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The problem with our generation is
that we fail to learn from our own history. If an idea appeals
to popular logic, then everyone is expected to go along with it,
embracing it as truth. If television programs, news reporters,
books or magazines claim that an idea is scientifically valid,
then we are all to bow down to it.
This is a problem because truth and
reality exist apart from human perceptions, ideas and
understanding. Just as actual truth cannot be determined by
religious decrees, so it is can't discovered or determined by
popular vote. In fact, even recent human history demonstrates
that discovery of the truth has a way of proving popular
scientific notions false — again and again.
Reality is not altered by our
perceptions and limited understanding. The purpose of
science is to get past superficial appearances, mere
philosophical notions, and presuppositions, to find out what is
real. We attempt, via scientific exploration and
experiment, to uncover real facts, real causes, real truth.
Science is studying, exploring, learning.
The Law of Honest Science
At any given stage of understanding,
we must be willing to rethink and change our minds if the
evidences themselves point to conclusions that prove us wrong.
This applies to all genuine science because the work of
discovery and learning is never ended. The study of human
origins, and the origin of all life on earth, is not a completed
work today any more than it was when Darwin first published his
own observations and the implications he felt they made.
Darwin must be credited for his
willingness to study and wonder and record his observations.
He was willing to ask questions that were not necessarily
politically correct in his day. But we cannot credit him
with knowing how life began. He merely made some valuable
observations and drew some conclusions based both on those
observations and on ideas that already appealed to him.
Why Do Theories of Evolution Exist?
People who do not believe in God
must believe in something, regardless of how ridiculous the idea
or shallow the evidence. Every human being who rejects
faith in God as Creator and Savior of the world must offer some
alternative answer to how the universe, the planet earth, the
human race, and all other living things came to exist. The
main strength behind the popularity of evolutionary thinking
today is not in any of the theories or models proposed, but in
the absolute necessity to embrace some such theory if one
rejects God and the Bible. Unbelievers must have their own
belief system.
Christian believers often waste a
lot of time trying to argue with evolutionists, thinking that if
we can raise valid objections, then the evolutionist will see
and admit his or her error. What we forget is that the
unbeliever must have some "scientific" or philosophic idea of
how human beings got here, how life itself got here.
Common sense demands that agnostics and atheists, for example,
produce an explanation that doesn't involve or include God.
If they choose to continue rejecting faith in God, then they
must offer an alternative explanation for how life got here.
The Heart, the Truth, and Natural
Science
The heart of the matter, then, is
not science at all, but the heart itself. Anyone who
believes God will be able to embrace Him as the one and only
Creator of the world and of all life. It is no more of a
strain on human intellect to accept God's explanation in
Scripture than it is to believe in any of the theories of
evolution being proposed by biologists, anthropologists, or
paleontologists today.
Truth exists. Reality exists
(regardless of what some so-called philosophy professors may
claim). God has given human beings physical senses that we
can use to perceive and observe data. He has given us
wonderful minds capable of using and following logic to
meaningful and useful conclusions. We are able to ask
questions, dig for answers and add to the understanding already
gathered by others in earlier generations. While our
abilities do not always lead us to complete understanding, they
do enable us to continue learning and refining our ideas.
Someday, all things will be known.
It is not likely that that will happen here, in this world or in
this life. But some day we will know, the Bible says, just
as we are known. Today we peer through a glass darkly,
trying to make out details that can hardly be seen or
understood. Some day the mysteries will give way to
knowledge and understanding just a morning fog finally burns
away to reveal bright sunlight and blue sky. In the mean
time, we must always remain open to the truth.
Jim Sutton, June 2009
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