Creation vs. Evolution: My answered prayer

I’m taking a Historical Geology class this semester. I need it for my major, but it’s not enjoyable at all and most days I loathe the thought of it. So I definitely didn’t suspect that God would find a way to use it to strengthen my faith, but, true to His wonderful unpredictability, He has. I’d like to share that with you.

I took another Geology class (Earth Systems) during my first semester of college. I was new to higher education and didn’t realize that some professors in various scientific disciplines make it a point to try to discredit Christianity. Some are respectful, but many aren’t. I happened to have an Earth Systems professor who wasn’t. He took every chance he got to bag on Christianity, to make it seem ignorant and stupid, to point to all the scientific evidence “against” it. And at that point in my college career, having taken no other science classes, I had never really met a whole lot of opposition about being a Bible-believing Creationist. I have to admit, that professor was successful in planting a bit of doubt in my heart. He did manage to shake my faith, and that bothered me. I would pray for more faith, but the doubt persisted until finally the class was over and I was able to move on with life.

Since then, I’ve had the privilege of taking many other science courses at UTA. I’ve taken Cell and Molecular Biology, Microbiology and Anatomy and Physiology. I loved all of them. And in all of them, I took away one thing: there is no way all of this was an accident. You cannot tell me that everything “just evolved” to work together so flawlessly. You cannot tell me that there was no intelligent design that went into the intricacies of the human body, or the amazing detail that’s present in every living creature on this earth.

Some deride creationists for their “ridiculous” faith, but what kind of faith does it take to believe that everything you see around you just happened to evolve by chance? What kind of faith does it take to believe that every human being you see walking this earth descended from some primordial creature that happened to crawl out of the ocean one day? Is that not equally ridiculous? And is it not based only on the fallible reasoning of man, as opposed to the infallible omnipotence of God?

I understand quite well why Creation can’t be taught in public universities. If a phenomenon is not reproducible, it cannot enter into science. So, obviously, because Creation is not reproducible, it cannot be recognized as a scientific theory. Science does not negate religion, its principles simply make it impossible to embrace it. I have had a few decent professors who have been sure to point that out. And if Creation and all other religious theories are out of the picture, something has to fill that void. So we see that scientists have tried to pinpoint the origin of the universe outside the realm of an omnipotent God. The result is evolution and the Big Bang theory.

(And on a side note, let me point out that Charles Darwin, who is credited with both the Theory of Evolution and natural selection, was a minister for the Anglican church of England. Do some research and you’ll find that his theories have been taken far from the context in which he originally presented them. They have been warped into something almost unrecognizable that I doubt the man would stand beside were he here to defend himself. Professors never seem to mention that little detail in science classes.)

So, this semester, with two full years of college under my belt, I once again darkened the door of a Geology classroom. And once again, I expected to have to do battle with a pushy professor and lingering doubts. But on the first day, sitting in my seat and listening to a professor explain, once again, the Big Bang theory and evolution, it no longer felt threatening. It felt stupid!

God helped me to realize something. None of us know anything. We are all idiots. Trying to look at the universe and make sense of it scientifically is like an ant trying to understand the ocean. It is beyond us. To say we know that a big bang happened X number of years ago is ridiculous. To try to “prove” that by saying that galaxies are still moving away from us as a result of that big bang is absurd. Who knows why those galaxies are moving away from us? It’s human nature to try to put things in a context that we can understand, but what good are our conclusions when we only have a tiny piece of the puzzle? We look at something and see one thing. God looks at something and sees everything.

The Big Bang theory and evolution are nothing more then fallible man trying to grasp the things of an infallible God without actually believing He’s there. It’s because we deny His power that everything is so complicated. Geologists say it’s impossible that the Earth is only 10,000 years old because of all the geological evidence to the contrary. But I believe in a God who can age an entire planet millions of years by uttering a single word. I believe in a God who is capable of doing anything- ANYTHING- with a mere whisper.

God answered my prayer for more faith. Not immediately, but over the course of two years of experiences that He put in my path. And it’s because of that answered prayer that, Lord willing, no scientific theory in existence will ever shake my faith again. No evidence of a big bang or proof of evolution can mean a thing to me, because I understand that I know nothing and Christ knows everything. And that’s enough for me. I have more faith in His power then in the combined opinions of every scientist on Earth.

So to echo the words of a certain Anatomy and Physiology instructor: “The more I learn about this stuff the more I realize what an idiot I am!”

Amen.