Evolution: The Connection

(Part 1) 

Charles Templeton was a well-known evangelist during the 1940s and 1950s. He once challenged Billy Graham by asking him how he could continue to believe the Bible when we know (as he said) that evolution is true, and we can’t rely upon the Genesis account of creation as real history. Graham answered that he didn’t know all the answers but he was going to continue believing the Bible regardless. Most of us know that Graham was well known for his frequent phrase while preaching, “The Bible says.” Graham was used by God to the end of his life as he preached passionately, and lived a life of integrity. 

Templeton decided to leave preaching and attend Princeton University (a strong clue to his change of beliefs here). Before he died, he wrote a book released in 1996 titled, Farewell to God: My Reasons for Rejecting the Christian Faith. His reasons were based on secular humanistic evolutionary thinking. By contrast, in 1953 Graham wrote a best seller titled, Peace With God. They are both gone now. I wonder who ended up with eternal peace?

Many have not yet seen the connection between the influence of evolutionary teaching and the anti-God, anti-Christianity ideology that has permeated American and worldwide society. Simply put, if evolution is true, that humans evolved over huge periods of time from lower forms of animal life, then there is no need for a Creator God to supernaturally create everything by fiat. The biblical words, “In the beginning God created” (Genesis 1:1), become meaningless, and give a supposed excuse for those who choose not to believe in any supposed authority who would tell them how to live their lives.

The truth is, if you will forgive my humor, evolution does not have a fish leg to stand on! The fossil record does not support the slow upward evolution of creatures from one kind to another (macroevolution), the geological strata record does not support evolutionary time over millions of years, the biological facts of DNA do not support evolution or the spontaneous evolving of life, anthropology does not support the evolving of humans from an ape-like ancestor, and astronomy does not support the idea of life originating from the Big Bang’s stardust. For those who have questions about these statements and are interested in more details, I will refer you to my book titled, Did God Really Say That? It covers in more detail the scientific historical connections with the Bible.

Honest scientists have admitted that the most obvious conclusion of their scientific studies is that they point to the miracle of creation. In other words, they return to the Bible (often without wanting to admit it) as the best source for understanding the mysteries of life. One science that directly supports the Bible and its literal historical facts, is archeology. Right up to the present time, there are new discoveries made that continue to support the history of the Bible. Let’s look at this subject from the viewpoint of biblical Christianity.

Can Christians be guilty of unscriptural compromise by incorporating into their beliefs an acceptance of certain aspects of current evolutionary philosophy and still be saved and go to heaven? Yes, of course. So, are the issues of the age of the earth, the literal or nonliteral days of creation, and the time span and chronology of the biblical genealogies in both the Old and New Testament just side issues that are better left alone because they are considered controversial? This is the popular thinking of many Christians today, and unfortunately, this has been a trend that has developed over past years even in most conservative Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries.

However, Christians who have been influenced in this way as I was myself to a certain degree in the past, have often not discerned how such thinking not only undermines the authority of the Word of God in the Old Testament, but also undermines the authority and teaching of Jesus, His atoning sacrifice on the cross, and thus the very foundation of the Gospel itself. I believe God’s intention in giving us the inspired Word of the Bible is that everyone should be able to understand its basic teachings in a straightforward manner. It doesn’t take a Ph.D. theologian or scientist to be able to grasp the basic gospel message of God’s love and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

Therefore, if it is true that the very foundational authority of the Scriptures is at stake because of compromise with evolutionary philosophy in these matters, it must also be true that the subject of biblical timelines and chronologies is far removed from being merely a side issue of little concern. The compromise that leads to inconsistent biblical interpretations stems from the confusion that has arisen because of teaching by some who claim authority and respect for themselves based on their intellectual accomplishments and favored positions in academic, theological, and scientific circles.

The mistake inherent in such confusing teachings is not new, and unfortunately has predictably resulted in a weakening of the faith of the believer in the authority of the Bible. In the latter half of the nineteenth century after the publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species in 1859, some Christian theologians tried to bridge the gap between the current scientific thinking and the Bible by postulating that the Genesis account need not be taken and understood literally. Even though Hebrew scholars verified (as they still do today) that the Genesis account can only be interpreted grammatically and correctly from the Hebrew language as a literal historical narrative, some felt the need to attempt to maintain respectability and acceptance in the scientific community by either reinterpreting the creation account or by frankly admitting that it was not accurate as written.

Taken from the appendix of Dr. Butterworth’s Book, The Biblical Answer for America, used by permission.