I
didn’t learn about the theory of evolution in high school. Mr. Lee, our High
School biology teacher, must’ve just decided to leave that unit out. I heard
about evolution from another Follower when I was in my late teens.
She
told me and a few others that there was this man named Charles Darwin who came
up with a theory that humans had evolved over the centuries from apes. She said
that there was a young Follower couple who had become interested in Darwin’s
theory and had studied it. The couple had a baby, and as God’s punishment,
their baby had been covered in hair and looked like a monkey. The baby died.
Now, it’s been more than twenty years since I heard this story (hearsay) and I
don’t remember their names – she said that they had left church after this
incident. I don’t know the details, and that’s not the point of my blog. The
point is just that I first heard of this in my late teens and it sounded awful.
In
college, I had to take a year of biology, and the teacher – who was a
practicing Christian – taught us about the theory of evolution and the Big Bang
Theory. That was the first I’d heard of the Big Bang, and I’m not a quiet
person who just takes whatever teachers tell me as fact – so, I raised my hand
and asked, “Who made the big ball of matter that exploded in the ‘Big Bang’?”
She just smiled.
So
here’s what I think about evolution and the Big Bang. I believe that God
created the heavens and the Earth. I believe that humans have evolved over the
years into being taller, on average, due to better nutrition and health. I
think we’re less hairy due to wearing more clothing and the advent of razors,
et.al. And I think that Charles Darwin came to regret his original theory.
Why
explain the universe away? It’s already been explained. People who say the
Bible is just a made up story have (for the most part) not read the entire
Bible. I want to issue a challenge to the doubters, the agnostics, and the atheists:
read it. All of it. Yes, I do realize that some of the laws and history in the
Old Testament seem barbaric to our modern eyes – it’s not something I can
explain or fully understand. But read it. And then read the New Testament –
which is not barbaric at all. The New Testament is a love story of how much God
loves us and the lengths He has gone to in order to save us.
So
that’s my challenge. Before you say it’s not true – read it. It won’t take
long. You could read it in a month if you tried. I read the New Testament in a
few days when I was in high school and I’m certain most of my readers are
smarter than a high school student.
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite
importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” – C.S. Lewis
