EVOLUTION: A "tongue-in-cheek" look

Let me see if I have this right -- modern Scientists say that the Bible is wrong about the origins of the Universe and man? They argue that man could not possibly have been created by a living God, that the earth is not possibly as young as 6,500 years, and that man definitely evolved from lower forms of life into what he is today. They contend that it is ridiculous for us to "have faith in" a God whom we cannot see, and that we should reject the oldest known historical document and with it all notions of a Power above. Often we see ridiculed the biblical doctrine of creation in publications and on broadcasts originating from "scientific" sources. One of the favorite methods of such ridicule employed by the "scientific community" these days involves selecting someone who is so totally out in left field within the "creationist" camp that few creationists know of them, let alone agree with them, and then exploiting obviously erroneous points in their answer to the problem of origins. Though there is damage done by "Bible-believing" men who are wrong, such an exploitation is, in my opinion, unfair. Still, for all of the "offense" of the opponents of the Bible account of Creation, and for all of the attacks on the ignorant among us, what is their story? What are they saying? Let us take a "tongue-in-cheek" look at the doctrine of evolution.

Billions and billions of years ago (just how many we cannot say, and even when we do say we are forever changing our minds), there existed a vast expanse of "nothingness". The Universe did not exist (well, at least not as we have it now). But even though the Universe did not exist, and even though it was a vast expanse of nothingness, in this nothingness which did not exist there were some floating particles, microscopic no less, just aimlessly floating around. They must have always been there, for we cannot explain their origin -- they certainly were not Created by a Creator! They floated around for, well, we don't know how long! Then one day they collided, and upon their chance meeting in the vast expanse of nothingness in which they existed there was a great explosion. Out of this explosion came the sun, earth, moon, all the other stars, all the other planets, and even life began by a series of chemical reactions growing out of the "big bang". It is truly amazing that this explosion occurred in a universe that did not exist and was but a vast expanse of nothingness, but it must have.

The life that came into being as a result of this big bang was formless and microscopic, but that is not a problem, as there were no people around to look at it any way. It just floated aimlessly about in the ocean (which must have been formed as a result of the explosion of the "things" floating around in the universe which did not exist). One day this "life" decided that it was tired of floating around, so it grew fins to propel it (and this is quite an accomplishment, seeing that it had no intelligence! It must have decided that it wanted to think and therefore have grown a brain). Later it tired of being propelled without a sense of direction, so it grew a tail. Then it grew curious about the world around it and evolved eyes to see it with. Seeing made it want to hear, so it grew ears. It had a strong desire to know more about itself, and when the tides carried it close to shore it used its self-evolved fins and tail to steer it to dry land. Arriving at dry land, it had a desire to go further inland, so it grew feet and legs. Upon journeying a short distance inland, it saw an apple tree. We don't know where the apple tree came from, nor how it came to be an apple tree, but there it was! The life wanted to pick an apple, so as it had traded its tail for legs, so it traded its fins for arms and hands. It picked an apple and something told it that the apple would probably taste good, so it evolved a mouth and digestive system and ate the apple. And that is how we came to exist, we just kept changing and changing as the need arose and here we are!

THERE ARE SOME PROBLEMS with this scenario, and it is subject to change with each new "discovery" which comes along, but in one form or another all scenarios involving evolution essentially fit into the general framework of this illustration. There is no "scientific" answer to the questions concerning the "uncaused first cause". Where did the vast expanse of nothingness come from? Where did the particles floating around in the vast expanse of nothingness come from? What caused the big bang? Where did the process begin? Why did it begin? Is it possible that all that is came from nothing and by accident? If there was an intelligent force behind the origin of the universe, what or Who was it? Evolution is theory, it has never been verified, it cannot be duplicated, it is an unproven assertion. If you accept it as fact, and if you view "scientific discoveries" in the light of your assumed origins position that evolution is true and the Bible is false, then your conclusions will tend to support evolution. If, however, you view each piece of evidence independent of evolution, and allow it to stand or fall on its own, then the puzzle pieces do not fall into place nearly so neatly. I believe the Bible. I believe that God Created the world as Moses in Genesis said. Evolution does not harmonize with this. Therefore I am not an evolutionist. If "they" can answer the questions about the uncaused first cause sensibly, and when they stop asking me to "accept by blind faith" the existence of particles floating around in a vast expanse of nothingness billions of years ago, maybe we can begin to decipher the problem. They haven't stopped, and the problem isn't likely to be resolved to their satisfaction any time soon.

Tim Smith 1272 Enon Road, Webb, AL 36376

For questions or comments about this article contact Tim Smith or email Don H. Noblin. If you decide to email me, please include the title of the article. Thank you.