When one admits Man has been created in the “image of God,” one has a healthy, reverential sense about Man, life and God. Because of Man’s responsibility. Since Man has been created by God, he is accountable to God. If this truth is denied, Man makes himself accountable and responsible to no one, at least temporarily in his own mind. This enables him to think, do and say whatever he wants. Once one admits he has been created by God, he also admits a responsibility to the God who created him.
Since Man has been created by God, he will have a future date in which he will face God. Those who downplay the fact that they were created by God promote a philosophy which says “This life is everything.” They dismiss any idea from their minds that they are accountable to God and will one day face Him.
Not wanting to face the thought of eternity, they begin by denying the fact that they were created by God. The majority of people will go to great lengths to keep from thinking about the reality of facing God. A critical doctrine which must be attacked by the majority is the doctrine which says mankind was created by God.
What is evolution?
Evolution is a theory which states that Man is related to all forms of life through a common ancestry and evolved into existence from a simpler form of life into a higher form of life. Evolution is a theory. A theory is a speculative and imaginative idea not based on fact. Facts require witnesses, but theories do not. Generally observed, there are two types of evolution:
Evolution Type #1—Atheistic Evolution
This is the type of evolution that says Man just happened by chance. According to this theory, there was no God involved in any part of the process. Man just naturally evolved. This is often referred to as Naturalistic evolution.
Evolution Type #2—Theistic Evolution
This is the type of evolution that says God started the evolutionary process and carefully oversaw it and brought it along until Man evolved. God created an original cell, according to this theory, then let the process evolve until it ultimately produced Man.
Evolution is built on several theoretical concepts:
- The planets and the stars resulted from a big bang explosion.
- The protons and neutrons began to rotate out away from the central area, at a high rate of speed.
- Life began when a single cell appeared from non-living matter.
- All living organisms have developed from this first simple form. The actual formula for the theory of evolution is–M+NS+T = Evolution. M = mutations. A mutation is a small change in the DNA code of genes which are passed on to the offspring, causing them to differ from their parents in well-marked characteristics.
NS = Natural Selection
Natural selection is the natural selection of positive changes caused by mutations. In other words, there is within nature a selective process to determine those things which are beneficial and helpful for development. (One major problem with this thesis is that some things which are transmitted are not always positive, but negative).
T = Time.
This refers to a long period of time which is needed for the evolutionary process to take place. The formula then for evolution is this: If you take small changes that occur in genes (mutations) and you select the positive changes so that there is always an upgrading (natural selection) and you give it a long period of (time), you wind up with a process that equals evolution. (For a good discussion of this subject, see Basic Theology by Charles Ryrie, pp. 171-179).
Why do we emphatically reject any form of evolution?
Reason #1—Because it contradicts the Bible. This is THE most important reason.
(Reason #2—Because it has no proof. This is theory which has never been scientifically proved.
Reason #3—Because it is an insult to God! God says we were created by Him. Creation displays God’s power, attributes and Deity (Rom. 1:19-20). It is a key reason to worship God (Rev. 4:11).
Reason #4—Because it is an insult to ourselves. We are created in God’s image. Why would Man want to lessen or lower this?
Reason #5—Because it promotes godlessness. It makes mankind accountable to no one and that promotes a godless life and lifestyle. We emphatically deny the theory of evolution! As Dr. Chafer said:
To make Man to be the result of an accidental evolutionary process springing from some supposed primordial germ–which germ itself cannot be accounted for apart from a Creator–and all this as a pure imaginative fancy without so much as a shadow of substance on which it may rest for proof, bears all the marks of mental desperation and bankruptcy of ideas.” (Systemic Theology, Vol. 2, p. 130)
One of the real tragedies of even some modern-day believers is that they allow totally unregenerate minds and their ideas and theories to dictate what is believed. Some seem to think this is the mark of real intellectual scholarship. A mind that tries to dismiss God and biblical truth from its structure concerning mankind is in no position to discuss the origin of Man, the salvation of Man, the purpose of mankind or the destiny of Man.
