Can you believe in Evolution, and believe in Christianity?
This is one of the biggest hurdles to Christian belief, and millions around the globe after hearing or being told about the theory of evolution reject Christianity and religious belief. Some may find this absurd, but it is often the biggest “nail in the coffin” to religious belief in general unless one accepts some of the eastern faiths.
What is Evolution?
When people talk about evolution, they are usually referring to a “Darwinian” evolutionary model named after Charles Darwin.
To summarize, Darwin’s theory says that each and every living thing on the planet has adapted and grown from a single biological source through a process called “natural selection”. Natural selection is a process in which genes beneficial to survival in a biological substance or creature continue in the gene pool, as those traits which don’t provide a more effective survival method die out. This is not described as a directed series of events, but one with a completely random series of events that eventually led to the generation of the animals we see today as well as the creation of humanity.
Humans are typically said to come from an ape-like genetic pool, but each and every life-form according to this theory come from what is called a “common ancestor”. This is primarily due to the discoveries of different skull shapes of “human like” creatures discovered across the world. One could however argue, that just because their skull shape does not itself indicate a “better” or more intelligent life to the current anatomy of humanity.
https://www.britannica.com/science/evolution-scientific-theory
Micro vs Macro
There are two major schools of thought with evolutionary theory called micro and macro evolution. Macro evolution is what is usually thought of when people consider evolution, and what people are applying when they say that hippos came from whales or vice versa. Some “scientists” even claim humanity has a oceanic ancestor through the evolutionary chain similar to a whale. This change happens over a very long period of time, often described as billions of years, and is a change that humans cannot observe but only speculate about.
It is said that we even share up to 70% of our DNA with bananas. https://www.pfizer.com/news/articles/how_genetically_related_are_we_to_bananas. Some will say this fact shows humans are insignificant and simply a bi-product of “natural” processes of random chance, but I rather think that it shows we have the same building blocks as the rest of life on earth. Nature is one unit, and it is our job to preserve it’s integrity as we are a part of it.
Here is a source explaining Macro Evolution: https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolution-101/macroevolution/what-is-macroevolution/
Micro Evolution is an understanding of evolution that is noticeable from the human experience, and provides a good framework for understanding how animals (and humans) have adapted and continue to adapt to their environment. This is usually displayed similarly to the way we were taught genetics in high school or early college classes. If we have 3 red genes and 3 blue genes there is a 50/50 shot that the creature will be either red or green. Over time, these genes may end up prioritized through either natural selection or human intervention. If a bird with a certain shaped beak comes from Madagascar to a northern Californian climate, the beak of that bird will change shape to better suit its environment, food source, and predators. The kicker here is that the beak does not need much time to change. Within just a few generations that beak could change entirely, and with the lifespan of many small birds, that could 5 generations and twenty years of adaptation if the species is able to continue that long. This same method applies to the breeding of dogs, where breeders pick and choose attributes of the offspring that they would like to see based off of the parents. Over succeeding generations one can change the breed of dog almost completely.
Here are two sources explaining micro-evolution. https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Human_Biology/Human_Biology_(Wakim_and_Grewal)/09%3A_Biological_Evolution/9.4%3A_Microevolution
https://www.icr.org/article/what-difference-between-macroevolution-microevolut
To answer the coming questions: “Well, why can’t it be both?” and “Can I have one without the other?”, Yes. You can have both, but you cannot have Macroevolution without Micro. However, you can have Micro without Macro and in fact we know we have Microevolution because of the examples I presented above. The real question here is whether or not I can believe in the Bible and thus be a Christian if I believe in Macroevolution. I wager…yes, but I do think those who do not believe in macroevolution will have a deeper faith than those who do. Here is why:
Death and Creation
To come to a conclusion the reader must ask themselves some questions :
Do I believe “In the Beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” Genesis 1? [If you do not believe that, I would begin to question your Christian faith as a whole and wonder what John 1 means to you.]
Why is it that God would institute a Sabbath (Exodus 20) law commemorating his creation if he were not the creator?
Do I believe “For the wages of sin is death” Romans 6? [If not, then why did Jesus die for you, and why must he give you eternal life due to your sins? “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
When do you believe death and sin came into the world?
The importance of these questions ultimately comes down to sin, death, and the creator. If you believe God is the creator, and believe the wages of sin is death, then you must ask “When did sin enter the creation?”.
The broad explanation of evolution, and specifically Macroevolution is in direct conflict with the idea that sin came into the world when man disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If God created the world and walked away allowing for us to come to be through a warm pool filled with the building blocks required to create life which eventually turned into fish, marsupials, apes, and many different stages of hominid…then when did death enter the world? It entered before humanity sinned, meaning sin entered the world before humanity disobeyed God. If death did not come from humanities sin…what does Jesus need to save humanity from? The sin that he essentially created the world with built in? Maybe someone can help me understand that, but it does not seem logical to me.
Conclusion
Personally, I hold an “in between” position on this particular topic. Because I see evidence for the validity of the Bible, and Jesus as the Savior of humanity from themselves I feel ok in an un-decided position. This does induce some stress and questioning along with it, but if you are someone like me who can’t seem to reject what we have been taught whole-heartedly I do believe it is possible to be a Christian and not reject macroevolution. But to believe it seems to be difficult for me to resonate with the logic behind it. Many will say “It’s faith”…but the bible itself defines faith as this: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” Hebrews 11:1 [Key word: Evidence].
Microevolution is undeniable. Macro…makes things complicated. A major kicker here is…How old is the earth? That is something I find is much less important than the topic of evolution. There will be a posting in the future on this very topic. “Is the earth 6.8 Billion, 500 thousand, or 6000 years old…and does it even matter?”
God: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 Jesus: “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1. “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” Colossians 1:16. God: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139. “It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.” Jeremiah 10
“Come now, and let us reason together“ Isaiah 1:18
Keep reaching through the darkness.
Sources you need to check out
ESSENTIAL: The Devils Delusion – David Berlinski (Non Religious Secular Ethnic Jew)
Evolution: Michael Denton
Descent of man, 1st edn 1871 : Charles Darwin / On the origin of species, 1st edn 1859
Baqash : To Seek 