, Research Paper
email: byrdd@mail.lakecity.cc.fl.usChristian Doctrine Concerning Humankind and SinThe Christian Doctrine of Mankind is Created, Free-willed, Image of God (Dr. Friend, 9/20/97). In this paper I will discuss the creation versus evolution aspect of the created portion of that doctrine. Scientists and theologians have disagreed on this subject since who knows when. It was probably one of the first topics of conversation when man was allowed by God to formulate the first language. Was man created by God, ex nihilo? Did man simply evolve from some minute, unthinking organism? Scientists and theologians ponder these questions, and have filled many books on the subject. However, neither side can prove, in human terms, their argument. Scientists can trace the evolution chain back to Australopithecus. However, there is a link missing to complete the chain. Theologians, on the other hand, stand firm on the creation theory as told in the Bible. Each side is dogmatic in their beliefs. “Humans are not creatures of blind cosmic forces, helpless and hopeless before the relentless rhythms and cycles of nature. On the contrary, they are endowed with dignity, purpose, and power by their creator” (Marthaler said in The Creed, pg. 56). “In the finest laboratories the simple cell cannot be created from inanimate matter. Even if it could, that would prove that the elements need a directing force to produce a living substance” (Did Man Get Here by Evolution or by Creation? Pg. 26, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Penn.). These two quotations are just a smathering of information on the creation aspect of humanity. Although these statements are substantial, they still do not prove that the creation theory is, in fact, true, nor do they disprove it. “Although some evolutionists believe that a Creator began the process, most today teach that life arose from inanimate matter without divine assistance. Today the vast majority of those who influence the thinking of people accept evolution as a fact” (Did Man Get Here by Evolution or by Creation pgs. 6&7, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Penn.). Evolutionists contend that we are descendants of hairy, tailless, apelike men. This has never been proven. “One of the prime difficulties is that really significant human fossil skulls are exceptionally rare ” (New Scientist, 3/25/65). I have known individuals that make the theory of evolution almost believable. These individuals fit the description of what the first scientists thought that the Neanderthal Man would have looked like, squat, brutish, somewhat apelike. Still I do not believe that humankind evolved from apelike creatures. I do not know of anyone that goes to a zoo or into the jungles of the world to visit apelike relatives. “Man, as the entire universe, was created by God and is the crowning of all His work” (Alberione said in Introduction to Christian Doctrine, pg. 20). “According to the testimony of the Scriptures man, in his present human form, was created by God as the conclusion and consummation of all creation” (Lewis, Sperry, Chafer said in Major Bible Themes, pg. 129). The Bible is filled with the truth of creation, that man was created from the dust of the earth as revealed in the following books of the Bible: Gen. 1:27; Gen. 2: 7; Gen. 6: 7; Dt. 4: 32; Ps. 148: 5; Is. 42: 5; Is. 43: 1; Is. 54: 16; Ez. 28: 15; Mal. 2: 10; 1 Cor. 11: 9; Eph. 2: 10; Eph. 4: 24. “It is natural that man should seek to understand his own origin. It is therefore reasonable to expect that God would reveal these facts to man. This He has done in the Bible” (Lewis, Sperry, Chafer said in Major Bible Themes, pg. 128). According to the Very Reverend James Alberione, S.S.P., S.T.D. “To create means to draw out things from nothing, without making use of any pre-existing substance. To create is proper to God alone” (Introduction to Christian Doctrine, pg. 14).
“God created, God created within species, evolution takes place within species” (Dr. Friend, 10/4/97). I pretty much agree with this statement except the evolution part. The evolution within species concept is basically the same theory that Pierre Teilhard De Chardin espoused in his writings, which I find very difficult to read. “Darwin tried to explain that evolution produced the eye by many small transitional stages. Evolutionists today say it was trial and error, and as one small transition proved advantageous it was passed along and built upon by later ones. But, regardless of what kind of creature we examine, wherever there is an eye, it is complete, and not in a transitional stage of development” (Did Man Get Here by Evolution or by Creation? pgs. 35&36, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Penn.). “Whether or not evolution has taken place is to be decided from a study of the facts. As to whether such evolution, assuming it to have taken place, leads to the denial or the assertion of the existence of God, that is a question for philosophy and for metaphysics, which will have to reckon with revealed religion” (Corte said in The Origins of Man, pg. 130). Genesis 2: 7 says that “The Lord God formed man and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being” (the Bible). The declaration that man is a divinely created human spirit can only be made by a religious, believing person. “A request for proof is as absurd as the request to prove that God exists” (Jabay said in Search for Identity, pg. 15). Was mankind created as attested to throughout the Bible or did he merely evolve as the modern theory of evolution would have us believe? I find it hard to believe that mankind evolved through a series of mutations and natural selection. If this were a viable theory, would it not make sense that human mutants (i.e. Downes Syndrome) would be in the majority? “Since Lamarck s theory (Acquired Characteristics) has been proven false, it is only of historical interest. Darwin s theory (Natural Selection) does not satisfactorily explain the origin and inheritance of variations DeVries theory (Large Mutations) has been shown to be weak because no single mutation or set of mutations has ever been so large and numerous that it has been known to start a new species in one generation of offsprings” (Did Man Get Here by Evolution or by Creation? pgs. 16&17, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Penn.). Creation or evolution, the debate continues. Who is right and who is wrong? Is a good bet that mankind will not find the answers in this life as we know it. As for me, I am a Bible believing Baptist that just cannot accept the theory of evolution, not even within species. This debate, along with many others, will be answered when Christ returns for His Bride.