Christian Evolutionist: Oxymoron?

8 Reasons Why A True Christian Should Not Be An Evolutionist.

In honor of the Creation Museum, which is located in Northern Kentucky and is set to open this month, this article details all the reasons (that I could think of) why true Christians, for logic and the Bible's sake, should not--even cannot--be theistic evolutionists, at least once they have the knowledge revealed in this post.

Answers in Genesis, (to the best of my knowledge) the largest Christian apologetics organization in the world, is behind this museum. They believe in "Upholding the authority of the Bible from the very first verse." Other Christians, however, don't take such a hard stance. They think they can re-interpret (twist) portions of the Bible and reconcile God's Word with man's science; or perhaps they simply believe that man's say takes precedence. When their theories say "Adam and Eve is just a parable/figure" or something else, that's essentially what they're saying.

Theistic evolutionism has become more common than it used to be. And, while theism is not directly at odds with Evolution, the God of the Bible is. It makes one wonder: are many on the liberal and theistic evolutionist side of the coin even serving the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?

Of course, the Theory of Evolution has crept into many churches to one extent or another. The devil has been effective and comprehensive in his exploits. Like his first conversation with a human, when he questioned some of God's first words, he is still placing doubt in the hearts and minds of people about the first words of God--the first Written Words of God. Satan is tearing at the foundation, trying to get Christians to "...exchange the truth of God for a lie..." and to worship man's widsom--in fact, man's fallable, preposterous, problematic, hypothetical folly--instead of God's wisdom. (Romans 1:25) What a blunder, as 1 Corinthians 1 states, "...Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?...the foolishness of God is wiser than men..." (vs. 20, 25)

But fortunately, for me and my readers, the buck stops here. Here are the nine reasons why Christians who are evolutionists "ought not be":

1.) God's Image.
The Bible tells us that man is made in God's image. (Genesis 1:26, 27 ; 9:6) If mankind evolved from the lowest of life forms, when did human beings attain "image of God status"? When was that last step taken, that last stage developed? And, what of those "missing links," those "before pictures" of the "God Image Product"?

2.) Soul and Stewardship.
In the same sense, if man is a highly-evolved animal, when did God endow him with a soul? When was he separated from and given stewardship over the animals? After all, he was just an animal. What of the predecessors of the "soul-bearers"?
Likewise...

3.) Sin and Death.
Romans 5:12 says, "...through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin..." Romans 8:20-22 adds onto that, stating, "For the creation was subjected to futility...in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now." These two passages, paired with the apparent first shedding of blood in Genesis 3:21, clearly shows that Adam brought death and suffering to the whole of creation.
This is problematic on a couple of fronts for the Christian who would be an evolutionist.
First of all, the Theory of Evolution at ist core, subsisting on the "survival of the fittest," lives on death (pardon the pun). Death and suffering are vital components of the evolutionary process. But the Bible informs us that creation was "good," and, as I said, death didn't come till sin entered through Adam. How could Evolution take place without man, and therefore without sin, and therefore without death?
The second problem that is encountered is this: along the lines of my first points, if human beings evolved, when did they "evolve" the "capacity" to sin? If humans evolved, when did they become "human enough" for God to hold them accountable for their actions?

4. Adam's Descendants.
If Adam, Eve, and the Garden of Eden are just mythological, legendary, figurative, or parabolic, it can be concluded that their offspring weren't real people either. Then, one can easily deduce that their children's children didn't exist either...and so on... and so on. Eventually, the whole book of Genesis is discredited, and ultimately, the entire Bible's historical record and geneaology, with it being determined that Jesus Himself was not an actual person. Christians who claim that Adam was not real do not realize that their beliefs would cause Christianity to crumble upon itself.

5. Jesus, the Last Adam.
1 Corinthians 15:45 states, "...'The first man, Adam, became a living soul.' The last Adam became a life-giving spirit." Then, "The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven." (v.47) Romans 5:14 calls Adam a "type" or "foreshadowing" of Christ. Other parts of the chapter also make such comparisons. If Adam was not a living, breathing, real man, the implication about the Messiah is obvious. Once again, we see, that Adam's existence is intrical to Jesus'.

