Is God Real? - Week 3

Does God Exist: Evolution or Creation

A little boy named Johnny who had a dentist appointment. Johnny’s mother told him to come straight home from school because he needed to get to the dentist. Now Johnny didn't want to go to the dentist, but he heard his mother's instructions loud and clear. So at 3 o'clock that day, elementary school got out and Johnny’s mother waited for him. 3:15 no Johnny. 3:30 no Johnny; 3:45, 4:00 no Johnny. Now she is starting to get a little worried.

She called the dentist and canceled the appointment. 4:15, no Johnny; 4:30 no Johnny. Finally, at 5:00, Johnny walks in the door. His mother says, "Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you.

Johnny said, "Mom, I had an incredible adventure coming home from school." She said, "Well, what happened?" He said, "Well, I was walking along. I was about a block away from school when all of a sudden, right out of the bushes this giant tiger jumped out at me, and he was ferocious. His eyes were big and he was growling and he started to chase me.

"I started to run. I ran all the way down Main Street and I took a left and I started running down Elm Street, and he was still after me. So I thought, well, I'll take a shortcut through the alley, so I started to run through the alley, and then at the end of the alley, all of a sudden this giant elephant came out and it blocked my way, so I'm stuck in this alley and the tiger came right up to me.

"I didn't know what to do. He was just about to pounce on me, and so I looked around and I saw a stick and I picked up the stick and --boom! -- I hit the tiger right on the snout with the stick. It must have startled him, because he ran away.

"I was still scared, so I saw a garbage can and I jumped inside the garbage can. I pulled the lid down on me, and I waited until I was absolutely sure that the tiger was gone and the elephant was gone and it was safe to come home. And that's, Mom, what happened."

She looked at him and said, "Do you expect me to believe that story?" He said, "Mom, Mom, listen! I can prove it to you. I can absolutely prove to you beyond any shadow of a doubt that it is true. I've got the proof, Mom. Look, here's the stick." The likelihood of the mother believing this story just because the boy has a stick is very slim, you wouldn't believe it. This is kinda the argument evolutionist give us.

Here is the question we are going to look at today. Have Scientist built a convincing case for evolution or are they just waving a stick around? Is creation an illusion or is evolution an illusion? How did we get here? Are we here as the result of a mighty glob or a mighty God?

If we are a christian we believe we are here because of a mighty God. Roman 1:20 says

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Even though we can look around and see everything God has created, we have not physically seen God and there is no way I can stand up here prove the existence of God and no one can prove that we are here by chance rather than the choice of a loving God. Both viewpoints; evolution and creation, if we are honest take faith to believe so the question I am going to ask is which of these viewpoints of faith makes the most sense.

Now this is a huge question because if you believe that evolution is true then:

There is no God.

There is no ultimate meaning for your life because you are here by chance and not by choice.

There is no life after death, or heaven or hell.

There is no foundation for right or wrong.

The Bible isn’t true.

But if evolution isn’t true and creation is then there is a God and there is a plan and purpose for each of our lives, there is life after death, there is a heaven and there is a hell, there is a foundation for right and wrong and the Bible is true.

Let me give you a quick definition of creation and evolution.

Creationist: God created the heavens and the earth. God has always existed outside of space and time and he spoke and created all that we experience today.

A good definition of evolution is that No one + nothing = everything.

Evolutionists want us to take by faith that no one created everything we see out of nothing. Evolutionists want us to believe by faith that billions of years dust appeared on the scene followed by gases and chemicals all which came from nothing.

Over 20 billion years this material as a result of gravity formed a huge primordial cloud. This cloud that came from nothing compressed into a hot ball that finally exploded like a big bang. This explosion flung these elements into space and millions of years later they became stars and planets and galaxies. At some point these heavenly bodies began rotating in an incredible accurate and predictable manner all by random chance.

Let me ask you which takes more faith to believe?

Anytime we take a look at evolution we have to distinguish between two different types of evolution.

The first type is called Microevolution.

Microevolution says that small evolutionary changes occur within a species.

For example if you cross breed a dog you will get another kind of dog. If you cross breed a beagle and a pug you get a puggle. Or I put a schnauzer and poodle together and you get a snoodle. Today we have over 200 different types of dogs. But we all would agree a dog is a dog. We don’t see dogs changing into cats.