The end result of such a person is an anthropology that is pure fiction. We must always remember that God’s Word presents factual revelation. Another point that must always be realized and admitted is that both the evolutionist and the Biblicist operate by faith . In fact, the writer of Hebrews, in looking back at creation, makes this point a critical issue (Hebrews 11:3). The writer further says that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
The thing that most evolutionists fail to realize is that their system of evolution is also a faith system. By faith, the evolutionists believe in a theory that is oft times absurd. The person who believes the Bible believes in something that has far more documented evidence than any faith system of theory. John C. Whitcomb says an evolutionist would have to change Hebrews 11:3 to read this way:
“By faith, we evolutionists understand that the worlds were not framed by the word of any god, so that what is seen has indeed been made out of previously existing and less complex visible things, by purely natural processes, through billions of years” (Basic Theology, Ryrie, p. 180).
The only source for reliable facts concerning creation and the origin of Man is the Bible. The Bible gives an eyewitness account of what happened in concrete statements, not in abstract theory. To accept by faith the theories of finite, sinful people over the clear statements of God is pure stupidity. The evolutionary theory should be totally, immediately and completely rejected by any sensible person and certainly by every believer.
What are key passages that clearly refute evolution?
One of the key chapters in the Bible which clearly refutes any idea of evolution is Genesis 1. There are critical verses and words in this section which leave no room whatsoever for an evolutionist theory. One very important word, which is repeated in Genesis 1 several times, is the word kind (Gen. 1:11, 12, 21, 24, 25).
The prepositional phrase “after their kind” presents an insurmountable problem for the evolutionist. The word “kind” is one that refers to species, family or race (Gesenius, Hebrew Lexicon, p. 470). By using this word, God is clearly revealing that He has established certain boundary limits for reproductive propagation. It is impossible for something to reproduce beyond the boundaries of its own family or species and these boundaries have been established by God. For example, a corn seed cannot ever reproduce an apple tree. God has made reproduction only possible within a certain family or species classification. The belief that one species can evolve up a scale and reproduce into another species is pure fiction and folly and completely falls by the wayside right here in Genesis chapter 1.
In fact, Dr. Gregory J. Mendel, a scientist who has done extensive experiments in attempting to prove and distinguish between variations, writes: “…the range of variation possible within a species was strictly limited and afforded No progress whatsoever toward the development of a new species. Thus the individuals of a race of pure-bred tall peas might vary slightly in height, but the progeny of the tall ones was not on the average taller than the progeny of the short ones.
It is true that by selective breeding, certain characteristics possible within a single species may be emphasized to form a special strain (as in the case of many different types of dog), but there is a strictly limited circle of possibilities beyond which No breeder can go. He is powerless, in other words, to develop a new species” (Gleason L. Archer, A Survey of Old Testament, p. 196).
Simply stated, God, at the beginning of His creation, clearly established an “after its kind” reproductive system. An evolutionary theory which postulates the idea that it is possible for a gene of a lower species to evolve up a scale to eventually produce another species is impossible. It cannot, has not or will not ever happen. Family kind and species limits, which are ordained of God, guarantee that no monkey has ever or will ever turn into a man.
Passage #1—Genesis 1:26: This verse explicitly states that the creation of Man was a deliberate decision of God. Not only is it revealed that Man is a special creative work of God, but it may be observed by any honest, objective and intelligent human that Man is superior to other life forms. God very clearly made a major distinction between the created life of Man and the created life of animals, even before Man was created. We will examine later the meaning of being created in the “image of God.” What we see in this verse is a clear refutation of evolution.
Passage #2—Genesis 1:27: The clear information of this verse is that there was no evolutionary process involved whatsoever in the creation of Man. We make three observations from this verse:
Observation #1—Three times in this one verse it is stated that God created Man. There are three basic Hebrew words connected with God and creation: “bara” (Gen. 1:1, 21, 27), “asa” (Gen. 1:25) and “yasar” (Gen. 2:7).
