What the Bible Says About Evolution.

Since young-earth creationists comprise such a large segment of the population, it seems proper to begin by restating that it is not against the Bible to admit that the earth is much older than the 6,000 years. The Biblical case for an old earth has been presented in the previous chapter. Here we will examine what Scripture says about evolution.

The Beginning of Plant Life

Most of us were taught as children that when God created the earth he simply spoke the word “tree” and there appeared a fully formed tree, or “grass” and there appeared grass. Nearly half the adults in the United States believe this is true. Is this what Scripture says?

Gen 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. Gen 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

If one throws out all the evidence for an old earth, Let the earth bring forth has no real significance when interpreting these verses. 24 hours is close enough to instant that it just doesn't matter. But when one accepts the evidence of cosmology, geology, paleontology and all the other

“-ologies” as basically true, this phrase becomes very interesting. God's command let the Earth bring forth plant life suggests a passage of time and indicates the earth is God's chosen instrument through which He will create. The implication is that God's creative act might appear perfectly natural to humans when examining it millions of years later in the fossil record. This interpretation harmonizes Scripture with the fossil record.

Does this mean random evolution from a common ancestor is God's chosen method of creation? Scripture clearly states that it was God who planned, ordered, and formed all of creation, and the phrase after his kind is a pretty direct statement of limits. Note in particular that grass, the herb yielding seed, produces after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind. Scripture does not say “Oak tree you will produce only exact duplicates of yourself until the end of time.” But isn't this the way we tend to think? So there appears to be room for variation of plant life in Scripture by what would appear to be natural selection with limits. Not random chance, but God's hand guided the creation of plant life on Earth.

The question remains to be asked: did all plant life originate from a few plant cells that God developed into individual forms of grass, herb, and tree, or were many types of fully formed plants created initially? We cannot be certain since Scripture is silent on this issue, but the first view seems to be more consistent with the fossil record. Either way this should not be of great concern to us. The fossil record is very clear; plants have changed tremendously through time. No matter what mechanism has been used by the earth to bring forth plant life, it is God's command that caused it to happen. “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Prov 16:33 NIV).

The Creation of Dinosaurs and Birds.

If God allowed room for his creation to change in the plant world is it possible He did the same in other areas? Again let's examine the Scriptures.

“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good” (Gen 1:20-21).

Here the same pattern emerges as in the earlier passages. This time it is the waters that bring forth but it is God that created the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth. Another pattern is repeated as well — notice God created... that... which the waters brought forth... after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind. Again limits have been set but specific species have not been mentioned, with the exception of great whales.

Dinosaur fossils would not be discovered for 250 years after the translating of the King James Bible. If this is a correct understanding of God's word then this means that the creatures of the waters developed until one day God made some of them able to live on land. This is a proper understanding of current scientific theory and, if correct, is not a violation of Scripture.

It is interesting to note that the waters are mentioned as bringing forth the fowl that fly above the earth. This is a totally foreign idea to the old understanding of Biblical creation, yet that is what the Scripture says. It is also interesting that science has been unable to decide how to classify birds, how they originated and whether they were originally reptiles. The Bible says they were created after their kind. It is possible that the birds have no predecessor. Archaeopteryx may have been a flying reptile just as bats are flying mammals. This does not mean they are related to birds. Archaeopteryx may also have been legitimately one of the first birds, despite its reptile features. The possibility remains that birds were descendants of reptiles through God's guiding hand on this “fifth” creation day. There is no conflict here except in our old views and in our bias.

God is in control. The Biblical account of creation is literal, and science agrees with the Bible — again.

Doesn't this diminish God's authority and power? In no way, but it does destroy long held views. The Bible is literally true. It is the creationist’s interpretation that is in error. This interpretation was not built on a denial of the truth but upon the amount of available information. It was a belief based upon what was known.

If rejection of the old views causes you to stumble or weakens your faith, don’t blame the science. You will never meet anyone who became a Christian because they heard the earth was 6,000 years old, but you may meet people who have rejected the Bible and Jesus because of the young earth teaching.

The Making of Mammals.

What does Scripture really say about mammals? “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. Gen 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good” (Gen 1:24).

The words “let the earth bring forth... after his kind,” indicate God's chosen instrument through which He will create. What is created at this time needs some discussion. Specific species are not mentioned here, only broad categories. The Hebrew word for cattle is behemah and it means a large quadruped. This covers a broad range of mammals, but is best understood as meaning grazing animals. The Hebrew word for creeping things is remes and it means a rapidly moving animal. It can mean reptile, but probably refers to rabbits, squirrels and that type of mammal. Beast of the earth is chay in Hebrew and refers to wild creatures.

Another interesting thing about these verses is that God made these creatures whereas the creatures mentioned previously were created. Why the word change? Is it possible this verse is not as simple as the creationist interpretation has held? The mammals may have been created from the earth directly or they may have been genetic alterations of previously existing land dwelling life forms that had been created during day five. The Hebrew word for created is bara and it means “cut out” or “formed” and is traditionally considered to mean “out of nothing.” Since we are told that the sea brought forth the creations of day five, the idea might better be understood as a lump of clay being used to form a piece of pottery. In this case the pottery is a living creature. Asah, the Hebrew word translated made, means to bring forth. Carrying the pottery analogy further, this might mean using the existing pottery (from day five) and reshaping it into something new (the mammals of day six), understand that the “potter” is still necessary. God is the Creator and force responsible for the genetic alterations. He is in control of everything.

Why should God make mammals in this way? Looking at this question from another angle we could just as easily ask: why do we believe God must have done it in a certain way? We should never be so arrogant as to demand that God follow our idea of what is the proper method to create a universe, or a mammal. We should never be so arrogant as to demand that God follow our limited understanding and interpretation of Scripture.

Did God make all mammals from a few pair of creatures or did He make many different kinds of mammals initially? Again, Scripture is silent — we do not know. One idea may be more palatable to us than the other but it is folly to demand a preferred method is correct. Science is also uncertain on this point. Current theory is that mammals descended from Therapsida, a large order of reptiles (an order contains many species). This would indicate that several cold-blooded reptile creatures developed along parallel lines to become warm-blooded mammals. This seems too unlikely by unguided random natural selection, but with God all things are possible.

Interestingly, the origin of mammals appears to be mentioned already in day 5. Indeed, in Gen 1:21 we read “And God created... every living creature that moveth.” The Hebrew for “creature” here is different than “creature” mentioned in verse 20. The Hebrew word is nephesh and it is often translated as “soul” — not to be confused with spirit. Spirit refers to the immortal; soul in Scripture refers to life, having limited mind and emotions. Unlike reptiles, mammals are capable of emotional expression.

The fossil record tells us that until 65 million years ago mammals were confined to rodent-sized creatures scurrying about at the dinosaurs’ feet. When the dinosaurs became extinct the mammals quickly came to dominate the earth, exploding in numbers and variety. Isn't this what the Bible tells us that God did on the sixth day?

Science and the Bible are once again in complete agreement.