Evolution

Evolution- Should You Believe in It? Essay -This essay is not mine-THE question Do you believe in evolution or in creation? is more than a matter of idle curiosity. The answer that one gives will be deeply reflected in his attitude toward his fellowman, his moral values and his outlook on the future. 2 Belief in evolution is not new; it did not originate with Charles Darwin. But, following publication, in 1859, of his book The Origin of Species, the supporters of the idea have greatly increased in number. In those lands where considerable emphasis is placed on science, the teaching of evolution holds a prominent place in school textbooks. It is introduced in the early grades, and repeated and enlarged upon year after year. 3 It is the desire to find more evidence for this teaching that has also been a prime moving force in the exorbitantly expensive space exploits of the nations. To NASAs planning chief, Wernher von Braun, the flight of Apollo 11 was nothing less than a step in human evolution comparable to the time when life on earth emerged from the sea and established itself on land. And Science magazine, in its special issue of January 30, 1970, revealed: The search for carbon-containing material on the lunar surface is not only a component part of the study of the origin and history of the moon, but an important step in our understanding of the early stages of chemical evolution leading to the origin of life. So it was with keen anticipation that rock samples were brought back to the earth and carefully analyzed for any traces of life, present or past, but the lack of publicity given to the results was a reflection of the disappointment felt by advocates of evolution. Still they push on farther, a nd at even greater expense. Why? In an article entitled Future in SpaceFrom Moon to Mars, U.S. News ; World Report announced: One of the main goals of such an expedition is to search for evidence of life on the planet.4 The basic idea of evolution is that all the plant, animal and human life on this earth had its origin in one-celled life forms that developed in the sea hundreds of millions of years ago. Though some profess to believe that a Creator began the process, this is not true of the majority. Evolutionists contend that the ancestors of man included both apelike beasts and fish. But that is not what everyone believes. Not all educators believe in evolution, nor do all scientists. There are many people who believe that God created the earth, and that he made the vegetation, the animals and man. (Jer. 27:4, 5) That is what Jesus Christ believed. (Mark 10:5, 6; Matt. 6:26-30) What do you personally believe?5 This question was recently asked of both students and teachers in a ni nth-grade class in a Catholic high school located in New York state. The entire class responded that they believed that man came by evolution. When asked if any of them believed that God made man, not one hand was raised. Further questioning revealed that they knew names and details connected with the teaching of evolution, but none of them knew even the name of the God who the Bible says made man. Did they really believe in evolution? Or was it simply that they knew something about evolution, whereas they had not been taught what the Bible says about creation?WHAT DO YOUR CHILDREN BELIEVE?6 It has come as quite a surprise to some parents when they learned the extent to which the teaching of evolution permeates the school courses. They may have taken for granted that, since they believed the Bible, their children would also accept what the Scriptures say about God and his creating of the earth and living things upon it. But when the school puts forth more effort to emphasize evoluti on than the parents do to give reasons for belief in creation, it is not difficult to see which viewpoint will more deeply influence the child. (Prov. 22:6; Deut. 6:4-9) If you are a parent, do you take time at the beginning of each school term to examine the textbooks that your children will be using so you know what they are going to be taught? Doing so would show your deep concern for their welfare. Then, if you do find that the textbooks advocate evolution, what can you do about it? You can, of course, tell your child what you believe, and you should. But, to be truly persuasive, you may find that you need to read and discuss together certain portions of the school textbook, making sure that your child understands why the various theories in support of evolution are in error and what the facts are that support belief in creation. 7 An examination of current school textbooks shows that, in the earlier grades in many localities, any direct mention of the term evolution is rare. But the books may comment on early life forms that they say developed in the sea billions of years ago and prehistoric dinosaurs that lived millions of years in the past. As the years pass, more details are given. In support of evolution, they point prominently to bones that have been unearthed and to fossils of living things in the rocks. These books also emphasize mutations, or changes in heredity, coupled with natural selection as the means by which new species came into existence. Your child may be given the impression that this has been well established by scientific research, and that, while he is free to believe in creation if that is what he chooses, all the facts support evolution. In order to reason clearly on the matter, your child needs your assistance. He is in the world, exposed to its viewpoints, so he needs to learn to ex amine facts, reason sensibly and draw sound conclusions.Prov. 5:1, 2. 