Creation vs Evolution - A Teen's Perspective
By James, AZ
Have you ever talked to someone about evolution?
Perhaps you've been in a discussion or even a heated argument with someone on the "Creation vs. Evolution" boxing match, swapping fact after fact, trading point and counter-point. How successful were you in winning the person over with all your facts and evidence for creation? My guess is that chances are you weren't extremely successful. In fact, it's probable that you only ended up in a stalemate with both sides thinking "I'm right. You're wrong." This happens to Christians all over the world, and our belief in Creation is probably one of the aspects of our faith that people are most likely to ridicule and attempt to trample. Evolution is everywhere: from universities and textbooks to magazines and television. What are we to do against such a widely accepted powerhouse known as the theory of Evolution?
Perhaps one thing that you may consider is to load up on facts and evidence that support Creation. You've probably heard of a thing called "Intelligent design" or heard of people called "Creation scientists." Fight fire with fire, right? We may soon learn of a tidbit of information and think, "This stuff is foolproof. Nothing can top this," only to hear or see the latest evidence for Evolution and be taken aback. It can appear so logical, so true. How can Intelligent design and Evolution contradict each other if they're both based on the same thing, that is, science?
There are several problems with relying on facts and science. First off, neither Evolution nor Creation is very scientific. Both go against scientific laws or theories such as matter cannot be created or destroyed and all living organisms come from other living organism. In Creation God created the universe from nothing and made man from dust. In Evolution there is no explanation for where the first matter or living organisms came from. Sure, both Creation and Evolution have data supporting them. The problem is that both sides can be guilty of using data that supports their belief, but then just completely ignoring all other data that may not fit in. This is completely unscientific. True science would involve looking at ALL the data and making a statement that would be supported by all the data. The truth is, neither Creation nor Evolution are a matter of science, but they are a matter of faith. You must believe them without any proof.
How are we to treat all these facts then? What are we to do if we find evidence for Evolution to seem exceedingly logical and believable? My science teacher was quoting someone else when he said, "We must hold loosely to science in one hand, and firmly to our faith in the other." Our faith is more important than scientific facts or evidence. Faith is not just believing something without any evidence, but it involves believing something even when there is evidence to the contrary. All these facts may be interesting and true, but they are not to be relied on.
How can we witness to others who believe in evolution? At times you may become so frustrated with others that you may think, "It's so obvious, how can you be so stupid?!?" Don't say that, it never helps. Instead, respond with Christian love and patience. Facts can be fun, and there are times and places to use them, but we must remember that facts do not bring people to faith. People are brought to faith by the Holy Spirit through hearing the Word of God.