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Do you know what the first sentence of the Bible says? "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).
A seemingly simple sentence, but on second thought it is quite problematic for us today. After all, what educated person in the 21st century still believes in creation? It has long been proven that we are descended from apes. Many Christians would say the same.
So what do you do if, like me, you still believe that God created us and the world? You might give an evasive answer or deflect the subject to avoid looking stupid. I used to feel embarrassed when the subject of evolution came up at school or university and I had to show my true colours.
Yet the solution is relatively simple: you have to look at WHY you believe what you believe! Faith, thank God, is not something that I simply have to accept blindly and without reason. There are also scientists who have justified doubts about a random origin.
An example: Have you ever heard that the universe is expanding and getting bigger? The rate at which this is happening, the expansion rate, can be calculated. This is called the 'Hubble parameter'. If the expansion of the universe had been too fast, no galaxies or planets could have formed. If it had been too slow, all the matter would have coalesced into one huge mass. Again, life would be impossible. The tiniest deviation in the Hubble parameter would not have allowed the universe we know today to form! The probability of this expansion rate being EXACTLY the same is less than getting six numbers right in a lottery several times in a row! Of course, you can believe this if you want. The evolutionist will believe it. For just as creation is a theory, so is evolution (namely the THEORY of evolution).
Creation cannot be proven. We cannot do an experiment to repeat it and no one has been able to observe it. It defies investigation. If it could be proven, man would be forced to admit that there is an all-powerful God. But God wants everyone to choose Him of their own free will. What many people do not realise is that evolution has not been proven either.
But what about Christians who say that God created through evolution? For me, this is not a satisfactory solution.
1) If I believe in a great and almighty God, do I not trust Him to create something out of nothing?
2) If I accept that the Bible is God's word, that it is true and wants to help me in my life, I cannot suddenly declare certain parts of the Bible, such as the creation story, to be untrue and others to be true. Either the Bible is true in its entirety, or it is a book of fairy tales!
3) Darwin's theory of 'survival of the fittest' talks about natural selection. Those who are strongest and best adapted to their environment survive and are allowed to pass on their genes. In this way, new and better species are supposed to evolve over a long period of time. But what kind of image does this give me of God? A God who tolerates violence and death over millions of years as a means of selection so that we can evolve?
Would God want the strongest to rule by force and oppress the weaker, and then later say the exact opposite, i.e. that we should love one another? Christian faith and evolution don't really go together.
The Bible shows God as our almighty and loving Father, who created everything perfectly – paradisaically! – in the beginning. You might think, "That's great that He created everything perfectly, but you don't feel much of that today." Yes, unfortunately. The reports of natural disasters and wars can make you feel sick. And in our own lives, not everything is perfect: broken families, illness, quarrels, loneliness, death... However, these things have not come into the world because of God, but because we have turned away from Him!
The good news is that the One who created the perfect beginning also has the perfect end in store for us. God Himself says of this time: "I am making everything new!" (Revelation 21:5). All things will be well in the end! And if it is not yet good, then it is not yet the end!
Bible texts for in-depth study:
Genesis 1; 2; 5; 11; Exodus 20:8-11; Psalm 19:2-7; 24:1; 33:6, 9; 104; 111:2; Isaiah 45:12,18; Acts 17:24; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2; 11:3; Revelation 14:7
