Faith and Evolution: Does science belong in Christianity?
by Jonathan Earl Fashbaugh
Being a man of faith and of reasonable intelligence is often very frustrating. The two parts of me war against eachother. When the intelligence is winning, I am plagued with doubts, and when my faith is winning, I feel stronger as a person. Debate isn't my most favorite thing in the world, but when it comes to topics that I am passionate about, I find it difficult to keep my mouth shut. When it comes to science and Christianity, my mouth is wide open, not because I think I can convince everyone to follow my ideas, but because I am constantly looking for God's truth in the world. Evolution just happens to be one of the largest fronts of war between science (the secular world) and Christianity.
Evolution is a fascinating theory. In the scirentific community, it is widely accepted to be the origin of life on this planet. Many people of faith are incensed by this and constantly strain to remind the world that it is "only a theory." True scientists reply to this by asking, "Where is the proof otherwise?" Gravity is only a theoretical concept, yet everyone accepts its existence. So it is with evolution to every man of science.
Its theoretical ripples can be seen, ever expanding in the nature of todays world. The "proof" is there to be seen by all, in germs and viruses that adapt to new medicines and in communities of animals that over time, find new ways to defend themselves, sometimes working together as organized bodies. When you really think about it, the idea of natural selection isn't abstract at all. It's just a logical explanation of progress in nature. The Big Bang Theory is very similar in its simple evidence. If all the galaxies in the universe seems to be expanding outward, then one only has to draw a line from the center of each body to find a common point of "origin". Extrapolate the facts backward in a straight line, and it's not only easy to come to a conclusion, but it's only logical to do so. This is the essence of the theory of evolution by natural selection.
That said, I must also say that I believe that evolution is false. I am a staunch creationist, however, I find evolution to be an extremely fascinating idea. It is a false way to explain the origin of life, but it is a great glass to view the world through.
At this point, the reader may be horrendously upset by this essay. Many Christians are so polarized in the evolution debate that they have blinded themselves to logical reasoning. How could anyone who believes in God possibly think that evolution is "neat"!?! "What about the geological evidence of the world wide flood of Noah's day," some might argue, "That disproves evolution! And that carbon dating is a complete hoax." Some would insist that science prove that there is such a thing as a billion year old fossil. I would ask these people, "What are you trying to prove?"
People who argue against secular ideas in scientific terms are doing nothing but making spectacles of themselves, defaming the very faith that they are trying to defend. The problem is in their methods and thought processes. They are allowing themselves to be drawn in by the world that thrives on argument and hard proof. It would seem that they have forgotten that in their most inner parts, there is no tangible evidence that fuels their beliefs. There simply is no evidence that will confirm a Christian view of the world as the ultimate truth.
It only weakens a witness to try to enlist science or historical documents to support a Christian's claim. Faith is not about proof. The existence of God will never be universally accepted until He reveals Himself in all of His glory. Only then will the wonder and might of the one and only true act of creation, His creation of the universe, ever be known by the world. Until then, its truth is only known by a faithful heart. The heart cannot be convinced by words, figures or diagrams. The heart speaks the language of the soul and spirit. It is futile to try to defend a matter of faith in worldly terms.
Returning to the topic of evolution, let me explain why I believe that scientific efforts to prove creation by God are foolish. You may have heard the saying that, "God is a gentleman." Just as a gentleman would not force his love upon a woman, God gives us the choice as to whether or not we will believe in Him and return His love. That is why I believe that, in creating the world, God included the evident system of evolution in His design. God created billion year old fossils to allow people the intellectual room to choose whether or not to accept the Bible's story of how the world came to be.
In the grand scheme of things, the issue of the world's exact history is not at all important. Some day we will all be privy to the details. What does matter is how we spend the time that God has given us on this planet.
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