I am write particularly to you - notable defender of reflector
orthodoxy and a believer - with a problem. I am finding great difficulty
coming to terms with the notion that an evolutionist may also be a
Christian. Here are some reasons why:
1) During his earthly ministry, Our Lord distinctly claimed that his
teaching was Divine in its authority (Jn.12:49,50). To him the Old
Testament was true, authoritative, inspired; to him, what Scripture
said, God said. Clearly, therefore, his beliefs and teachings brought
to us by the gospel writers and apostles must be fully accepted by all
who would be known by the name 'Christian'. If we choose only to
believe the bits that appeal; that don't disturb our cherished views of
reality; we can hardly claim to stand on the solid rock that the Lord
has provided for the rebuilding of our fellowship with him.
2) In Mt.19:4,5 Jesus refers to the Gen.2:24 narrator's comments on the
implications of the marriage of Adam and Eve; clearly, in the eyes of
the Lord these were real people. Yet, who were they in the evolutionary
scheme of things?
3) In Ro.5:12-21 and 1Co.15:21,22 we observe that the apostle Paul
regarded Adam and Christ as parallel, not so much in who they were, but
in what they did. The act of Adam that brought condemnation and the act
of Christ that brought justification stand side by side, and the one
cancels out the other. Clearly, there can be no parallel between Jesus
and his act of atonement and a mythological Adam whose Fall is only a
symbol.
4) In Lk.16:19-31 we read the parable of the rich man and the beggar.
Following his death, the rich man speaks to Abraham from hell requesting
that he would warn his five living brothers of the fate that awaited
them unless they mended their ways. Abraham responds, "They have Moses
and the prophets; let them hear them." - and, again, "If they hear not
Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose
from the dead.
5) Clearly, the earlier writings of Moses are directly challenged by the
evolutionary hypothesis. It follows that if one is true, the other must
be false.
6) Thou shalt have no other gods before me...Thou shalt not bow down
thyself to them... (the 1st and 3rd commandments of the Decalogue -
Ex.20:3,5). It is appropriate that we ask, Who is the real Master in the
life of a Darwinist Christian? There can be no doubt that it is the god
Evolution who calls the tune! He has to be constantly appeased by the
yielding of foundational biblical principles!
Faced with statements such as these (and these are only a sample),
shouldn't all who lay claim to the title, 'Christian', examine most
carefully the claims of evolution? - particularly, when it is
observed, (a) that it is extremely popular among atheists and, (b) that
the strict rigour one associates with the practice of science has,
strangely and uniquely, been set aside in this one instance. Indeed, a
sober consideration of its history, its demands, its shortcomings, and
its fruits suggests that evolution closely fits the great deception
spoken of in 2Th.2:11,12.
Pim, with respect, the message that you - and many like you - appear to
be relaying to your Creator is this: "I agree with much of what you had
to say when you ministered to us here on earth; but, of course, you
lived and taught long before Darwin; it was he who really put us right
re the matter of origins!
Vernon Jenkins
http://www.compulink.co.uk/~indexer/miracla1.htm