The particular word used in this verse is “bara.” Bara is a Hebrew word that carries with it the idea of creating a new object that is the initiation of something new. It carries with it the idea of bringing something new into existence. Dr. Thomas McComiskey, a professor of Semitic languages, says, “Since this word is always used with Divine activity and since this word never occurs with the object of the material and since it always refers to the newness of the created object, we can conclude that the creation of Man is ex nihilo–that is, God made something new out of nothing.”
In other words, God did not evolve Man from a previous life form; He created a new being from no other life form and termed this new being “Man.” (For a good discussion of this issue see Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology, p. 181; Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Vol. 1, p. 127. For a very deep discussion of these matters see Weston Fields, Unformed and Unfilled.)
Observation #2—The text implies that the creation of mankind was immediate. There is nothing in this verse to suggest that a process of time was used to create Man. In fact, the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament uses an aorist verb, indicating that the writer (Moses) was looking back on a specific point in time when God created Man. It may also be observed that the subject of the creative work is God.
Observation #3—The text states that Man was created in God’s image .
Although we will examine this in detail later, it is important to observe that this is only possible if God is the source of creation. In order for there to exist a created being, which is set apart from all other created beings and be classified as one who has been created in the image of God, God must be the originator of the creation. There is no denying that Man is clearly different from any other created being. He is uniquely set apart from all other life existences and this is because Man has been created by God in His image.
Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer writes: “Here is a record from God declaring the existing relationship between the Creator and the human creature. No other literature in the world is so replete with direct revelation which is calculated to inform the mind of Man and to guide scientific research as are these first pages of the Bible” (Systemic Theology, Vol. 2, p. 135).
Passage #3—Genesis 2:7
This verse clearly establishes and educates us to the fact that Man did not evolve from some previous life form, because the specific material and process God used is explicitly stated:
Fact #1—God formed Man from dust.
This indicates that there was no previous life form which evolved into Man. This text, plus others, clearly reinforces the reality that Man was created from the dust of the earth (Job 34:15; Ps. 90:3; Eccl 3:20, 12:7).
Chemistry has now confirmed that there is a close connection between the body of Man and the soil of the ground. In fact, it is now known that there are at least sixteen elements of soil which are found in the human body: “calcium, carbon, chlorine, fluorine, hydrogen, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, potassium, silicon, sodium, sulfur. All of these minerals are present in organic forms and compose nearly six percent of the body, the remainder being of water, carbon and gasses.” (Ibid., pp. 145-146)
In other words, God did not evolve mankind from a previous life form; He created a new being from no other life form and termed this new being “man.” (For a good discussion of this issue see Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology, p. 181; Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Vol. 1, p. 127. For a very deep discussion of these matters see Weston Fields, Unformed and Unfilled.)
Observation #2—The text implies that the creation of Man was immediate. There is nothing in this verse to suggest that a process of time was used to create Man. In fact, the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament uses an aorist verb, indicating that the writer (Moses) was looking back on a specific point in time when God created Man. It may also be observed that the subject of the creative work is God.
Observation #3—The text states that Man was created in God’s image. Although we will examine this in detail later, it is important to observe that this is only possible if God is the source of creation. In order for there to exist a created being, which is set apart from all other created beings and be classified as one who has been created in the image of God, God must be the originator of the creation.
There is no denying that mankind is clearly different from any other created being. He is uniquely set apart from all other life existences and this is because mankind has been created by God in His image.
Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer writes: “Here is a record from God declaring the existing relationship between the Creator and the human creature. No other literature in the world is so replete with direct revelation which is calculated to inform the mind of Man and to guide scientific research as are these first pages of the Bible” (Systemic Theology, Vol. 2, p. 135).
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Pastor David E. Thompson is pastor/teacher at Texas Corners Bible Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan with a nationally syndicated radio show reaching all across the United States. Pastor Thompson may be classified as a true systematic Bible expositor and communicator of God’s Word. He carefully expounds books of the Bible in a way that is contextually, exegetically, grammatically, historically, and theologically accurate to the text and relevant to the time. He is also an very skilled in New Testament Greek.