This series of articles is focused on providing evidence of the Bible’s accuracy and authority from the beginning (Genesis). The Bible is truly the word of God and therefore His creation reflects and confirms the words of the Bible. Everywhere we turn, the data show the undeniable purpose and plan of the Great Designer, God. This series is focused on showing you the evidence.
Chaos or Cosmos?
Was the universe designed, or is it a product of random choice?
“The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens.” - Proverbs 3:19
What do you see when you look at the world? What do you see in nature? What can you identify in the wings of a butterfly? What do the rising and setting of the sun or the ebb and flow of the tide have in common?
To understand how the world came to be—how we came to be—we have to start with the question of design. When you consider the world around you—people, atoms, plants, animals, outer space—do you see randomness or design?
Did some designer with a purpose and plan execute all that we see and experience? Or was no designer involved and what we see and experience simply happened this way by random processes? It’s one or the other. It can’t be both.
Evidence You Can See
Examine a whale’s fin and a bird’s wing. Looking at the skeletons of these two, they have marked similarity. All of earth’s creatures show design that’s perfectly suited to where they live.
We can group animals, plants, and even minerals into different categories simply because there are such major similarities. Back in 1735, Carl Linnaeus developed his now famous hierarchy of classification.
When animals change and adapt to match their surroundings, we call this mimicry. Like a chameleon—if he needs to be green, he’ll be green. Or brown. Or black. Or whatever he needs.
Most scientists see the theory of evolution as the fact of evolution. They explain our origins by natural selection, which says that the animal that is the most fit gets to move up the food chain. And the ones that are the least fit die out.
Evolutionists say similarity in Earth’s creatures exists because we all came from the same common ancestor and that through natural selection we adapted features that are similar but unique to our own species.
Creation scientists believe that animals and plants must have a Designer. There’s too much complexity for them to have simply happened randomly. Design is beautiful, but design is also functional.
Creation scientists agree that animals do adapt. But first, they point out that animals adapt only within their own kind—big cats to little cats and big dogs to little dogs. Not from one kind to another kind.
Our DNA is the program that runs the machinery of our body.
Natural selection is often a misnomer. Nature can’t select because the selections are already designed into each creature’s DNA.
In order for naturalistic scientists to get their theory to work, they rely upon one extremely critical bit of evidence—the transitional forms—sometimes called the missing links.
But, there’s not one bit of solid evidence for any creature that evolutionists agree is a transitional form that shows natural selection changed one species to another species.
Think Tank
Where do you see design in our world and in your family?
Earth is perfectly suited for life—not too hot, not too cold.
Where do you see mimicry among plants and animals?
God designed mimicry to allow creatures to blend in with their surrounds. For example, the mimic octopus can morph its body into 15 different creatures because of its design.
There is a lot of beauty in the world that serves no apparent purpose, but beauty isn’t random. So, why do you think it’s here?
Beauty is further evidence of God’s handiwork. He didn’t have to make nature beautiful, but He did for our enjoyment and His glory.
What do evolutionists believe about the origin of life?
Life is a product of time, chance, and random changes.
Creation scientists agree that animals adapt, but what are the two key points on which they disagree with secular scientists?
Adaptation does happen, but only within an animal’s kind—like horses to zebras. Also, this adaptation doesn’t come from an external source. It is built into the DNA of every living thing.
Other than experiments, what important evidence do evolutionists need to support their theory about the origin of life, and where is this evidence?
They need evidence of transitional forms, but no undisputed evidence exists. Even secular scientists debate any fossils that has been presented as a transitional form.
Extraordinary Evidence
This scientific evidence challenges an evolutionary origin and instead points to God’s creation:
Today’s atmosphere contains 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent molecular oxygen, and one percent of other gases, like carbon dioxide, argon, and water vapor. An atmosphere that had free oxygen (oxygen atoms not bonded to any other atoms) would be fatal to all origin of life schemes—it would oxidize and destroy all organic molecules required for life to start. Even though there is much evidence that the earth has always had a huge amount of free oxygen in the atmosphere, evolutionists keep saying that there was no oxygen in the earth’s early atmosphere. But this would also be fatal to the way evolutionists say life began. Without oxygen, there wouldn’t be a protective layer of ozone surrounding the earth. The sun’s deadly, destructive ultraviolet light would pour down on the surface of the earth with nothing stopping it, destroying the organic molecules required for life.
Evolutionists face a problem they can’t solve: In the presence of oxygen, life could not evolve; but without oxygen (which means no ozone), life could not evolve…or exist.
The energy available on a hypothetical primitive earth would include mostly radiation from the sun, with some energy from electrical discharges (lightning) and minor sources of energy from radioactive decay and heat. Evolution’s problem is that sources of raw energy destroy biological molecules faster than sources of raw energy form them. The fast breakdown of those supposed “building blocks” of life would remove any possibility of them accumulating enough organic compounds to make life—no matter how much time might be available.
God’s Word
“O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom, You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions.” - Psalm 104:24
According to Genesis 1:1-28 God created everything in six days.
What happened on each day?
Day One: God created time (the beginning), space (the heavens), matter (the earth), light energy (light), and the night-day cycle (Genesis 1:3-5).
Day Two: God made the firmament (called heaven) and divided the waters (1:6-8).
Day Three: God created dry land (Earth), the seas, and plants (1:9-13).
Day Four: God made the sun, moon, and stars (1:14-19).
Day Five: God made sea creatures and winged creatures (1:20-23).
Day Six: God made land creatures and man (1:24-27).
3. What did God say about His creation? He said His creation was “very good” (Genesis 1:31).
4. What commands did God give to His creation and also specifically man? God told His creation to “be fruitful and multiply,” and He told man to “fill the earth and subdue it” and to have dominion over all other creatures (Genesis 1:22,28).
5. When God created man, what did He do differently than He did with His other creations? God made man in His own image (Genesis 1:27).
6. What are some of the things that these verses reveal to us about God? He is in control. He created with wisdom and understanding. He is powerful. God alone is all-powerful and responsible for creating everything. He alone has supreme control and authority since it is His creation.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:18-20).
The Bottom-line, The Take Away!!
The Bible describes our extremely complex world with a simple explanation that accounts for everything: Our world was made by a Designer. In the first chapter of Genesis, God laid out for us the steps He wisely took when He created the world. He planned and purposed our world—and YOU.
Next Week: What is Life?