by Jeanne Deaux

Created on: November 21, 2008

In any discussion of ideas about how life began, inevitably the conversation will progress into two opposing arguments over whether life was created, or whether it evolved. In the United States in particular, those who say life was created claim that it was created by the God of the Christian Bible. However, modern people are finding it increasingly difficult to accept that the earth really could have been created in seven literal days, so those who believe the Christian God created all life have adapted their argument into a concept referred to as Intelligent Design. Certain Christian groups are making progress introducing Intelligent Design elements into the public school science classroom, claiming that ID is just as scientific as evolution is, if not more so.

There's just one problem: The theory of evolution does not teach how life began. Anyone who's made even a cursory examination of the literature of evolutionary theory knows this. Unfortunately, those who believe evolution tells us all we need to know about the origins of life have overlooked this salient fact. In the end, they appear uneducated about their own pet theory and furthermore seem to have an axe to grind against religion in general, which reduces their credibility in the eyes of religious people. This has probably done at least half as much to derail science education in the United States as anything ID advocates might have done.

But if evolution does not teach how life began, this leaves the door wide open for multiple ideas about what set life in motion. All the theory of evolution teaches us is how life developed. So something or someone would have had to create the first cells that existed in this world, or would have had to set the chemical processes in motion that led to the development of the first cells. One could argue that it could just as easily been a Someone who did that as a something.

What possible purpose could a God have for using evolution to shape the development of life, though? The Bible says all God has to do is speak and things happen as He wishes them to happen. We've grown used to the idea that these things happen instantaneously-after all, God is conceived of in human minds as all-powerful. We like to think that if we had that much power, we could do anything in the blink of an eye-even create a new planet and put life on it.

But if we read Genesis then we understand that for whatever reason, God did not create the Earth instantaneously, if we are to take Genesis literally.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>