How does evolution (dinosaurs, etc.) fit in with creation?

The short answer is, it doesn’t; the theory of evolution in regards to the origins of the universe and life is completely incompatible with God’s revelation of creation. What makes the matter confusing is that some aspects of evolutionary theory are based on scientific fact that does not go against creation. The theory of evolution regarding biology can be broken down into two parts; micro-evolution and macro-evolution.

Micro-evolution is also known as natural selection, and it does happen. As the animals that God saved on the ark spread out following the flood, certain population groups became isolated. The area of the world that these groups lived in favored certain physical traits, such as certain colors for camouflage, certain beak shapes that made it easier to gather or open food, etc. Over several generations the individuals in the population who had traits that were favored by their environment survived long enough to reproduce, while others did not. In an isolated population this can result in unfavorable traits being eliminated from the gene pool over the course of just a few generations. The most vivid example of this is in breeds of dogs. A Great Dane and a Chihuahua are both dogs, but humans selectively breed them to favor certain traits. The same thing can happen in nature to an isolated population. Micro-evolution (or Natural Selection) and God’s revelation of creation in the Bible are completely compatible. There is no need to try to reinterpret scripture to make it fit with this aspect of evolution.

Macro-evolution is where you get into the idea that all life forms descended from other, less primitive life forms. According to the theory, if natural selection goes on for a long enough period of time (millions of years) you will eventually get something that is so different from its ancestors that we would classify it as a new kind of creature altogether. What happened to the dinosaurs? According to modern evolutionary theory, they evolved into birds. The problem with macro-evolution is this; for life to evolve from a single cell organism through a long chain of more complex creatures until you eventually end up with humans you need to have the constant addition of genetic material. The more complex an organism is the more genetic material is required. And it isn’t even a proportional relationship; an increase in complexity in the organism requires an exponential increase in DNA. As we’ve seen from our look at natural selection, the opposite is happening. Micro-evolution relies on the loss of genetic information; that’s what makes up variety in a population. Macro-evolution requires the addition of genetic information.

Micro-evolution is an observable phenomenon that we know occurs and in fact is expected from a creationist viewpoint. Macro-evolution is purely a theory, and not a very good one. No one has never observed the increase of genetic information in a population group, and no one can even propose a plausible way in which it might happen. Keep in mind how the theory of evolution got its start. Men who decided they did not want to believe in God saw His handiwork in creation and had to find a way to resolve this cognitive dissonance. They refused to admit the existence of God, so they rationalized a way in which life could come about by natural means. Evolutionists today still begin at that same spot, the denial of God’s existence. They disregard a vast amount of scientific data that fits the creation model much better than evolution as being an anomaly or contaminated. To admit evolution is wrong would mean admitting that God is real, and they just won’t allow themselves to do that.

So what about the ideas that try to blend the creation narrative in scripture with evolution? Things like the gap theory or the day-age theory. These theories try to make the bible fit the evolutionary model by imposing millions of years into the creation narrative.

The gap theory says that Genesis 1:1 talks about the original creation, which they say God destroyed because of the fall of Satan and Genesis 1:2 is a second recreation of the Earth. They argue that millions of years existed between verses 1 and 2 and that is what we find in the fossil record.

The day-age theory says that the days in the creation narrative were not literal 24 hour days, but were more like eons, periods of millions of years. They argue that God created the Earth and life in a very primitive form and then let evolution take over until He stepped into human history in His dealings with Adam (who had evolved from simpler life forms.)

One huge problem with both of these theories is that the bible makes it very clear that death (of all things) is the result of Adam’s sin. We don’t find this just in Genesis but throughout scripture. If millions of years existed before Adam, and the fossil record comes from this period, then millions of living creatures died long before Adam sinned. That means the bible is wrong regarding the relationship between sin and death.

If the creation narrative can’t be accepted as literal and true, then all of scripture is unreliable. What then is our faith based upon? Evolution and Creation are completely incompatible.

If you would like more information regarding this topic you can check out these websites. Some of the information on them is technical, but much is easy to understand.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/
http://www.icr.org/


Submitted by: Jim Jackson