biblical law the murder of a fellow human being created in the image of God is a serious sin. Under Christian ethics, rather than follow the law of the jungle, we are exhorted “to love our neighbour as ourselves“. As the prophet Malachi stated it, condemning the oppression of his day, “Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?” (Malachi 2:10).
The fruit of Christianity is love, righteousness, and peace, rather than more Hitlers and Stalins. But then we must confess with Job, “The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” (Job 33:4). This we must believe by faith. We were not there at the creation; there were no human eyewitnesses. Only God was there, as scripture says, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psalm 90:2). Let us rejoice, knowing, “that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3). Let us rejoice that we were created in his image and by his grace and mercy we can be “his people, the sheep of his pasture.“
The Bible begins with “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth“. God scorns to try to prove his existence and simply states that he and he alone was there at the beginning. The incredible immensity and complexity of the universe from the vastness of distant galaxies to the inner recesses of the atom are a testimony to the greatness and power of God the Creator. The marvel and mystery of life, and the gracious and faithful providence that sustains that life, is a testimony to God’s goodness and faithfulness to his creation in spite of man’s sin and unworthiness. As the Psalmist proclaims, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). We invite you to join with us in learning more about your Creator. We invite you to study the scriptures, that along with his creation, declare his glory and reveal him to us. We invite you to join with us in worshipping him and declaring his glory.