Gospel Journey

The Bible Defends and Attacks Evolution.

Each day we will also take a look at a statement. If you haven't read the devotional for today, please do that first. Then come back here and tell us what you think.

Genesis 1:20-27 defends and attacks evolution.

(20) "Then God said, "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens." (21) God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. (22) God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." (23) There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. (24) Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind"; and it was so. (25) God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good. (26) Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (27) God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

Specifically, the Hebrew word for kind defends and attacks evolution.

Since most people realize the Bible defends creation and speaks against evolution (in many more places than just this passage), let's tackle that one first:

This passage in Genesis states quite clearly that the creation of birds, fish, sea creatures, cattle, creeping things, "beasts," and man were each separate intentional actions. He created them according to their "kind." Each was created according to its order and then kept in those categories. The concept of lifeforms transitioning from species type to another species type (macro evolution) is something that this passage eliminates as possibility. (Incidently, this is a major scientific difficulty as well...since we have found millions more fossils since Darwin, yet still do not have any "transitional species.")

But did you know that the same passage defends evolution?

When God created the "kinds" it means He was not required to create every breed we see today. Consider dogs. Did God create every breed of dog we see today? New breeds are developed, so we know that can not be the case. Though they look quite different, a daschund and a dalmation could come from the same ancestry. But it doesn't Biblically (or scientifically) coincide for a zebra to have had the same predecessor. We also don't have to believe that the daschund has always had its exact shape or size. The word "kind" requires the concept that changes, adaptations and mutations will happen within a species (micro evolution).

So next time someone asks you if the Bible really speaks against evolution, you can answer "depends." Are they talking Macro Evolution or Micro Evolution?

posted by danny2 @ 12:01 AM