Introduction
The question concerning the origin of the Earth and humans has been a subject of ongoing discussion for many centuries. With the development of science, long-established religious ideas about God’s creation of the world encountered an opposing view justifying that the Earth, as well as all living forms on it, was the result of evolution. Thus, Christianity and science take opposite sides of the argument. People of Christianity believe that God made the world, the Heavens, and Earth; people of science argue that even if God had made the world, someone else still would have to have made him.
As a scientific theory, evolution justifies a point of view that there was a time when the world was once lifeless. One day, however, it states that life began out of slime and other substances. Over time, plants began to grow, animals started to walk the earth, and finally, man evolved. Many scientific theories emerged during history, and many of them were proven to be invalid. However, nowadays, some support the Big Bang theory and evolution, as well as some support the theological point of view. Despite broad theoretical validation of the theory of evolution, there seem to be many blank spots that do not allow for agreement. However, the Book of Genesis is written proof that creation was all God’s work, making him responsible for the creation of humans and the world we know today. This paper presents the validations from both sides of the argument, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of both of them to prove that the existence of God is a reliable theory of world creation.
The Scientific Justification of Evolution
Many scientists, including Charles Darwin, who introduced the theory of evolution to the scientific world, have worked with factual and logical data to produce valid arguments in favor of their theories. The everlasting controversy between science and God provided a sense that any justification of scientific facts becomes a dial of God’s existence. Therefore, the atheistic worldview of the majority of evolutionary scientists persuades them to doubt the Bible and invent new theories. Indeed, according to Aczel, the scientific advances in cosmology, biology, and physics now provide all the answers about how the universe is arranged (par. 1). It is possible to research any matter in the universe and provide a logical and factual explanation that does not require God. However, the pre-existence time is impossible to investigate from the scientific point of view. That is why such an idea might be combatted by those who believe in God.
The main argument the supporters of evolution present against the existence of God concerns the absence of any factual proof of his existence. The advocates of atheism believe that there is no evidence to prove that God exists or in fact, made the universe. In their opinion, it is essential to find and argue the logical evidence that could serve as proof of the existence of God. Without such validations, the pro-evolution side does not think that deities exist (Sexton and Finley par. 3). In response to this thought, the believers argue that the existence of God is beyond science, and no factual theory can prove the absence of some external force.
Another idea proposed by pro-evolution thinkers is that God did not create mankind, but humans created him to find comfort and last resort when feeling afraid and uncertain. This idea was vividly articulated by a German philosopher and anthropologist Ludwig Andreas von Feuerbach (Sexton and Finley par. 10). In addition, some argue that if throughout the long history of humanity, there has not emerged any test that could defend the existence of God, he does not exist. Despite the variety of theoretical justifications and arguments that scientists use to prove the validity of evolution, there are a lot of uncertainties. It is important to address the opposing view to demonstrate the weakness of evolutionary theory in comparison to the belief in God.
Biblical Support of the Existence of God
According to the side of believers, evolution is irrelevant due to the explicit description of the process of universe creation in the Bible. As Reverent Boston states, the existence of God is in the personal transfiguration of men and women who seek Him and find Him. Indeed, in Christie-Blick’s opinion, the lives of modern Americans, for example, greatly depend on religious beliefs because they provide hope and meaning for life (20). This deep faith is proof that God exists in those who believe in him. From the religious perspective, there was no big bang, but there was God first (Craig par. 6). He created light and named it day and separated the light from darkness, thus isolating day from night (Boston). God gave life to all living creatures on Earth, including men and women. Within this framework, The Book of Genesis provides all the answers to the questions about world creation, leaving no blank spots.
Despite the broad scope of evolution-related knowledge about the universe that explains everything without any reference to God, there is no rebuttal of the existence of an external force that preceded the universe creation and even “launched” it (Aczel par. 2). In response to the Big Bang theory, the opponents of evolution state that for a massive explosion to occur before the universe came into existence, a lot of energy had to be created. It is questionable where that energy came from or what kind of force became a trigger for the explosion. The theory of God’s creation of Earth justifies that all life forms are the result of intentionally planned work of an inexplicable source of external force.
When looking at the history of humanity, one might notice that the duration of the existence of religion is much longer than the duration of the existence of evolution theory. According to Scaliger, the development of different theories proving the existence of God was incepted in the times of early Christianity (28). Hundreds of prominent theologians have devoted numerous works to prove that God exists and he created humans and Earth. Some mathematical proofs of hypotheses made upon these theories show that a human could not be the highest form of being (Scaliger 28). The essence of the theory lies in the discussion of the nature of change. Since everything on Earth is changing, there has to be the root of all the changes, which is unchangeable; such a constant should be God (Scaliger 28). Such a philosophical approach validates not only the possibility but also the proof of God’s existence.
Finally, there are not only theoretical but also factual pieces of evidence presented by God believers to disprove evolution. According to Reverent Boston, there are highly respected evolutionists in the world who recognize the absence of transitional fossils in fossil history. For example, some prominent researchers state that there is no convincing documentation of the fossil record that could demonstrate a transition from one species to another (Boston). If the hypotheses of evolution were true, there would be a lot of factual evidence, including fossil records that could prove the theory. However, since there is no substantial proof, one cannot be completely convinced of the reliability of evolution.
Conclusion
To sum up, the topic of whether humans were created by God or evolution is very controversial. It has existed since the inception of science and is now one of the most frequently discussed issues. Due to such a broad scope of approaches, theories, and arguments, it is obvious that there cannot be a single right answer to the question. The supporters of the evolutionary theory claim that there is no evidence proving that God exists. However, they fail to present valuable and relevant proof of any facts that could enhance the possibility of their theory. The Big Bang Theory as a basis of the evolutionary approach lacks the factual background and fails to explain the origin of pre-existing power that made the explosion possible. On the other hand, the Book of Genesis, and multiple works of researchers, theologians, and philosophers provide logical and constructive validations that the Earth and humanity are the results of God’s creation. Moreover, religious ideas prevalent all over the world in different forms and manifestations ensure that people’s lives are impossible without an external force that Christians call God.
Interview Questions
- What is the origin of the controversy between the existence of God and evolution?
- Is there any evidence proving the existence of God in the Bible?
- What are the weak sides of the scientists’ arguments, in your opinion?
- Who witnessed God’s existence?
- How would you disprove the theory of evolution?
Works Cited
- Aczel, Amir D. “Why Science does not Disprove God.” Time, 2014. Web.
- Boston, Stephanie. Personal Communication. 2019.
- Christie-Blick, Nicholas. “Does God Exist Does It Matter?” American Atheist, vol. 49, no. 3, 2011, p. 20.
- Craig, William Lane. “Does God Exist?” Evidence & Answers, 2011. Web.
- Scailger, Charles. “Does God Exist?” New America, vol. 32, no. 24, 2016, p. 28.
- Sexton, Jennifer, and Laura Finley. “Atheism: An Overview.” Points of View: Atheism, 2016, EBSCOhost.