Science: March 2008 Archives

It’s been said evolution is a fact, with just a few details left to work out. But if you study science much, you recall another time when science had the same amount of assurance — just at the first part of the 1900’s. Physicists thought they had all the laws of physics explained, with just a few details left to work out. But along came a guy by the name of Einstein who shattered their comfort with a new branch of physics called quantum mechanics. So much for the assurance of science — will the same happen to evolution?

Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. (Proverbs 16:18-19 NKJV)

The following is only a brief summary of a few problems with the current theory (some of which were raised by Darwin himself). Each by itself could be the topic of a book — the goal here is to illustrate a few things to think about in regards to evolution. Any person putting their faith in the theory of evolution must have answers for these questions. These are not just minor details to work out, they are fundamental issues that must be resolved for the theory to have credibility.

Recent three-year and five-year reports from a NASA program (WMAP) indicate the universe is 13.7 billion years old. Many Christians dismiss those findings, claiming a "young earth" of about 6,000 years. Who is right?

Some try to reconcile both views using theistic evolution -- the idea God created the universe, and then let it go it's own way. These people point to Genesis 1 and note the word for "day" could really mean "age", and thus billions of years could be indicated in Genesis 1.

But they have two problems with that view. First, the garden of Eden was perfect -- no entropy, decay or death -- whether billions of years went by or only a few days would make no difference. No decay, no aging, and no way to tell how long Adam and Eve were in the garden.

But the bigger problem with the "days-as-ages" view isn't found in Genesis, but Exodus.