Evolution vs. Creationism: Can't we have both?
If you believe in God and the Bible, you believe that God created everything, and that He created everything in 7 days. Okay. I'm good with that, and I'm going to explain here and now why this is NOT the antithesis of evolution.
Let's begin with a story: I was driving back from somewhere to my hometown with a good friend's daughter in the car. We'd been talking about a variety of things - she was about 10 at the time and very curious about life. She was distressed because she had learned at school about dinosaurs, but her grandmother had told her that there were no dinosaurs because they weren't mentioned in the Bible.
I thought carefully about her question. I could have easily brushed the question off with a sarcastic rejoinder such as: "Well, they don't mention cars in the Bible, either, but you're riding in one, aren't you?" Because I cared about her and her grandmother, I decided to tell her what I really believe.
I believe in evolution; it is a science, so saying you don't believe in evolution is the equivalent of saying you don't believe in the law of gravity. I also believe that people have the right to believe in God and the Bible and the story of creation. What I told her was that in my opinion the two things, evolution and creation, didn't have to be diametrically opposed to one another (of course, I didn't say 'diametrically opposed' to a 10-year-old, but you get the idea). What if God created all the original animals and mammals - say, dinosaurs and primates - and created those animals to evolve into the animals, primates, and even humans we have around us today?
She was thrilled with this answer (later, I discovered that her grandmother was LESS thrilled), and I think it caused her to really begin to think about the way science and religion can co-exist. My own beliefs are my own, and I will keep them private, but I don't think people have to choose to believe either in God and the Bible or in evolution. I think there's room for them both in our world, if we just let our minds open up a little and allow for all possibilities.
Her next question was about how God could have created everything in seven days (This was one argument her grandmother used to pooh-pooh evolution, since scientists claim that evolving takes millennia.). This one was much easier. Since there is nothing in the Bible about how long GOD'S day was, why couldn't His day be as short as one second or as long as one millennium? People who believe in the Bible, believe that it is the word of God written down by men. These same people surely understand and believe that men are flawed creatures capable of, even destined to, make mistakes. So logic tells us that in writing down even divinely-inspired words, men could have, and probably did, make mistakes in the transcription of those words. Anyone who has served as a translator knows how tricky it is to get not only the language correct, but the inflection, the slang, the accent, and even the intent. Why, then, would it not have been likely that the men writing down what they claimed was the word of the creator, may have made mistakes in the language they used? Furthermore, since the original Bible was written down, it has been translated hundreds of times into many different languages and versions - would it not also make sense that in these translations, mistakes could (indeed, would) have been made?
My point is, there doesn't have to be a conflict between creationists and evolutionists. The two can co-exist in harmony, as long as they allow a little flexibility into their beliefs.
Let's begin with a story: I was driving back from somewhere to my hometown with a good friend's daughter in the car. We'd been talking about a variety of things - she was about 10 at the time and very curious about life. She was distressed because she had learned at school about dinosaurs, but her grandmother had told her that there were no dinosaurs because they weren't mentioned in the Bible.
I thought carefully about her question. I could have easily brushed the question off with a sarcastic rejoinder such as: "Well, they don't mention cars in the Bible, either, but you're riding in one, aren't you?" Because I cared about her and her grandmother, I decided to tell her what I really believe.
I believe in evolution; it is a science, so saying you don't believe in evolution is the equivalent of saying you don't believe in the law of gravity. I also believe that people have the right to believe in God and the Bible and the story of creation. What I told her was that in my opinion the two things, evolution and creation, didn't have to be diametrically opposed to one another (of course, I didn't say 'diametrically opposed' to a 10-year-old, but you get the idea). What if God created all the original animals and mammals - say, dinosaurs and primates - and created those animals to evolve into the animals, primates, and even humans we have around us today?
She was thrilled with this answer (later, I discovered that her grandmother was LESS thrilled), and I think it caused her to really begin to think about the way science and religion can co-exist. My own beliefs are my own, and I will keep them private, but I don't think people have to choose to believe either in God and the Bible or in evolution. I think there's room for them both in our world, if we just let our minds open up a little and allow for all possibilities.
Her next question was about how God could have created everything in seven days (This was one argument her grandmother used to pooh-pooh evolution, since scientists claim that evolving takes millennia.). This one was much easier. Since there is nothing in the Bible about how long GOD'S day was, why couldn't His day be as short as one second or as long as one millennium? People who believe in the Bible, believe that it is the word of God written down by men. These same people surely understand and believe that men are flawed creatures capable of, even destined to, make mistakes. So logic tells us that in writing down even divinely-inspired words, men could have, and probably did, make mistakes in the transcription of those words. Anyone who has served as a translator knows how tricky it is to get not only the language correct, but the inflection, the slang, the accent, and even the intent. Why, then, would it not have been likely that the men writing down what they claimed was the word of the creator, may have made mistakes in the language they used? Furthermore, since the original Bible was written down, it has been translated hundreds of times into many different languages and versions - would it not also make sense that in these translations, mistakes could (indeed, would) have been made?
My point is, there doesn't have to be a conflict between creationists and evolutionists. The two can co-exist in harmony, as long as they allow a little flexibility into their beliefs.
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