It is an old story. In the Bible it goes all the way back to the beginning. Theoretical physicists say it goes all the way back to the Big Bang, about 13.81 billion years ago.
A recent article in Christianity Today titled “Evangelicals Have Four Proposals for Harmonizing Genesis and Evolution,” claims “Younger people have been leaving the faith in increasing numbers for decades, and one of the main reasons is the perceived anti-science mindset of the church.”
I trusted Christ as my Savior when I was eight, but I clearly remember that by the time I was in high school the claims of science seemed valid and called the creation account in Scripture into question. It created a crisis of faith for me.
After several years of investigating scientific claims about the beginning of the universe and life, it became clear that the whole scientific community is not in possession of a single observed fact about the beginning of the universe or life. The scientific community admits this; the only thing they can say about the beginning of the universe and then life are unproven theories.
Of course, there are some who claim to be Christians but believe evolution is the way God “created” the universe and life. The problem with this particular perspective is it is an attempt to syncretize biblical revelation with an unproven theory. When the theory becomes untenable, as it will, it compromises the biblical account, both now and then.
The Roman Catholic Church made the same mistake when it excommunicate Galileo. A second century Egyptian mathematician and astronomer named Ptolemy theorized the earth was at the center of the universe. The geocentric theory of the universe had been settled “science” for about 14 centuries.
But Galileo possessed a piece of scientific technology unavailable to Ptolemy, a telescope. Based on a more exact observation of the universe around us, Galileo proved the earth was not even at the center of our planetary system which is actually heliocentric.
The Roman Catholic Church eventually un-excommunicated Galileo. But we should learn from that mistake and not mix an unproven theory with the biblical revelation lest we make a similar mistake.
The Scriptures give us only one account of creation; those who want to mix the creation account with the unproven theory of evolution cannot even settle on a single account and offer “four proposals.”
There is no contradiction between what the Scriptures teach and what science observes to be true. It is only unproven theories that contradict the biblical account of creation. Those who leave the faith, if in fact they do leave the faith, over a confused theory do so not because of science but are looking for a reason not to believe.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” Genesis 1:1. I agree with Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., “I argue for a young earth form of creationism. That is to say, I think creationism is absolutely necessary not only for biblical Christianity, I believe it’s absolutely necessary for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I also believe it is necessary for any faithful system of interpreting Scripture. If you get creation wrong, you’re going to get everything that follows wrong.”
Not embracing the theory of evolution will not put one on the wrong side of science, but it could get you on the right side of creation.
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