Now if we took two different types of animals and breed them their offspring would not reproduce. For example, if you breed a horse with a donkey the mule would be not be able to make babies.

The Bible says that God created plants and animals to reproduce after their own kind. And guess what... that is exactly what they do so we see evidence of microevolution all the time. Small changes or adaptations to a type of animal.

The second type of evolution that is taught in our schools and in just about every government museum and national park is Macroevolution. Macroevolution was Charles Darwin’s idea. He believed that primitive animals over billions of years have been transformed over time into more complex creatures. For example over millions of years an ape could evolve into a human being.

How did this happen? The original cloud of primordial soup that came out of nothing became a cell and through electrical impulses in the universe that came out of nothing received life. These cells divided and some of the mutated cells ended up on land, which came from nothing, and became the ancient ancestors of plant life. Others stayed in the water, which came from nothing and became boneless sea creatures. After millions of years one of these creators became a fish with a backbone all by random chance and thus the beginning of human kind.

The problem for macroevolution is the fossil record shows that this never occurred. Charles Darwin knew there were holes in his theory and he predicted that there would be millions of fossils that would be dug up that would prove his prediction to be true.

So far, we have dug up over a billion fossils and we still haven’t found anything to prove him correct.

Dr. Stephen Gould, a leading evolutionist and professor of biology at Harvard said, “After more than 100 years of fossil research after Darwin, it has become abundantly clear that the fossil record will not confirm this part of Darwin’s predictions. A species does not arise gradually by the gradual transformation of its ancestors.”

But what about all those missing links you read about in school. How about…

Nebraska Man: He was over a million years old. His whole skeletal structure and life was based on the findings of a single tooth that in the end was determined to be the tooth of an extinct pig.

Java Man: He lived 750,000 years ago. It was discovered that he was never a man at all but a gibbon ape.

Piltdown Man: 500,000 years old and it simply turned out to be a hoax.

The famous Neanderthal man has been classified as fully human who had language, tools and religion.

What does the fossil record show? In rocks that scientist date back 570 million years there is a sudden appearance of marine animals which appear fully formed, unchanged to the present and without any record of ancestors before them or transitions after them. Just like the Bible says. God created every animal suddenly and fully formed and the fossil record shows that to be the case.

Which takes more faith to believe in? That God created life on this earth or that 6 million species of living things evolved out of nothing?

To close today, I want you to consider a house of cards. Have you ever seen one? (Include a photo of a house of cards). They are so impressive and intricately detailed. I am always so impressed with the skill this would take! So today I brought some cards, and let me make the best house of cards I am able to put together (You should practice a few times so you can at least get a row or two of them standing). (Put a small house of cards together however possible) Imagine if this was a masterpiece of a house of cards, much like the photos on the screen. I want us to consider, how was it created and designed?

Wait a second, this illustration isn't fair to our talk today because we still had me, a creator/designer involved in this right? So let me step out of the picture (Take your created house of cards down and step away from the table). I'm going to just leave the cards on the table, no creator, no designer, now what? The cards are still on the table, there isn't any reason they shouldn't be able to become a house of cards still. Most of you guys are sitting there, staring at me, with confused/lost faces, of course this pile of cards would never become a house of cards.

But actually, this still isn't an accurate representation of our talk today. Let me also take the cards off the table as well, because remember at the end of the day evolution says, "No-one+Nothing=Everything." So let me take the cards off the table too (put them in your pocket and step away from the table). Now let's wait to see a house of cards appear. Now evolution teaches that over time, somehow or another, nothing, could out of thin air start creating things in front of our eyes, and you guys are all staring at me like I'm crazy. Everyone of you know we could stand here all day, all year, a decade, a century or two even....and nothing will happen.

As intricate as a house of cards is it still don't compare to God's Creation. You and I have a body, made of trillions of cells, with a brain and moral compass built in, that takes A LOT more detail than cards. So if you thought I was crazy when I said nothing sitting on that able could magically make a house of cards appear, why would we ever believe that no-one+nothing created our entire world? Let's consider a Creator is the only way, God must be real after-all.

I don’t know about you but I am putting my faith in God. Next week we will look at some more evidence for God’s existence and for God creating the heavens and the earth.