8 As an example, you may find it helpful to approach the matter as follows: How many facts do the advocates of evolution actually have? What does the fossil record really show? Their own writings admit that in the lowest rocks in which there are fossils, they do not find primitive life forms, but complex organisms representing most of the basic divisions of plant and animal life. They say much about primitive forms from which these evolved, and such are vital to their theory, but none of them have ever been found. Also, textbook illustrations and museum displays line up skeletons in a way that they say demonstrates the evolution of the horse, man and other creatures. But notice that each skeleton is fully formed. They write at length about transitional forms, upon which their whole argument depends, but none are displayed with primitive forms of arms and legs on otherwise full-grown bodies. As for pictures that they draw, these are largely imagination; they have no photographs from w hich to work. English Monary EssayORIGIN OF LIFE16 As to living things, what has been your observation? Do not plants spring from seeds in which there is life? Do not insects, fish, land animals and humans come from living parents? Nothing living comes from a rock, unless seeds have lodged in its crevices or eggs have been laid there. So, then, the producing of something that has life requires a source that is alive. Biologists agree, but those who advocate evolution ask you to believe that, although they can point to no example of it today and there is no parallel for it, life sprang repeatedly from nonliving matter many millions of years ago. Since they cannot find proof of it here on the earth, they have had manned expeditions look for evidence of it on the moon, and they hope to check out their theory on Mars. The Bible, however, agrees with the observable fact that life derives only from a living source. Psalm 36:9 addresses to Jehovah, the living God, the words: With you is the source of l ife.17 The Bible also explains how the various kinds of living things came into existence. In its opening chapter it tells us that God made the vegetation, the sea creatures, the birds and the land animals. (Gen. 1:10, 11, 21, 24) The Bible does not say that single-celled life forms evolved into grass, trees, fish, birds and land animals. Nor does it allow for the idea that God created such primitive life forms and then used evolution as the means for producing the various kinds of plants and animals that exist today. It says that he produced each according to its kind, not from some other kind. When the time came for man to be produced, he was not developed from some apelike pre-Adamite, but, as the Bible says: Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul. Then, when that first man, Adam, became father to a son, in harmony with the rule that each produces according to its kin d, his son was in his likeness, in his image.Gen. 2:7; 5:3. 18 Thus, what the Bible says is in full harmony with what you personally have seen. When you plant seeds, they produce according to their kinds. You plan your garden with confidence in the dependability of that law. When cats give birth, their offspring are cats. When humans become parents, their children are human. There is variation in color, size and shape, but always within the limitations of the family kind. Have you ever personally seen a case that was otherwise? No; and neither has anyone else. There are over three billion persons on earth today, as well as countless billions of plants and animals, all of which are living proof of the truthfulness of what the Bible says. WHY YOU BELIEVE19 It is interesting to note that Science Education for October 1967 says: The basic reason why the theory of evolution is rejected by so many, many who are familiar with modern biology, is because it conflicts with the account of creation in the Bible. If a person honestly believes that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, then, obviously, this should be the first and foremost reason why he believes in creation. He does not choose to believe in creation simply because he has become aware of flaws in the argument for evolution. Rather, he believes in creation because he believes in God and in His Word. Is that true of you?20 If so, you will not be unduly concerned when you read news reports about discoveries by evolutionists that are heralded as proof of evolution. Nor will admissions made by evolutionists concerning the weaknesses of their case come as a surprise to you. With good reason you are convinced that God knows far more about the origin of the universe and of living things than does any man who has only recently arrived on the scene.Rom. 11:33, 34. 21 No one who believes in what the Bible says about creation has any need to feel the least bit apologetic about his position. It is true that some may chide him, claiming that they believe only in what they see and that this is why they do not believe in God. However, if they profess to believe in evolution, then, as we have learned, there is actually much that they accept that neither they nor any other man has ever seen. Does it reflect sound thinking when a person believes in unseen events that run counter to all available evidence and that conflict with all human experience, as is the case with evolution? Or is it more reasonable, in view of the fact that all the universe and all living things bespeak intelligent design and a source of dynamic energy infinitely greater than man, to believe that there is an almighty Creator?Heb. 11:6; Rom. 1:20. 22 The answer is plain: Belief in creation fits the facts. The Bible is in full harmony with those facts. But it does not stop with details about the past. In its pages Jehovah God has provided us the guidance we need to cope successfully with the problems of the present. And it shows us what we must do in order to benefit from his loving provisions for the future. It is the course of wisdom, then, to get well acquainted with all that it contains.