6. After Their Kind.
The Genesis account mentions numerous times that God created creatures "after their kind." (Genesis 1:21, 24, 25) Since Evolution requires a drawn-out, trial-and-error, improbable (to say the least), unproven procedure of one kind of animal (or life-form) transforming into another kind, this repeated biblical phrase appears to speak firmly to the issue of Evolution. Fish didn't evolve into reptiles and amphibians which evolved into mammalls...and on and on. No, it didn't happen that way according to the Bible. It says, "God created the sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed AFTER THEIR KIND, and every winged bird AFTER ITS KIND... Let the earth bring forth living creatures AFTER THEIR KIND: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth AFTER THEIR KINDS... God made the beasts of the earth AFTER THEIR KINDS, and the cattle AFTER THEIR KIND, and everything that creeps on the ground AFTER ITS KIND." (Emphasis mine)

7. The Flood Conundrum.
Answers in Genesis dedicates a significant portion of its ministry to defending the Great Flood and to demonstrating that much of the erosion and fossilization we see today could have occurred--and likely did--during a catastrophic disaster like the Flood. In fact, the entire last issue of Answers Magazine was about the Flood and Noah's Ark.
But those who would mix the Bible with secular textbooks remove the necessity of the Flood. In actuality, it is unlikely that the earth has experienced millions (even billions) of years of corrosive elements (and localized catastrophes) IN ADDITION to the worldwide Flood. Six to ten thousand years of existence with some natural disasters (including the Flood) is a more plausible scenario. Moreover, God simply could have created the world with some of its natural wonders already partially or fully intact.
So, as we repeatedly see, denying the literal, Genesis account of Creation introduces difficulties outside the realm of the first few chapters of God's Word.

8. Illogical.
A deistic god could put in motion a process lilke Macro-Evolution, because the case could be made that a deistic god wouldn't really care what the result was, and wouldn't really be involved. An impersonal god could start such a process, because the logic could be presented that that this type of god didn't plan on making humans or having a relationship with them; or that, being impersonal, an impersonal god couldn't directly create personal beings. A god who was not omnipotent or omniscient could initiate natural selection, because it could be said that such a god would not be powerful or knowledgeable enough to create extremely complex life forms from the get-go, but rather only the simplest, most miniscule types. An unholy, imperfect god could utilize Evolution, because one could say that death and suffering didn't bother him/her/it. The case could be made that all of the aforementioned gods could/would be "laissez-faire," and therefore Evolution would be an acceptable tool for them.
But we serve a God Who is hands-on, holy, perfect, omnipotent, omniscient, personal, and involved.
He created the universe with a distinct purpose and plan, and the unfolding of that plan, as well as His sovereign control and intervention, continues today.

"...He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world... He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will...we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counself of His will..." (Ephesians 1:4, 5, 11)

" 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope..." (Jeremiah 29:11)

"...we know that God causes all things to work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose... If God is for us, who is against us?..." (Romans 8:28, 31)

"Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:35-39)

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights..." (James 1:17)

"O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness." (Isaiah 25:1)

Job 38-39 demonstrates God's omniscience of and omnipotence over nature.

Considering all these things, it is preposterous to think that God would leave His handiwork, for which He had/has plans, to a chance process. Furthermore, the idea of God "directing" a CHANCE process is ridiculous. Though this is not to say that God doesn't use and direct micro-evolution. But, if he designed creatures, including humans, with genetic potential and variation, that is not really chance at all.

And that leads to the conclusion, established by the previous eight points, that the Genesis Record is not a parable, an analogy, or a legend. It is God's truth in the way He decided to reveal it to us, and our choice is simply to accept it...or not. When Jesus says, "There was a man who had two sons," we know it is a story with a moral, a lesson. When Jesus says, "I am the door," we know it is figurative, analogical. All it takes is a little contextual reading of Scripture to determine this. But, when the Bible says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth," and the verses thereafter, we are left with only one determination.

So, does that mean theistic evolutionists are not true Christians? Well, I would be more inclined to call them "uninformed" or "misinformed" Christians. That is, unless, their view of origins is an indicator of their overall worldview--their overall level of faith. This is likely what it often is. The Bible tells us, "All Scripture is inspired by God..." (2 Timothy 3:17) Hebrews 11:6 states, "...without faith it is impossible to please Him..."
If someone can't have faith in the first chapters of His Story, they likely have a substantial, deep issue in their heart.

~Kingdom Advancer