Evolution

Evolution

We live in a wonder-world full of fascination and mystery. We often think, “Why?” and “How?” Although we search far and wide to know all the answers, we understand that we never will. But in all curiosity, it becomes clear that things do change – and the longer we live, the more apparent it becomes. Some changes are quicker than others, but slowly, things evolve. They are occurring now as in the past, and they will do so in the future. This is the real meaning of evolution. It is much more widespread than in the classic description by Charles Darwin.

One of the amazing facts that strikes me as I read the book of Genesis is how much the Creation story resembles the scientific explanations that followed, thousands of years later. Whoever wrote Genesis was totally unaware of atoms, electromagnetic energy, and all the complex mathematical formulas with which we describe our origins today. Yet that ancient description of the earth as “formless and empty” and then the beginning of light, followed by water, sounds much like the story of the scientific sequence. Genesis continues with “water…gathered in one place and dry land appear(ing)”. The Creation account goes on with the appearance of vegetation, fruit and seed, followed by “water teeming with living creatures and birds flying in the sky.” The next description is that of the land producing living creatures that move along the ground and reproduce according to their kind. Finally, “God says, ‘Let us make man in our image…and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and birds of the air, over livestock, and over all the earth.” This occurs in a matter of unknown time, but the sequence is remarkable. Remember that the word “day” in Hebrew can mean any period of time, as it can in most of our modern languages. It is ridiculous to imagine this ancient writer receiving this knowledge in modern scientific terminology. If he had, and wrote it down, no one could have understood or believe what he was saying or writing. The story would never had been told, much less understood, by anyone.

The stories in the Bible have to be understood as inspired, but written by human beings of a specific time period. This writer would not understand most of our modern words of communication. Language, communication, and terminology have all evolved and will continue to do so. The reason Jesus spoke so often in parables was to simplify a truth, not to make it more complex. We often look back on historical and ancient people as having been simple minded, but many were brilliant. They solved complex problems one by one, or we would not be here today. Future generations will no doubt look back on our society as backward and primitive because of the evolution of inevitable progress and problem-solving.

It helps to look at the immense size of the universe in order to grasp our dilemma. With the naked eye, we can see the nearest galaxy to our Milky Way, the Andromeda galaxy, about 2 million light years away. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second, so we are looking at a time so far in the distant past, the numbers have no real comprehension. It makes the life of a 100 year old person equal to the blink of an eye. Can you imagine how much evolution has changed things in the past and will continue to change things in the future?

If man requires a “long time” to create a masterpiece, and if man was made in God’s image, then it may have taken God a considerable period of time for his various creations. Remember that his timetable is a whole lot bigger than ours. Accept evolution as a part of the beginning and the changes on the road to infinity.

By John B. Selby, Sr.

September 2011