Creationism & the Bible: Why Creationists Oppose Evolution
The July/August 2000 issue of Church & State explains why evolution is such a serious issue for creationists:
For creationists, the very foundations of their faith are at stake. Creationists “see themselves as participants in a holy war against forces that would undermine the foundations of true Christianity and they see ‘evolutionism’ as the godless philosophy that unites the enemy,” observes Dr. Robert T. Pennock...
This perspective is particularly true for young-Earth creationists, who support a literal reading of the Bible’s six-day account of creation, and who view evolution’s accuracy as a threat to religious truths. For example, during a March presentation on ‘‘The Truth About Dinosaurs” by the Oklahoma-based Creation Truth Foundation, G. Thomas Sharp said that since biblical principles rule out dinosaurs going extinct before the existence of humans, the idea must be rejected.
According to the Oklahoma Baptist Messenger, Sharp told his audience, “Either Adam sinned and death came into the world, or else death was in the world before Adam got here. If that is right, then the Bible is a fairy tale and the Gospel is a joke.”
Obviously not all Christians believe this way; indeed, it appears that only a minority of Christians have adopted such a position. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that the position is entirely unreasonable. If a literal reading of the Bible is necessary, then there are very good reasons to think that evolution is incompatible with the truth of the Bible.
I’m not just talking about literal readings of Genesis, but also literal readings of the gospels. If there wasn’t a real fall from grace and a real entry of sin into humanity, then why insist that there had to be a real sacrifice and a real crucifixion? If one can be metaphorical, why shouldn’t the other be metaphorical? If both are metaphors, though, then they are arguably fairy tales as well.
Read More:
Comments
As a Christian minister, thank you for an unbiaseed, straight-forward explanation as to why some Christians do feel so strongly about the importance of refuting evolution as scientific “fact” and insisting on equal presentation of two “faith” systems. Thank you for not stooping to name calling and judgmental tendencies while trying to truly understand the intentions behind “the other side.”