Answering Skeptics's Part 2 - Going Back to Genesis

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What about Creationism? Is Evolution real? Can a Christian believe in evolution and still be a Christian? You wouldn't think this question would be relevant on Easter, but the answer might apply to this day more than you realize. Man's relationship with God began at the time of creation. The need for a Savior was because of what happened in the Garden of Eden. It all goes back to Genesis.

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Answering Skeptics's Part 2 - Going Back to Genesis Pastor Lila Clay & Pastor Noelle Huether What about Creationism? Is Evolution real? Can a Christian believe in evolution and still be a Christian? You wouldn't think this question would be relevant on Easter, but the answer might apply to this day more than you realize. Man's relationship with God began at the time of creation. The need for a Savior was because of what happened in the Garden of Eden. It all goes back to Genesis.  Okay the short answer to the second question is yes. Your view of creationism and evolution is not a salvation issue. If it is a non-issue for salvation then why does it seem to be such an important question? The reason this question is so important is that our understanding of our origins and the bible shapes our worldview. Everyone had a worldview. Even if you don't know you have.  A worldview is how you see the world.  Evolution unfortunately or fortunately, depending what side of the isle you are on can influence the answer to these four questions questions: • Where did I come from? • What is my purpose or reason for existing? • What is right or wrong? • And what is going to happen to me? Believe me some scientist understand the implications of the theory of evolution. Why do you think evolutionist Richard Dawkins wrote the book, The God Delusion. In that book, Dawkins makes an argument that a supernatural creator does not exist and alludes to the idea that you are delusional if you think there is such a thing as a personal God, especially in light of such strong contradictory evidence. So understand that as I attempt to answer this question, I want you to understand that Christians are not opposed to science and we acknowledge that God has allowed us make great gains through science. Also realize that there are number of historians, archeologists and respected scientist that are Christians. I also need you to understand the difference between Macroevolution and microevolution. Micro means that there are developmental changes within species, but macro is more of a philosophical view were all life emerges from a singularity, and a species change into a totally different species. It is with the macro view that many Christians struggle the most. Again there is nothing wrong with science, and science is wonderful discipline, but we must remember that science is not supreme. Science does not rule over other disciplines. For example: Let’s say a student is working on a science project. What keeps a student from cheating? The field/study of science or the field of ethics? Ethics is the obvious answer. I am trying to help you understand why and how the biblical worldview perspective is coherent, logical and needed.  Because if we say our origin is just nothing more than random masses of cells where the strongest and best survive to procreate then how does that help us determine a base line for meaning and morality?  Not only does it impact our views on morality and ethics it also can be dangerous. Germany frankly took that turn with their completely genetically pure Arian Race belief and ran with it to the detriment of others. Many cultures believe in survival of the fittest, an evolutional requirement that scientist believe was necessary for us to develop. How does that science give you guidance in ethics? What is your destiny, your hope? See Christians look at the same science as non-Christians but they interpret it differently. When they see fossils from the ocean on top of mountain plains, they say look evidence of the flood. When they see what is supposed to be million year old rock carbon date as only a few thousand years old they go wow God created all this just like he said he did. Recently I have learned that the average AMS detector can only detect up to 57,000 years old but layers of rock that should be older than that are dating younger than that. For Christians this is not a problem, but for evolutionist that need billions of years to fit their theory, it is a problem. Some scientists seem to boast that they are more rational because we illogical believe in something we can’t see or prove. Yet Christians constantly question the basis of that claim since scientists believe in something they cannot prove either. It’s not observable, not really repeatable and isn’t testable. It takes an element of faith to believe that something came from nothing, developed enough energy to explode, and start a chain reaction that caused order to come from chaos. As a person who loves science, I have questions and I want them to explain to me… Why the supposedly more reliable Radiometric Dating says the earth is only 4.5 Billion years old, well shy of the ten to 15 billions of years scientist need for Evolution to take place. Of course, I would also like to know why their reliable Radiometric Dating labs date the same rock sample at grossly different times. Obviously, something is not right. And can someone please tell me why Carbon 14 which is unstable (it decays into nitrogen 14 through beta decay) and has a half life of 5,740 years still exists after billions of years? Our best AMS (accelerator mass spectrometer) detector can only measure Carbon 14 that is 18 x 5740 years. That means that detectable carbon 14 should not exist in anything older than 103,140 years. Yet supposed million years of old rock which should be radiocarbon dead, are not. And can someone explain to me what to do with the first and second law of thermodynamics? How does evolution account for the 2nd law even though it has never been disproven? And what about blood cells found in the bone marrow of fossilized dinosaurs bones? They is not supposed to be there? Then there is the problem of Irreducible Complexity and what about the statistical factors that make evolution highly improbable to happen naturally? I don’t have time to address all of these issues and honestly there are more issues. Such as the Eve Gene? The complexity of single cell organisms and DNA and so on. As you can see, I have some real credible reasons to be skeptical of evolution and they are not based on fantasy or delusion. I am looking at the science but I still see God, I see the truth of the scriptures not the disproving of it. Yet I know people see what they want. That is why we believe that this subject should be a journey a time of discovery and we challenge you to give creationism a chance. Don’t just look for evidence to support your belief, step back and be open to discovery. There is nothing wrong with asking questions. Asking leads you to discovery, because you are actively seeking the truth, doubt is the real obstacle because it can keep you from looking. Let me close with Jesus, His word on the subject. Read the following scriptures: Mark 10:6, 13:19, and Luke 17:27 As you look at these scriptures you can see that Jesus obviously believed and professed creationism. He indicates that Adam and Eve were there at the beginning not billions of years later. Jesus spoke of the flood and validated the teachings of Moses. Moses was the one who also wrote God created in six days. This is your origin; you were created in God’s image, to be a Holy people. Your life has meaning, value and purpose. You know what is good and evil, what is moral and ethical because of God’s teachings. As for your destiny, it is found in Christ. Take time to read John 1:1-14 As you can see from this scripture all things were created through Jesus. Jesus came into this world so that we can receive His truth, to his receive Him, and to acknowledge Him and His glory. He died on that cross to wipe away our sins, sins that began all the way back in the Garden of Eden. He rose from the grave to reveal His glory and to give us a destiny, eternal life. As God’s children it is only natural we will want to learn, explore, and build. Science is a great tool for that, but there are other good disciplines too, such as ethics, philosophy, theology, history and even metaphysics. The scripture can cross into these fields of study easily, honestly and even provide guidance in these fields. Only the scripture can keep a scientist honest, a man ethical, a philosopher sane, a theologian on track, and a historian accurate. It is our light, our truth and our source of hope.
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