Are they really any different?

Over the years, I’ve had the benefit of taking a wide range of courses. Some have been thought provoking, while others have been, well for lack of a better phrase, pointless. But over the years only one course has really moved me. It was in my last year and that class was Embryology. The semester long biology course took students from gamete formation through birth. It was incredibly powerful to see how life formed.

What was also powerful to see the various stages that embryos went through. To see the vestigial tail, to see the gill arches, and to read what science has uncovered in other species (scientists were able elicit reptilian features in birds). When one studies embryology in this manner, it really exemplifies that the Theory of Evolution is quite sound, something that many Christian groups find quite objectionable. But I wonder how many Christians have ever really studied the Theory of Evolution? But before we visit that topic, let’s see how the Earth formed from via the Old Testament:

Genesis 1

Heaven and Earth

1-2First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.

3-5 God spoke: “Light!”
And light appeared.
God saw that light was good
and separated light from dark.
God named the light Day,
he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day One.

6-8 God spoke: “Sky! In the middle of the waters;
separate water from water!”
God made sky.
He separated the water under sky
from the water above sky.
And there it was:
he named sky the Heavens;
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Two.

9-10 God spoke: “Separate!
Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
Land, appear!”
And there it was.
God named the land Earth.
He named the pooled water Ocean.
God saw that it was good.

11-13 God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
of seed-bearing plants,
Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.”
And there it was.
Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties,
And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Three.

14-15 God spoke: “Lights! Come out!
Shine in Heaven’s sky!
Separate Day from Night.
Mark seasons and days and years,
Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.”
And there it was.

16-19 God made two big lights, the larger
to take charge of Day,
The smaller to be in charge of Night;
and he made the stars.
God placed them in the heavenly sky
to light up Earth
And oversee Day and Night,
to separate light and dark.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Four.

20-23 God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”
God created the huge whales,
all the swarm of life in the waters,
And every kind and species of flying birds.
God saw that it was good.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
Birds, reproduce on Earth!”
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Five.

24-25 God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds.”
And there it was:
wild animals of every kind,
Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
God saw that it was good.

26-28 God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”

29-30 Then God said, “I’ve given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food.
To all animals and all birds,
everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.”
And there it was.

31 God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Six.

The Message Translation

Now lets take a look at the Theory of Evolution.

The Earth formed out of space dust and orbits Sol (the sun). Referring back to Genesis, this is exactly what is described in Day One. Next, gases became held in place by the Earth’s gravity and also condensed, thus forming the oceans and atmosphere (Day Two) while allowing land masses to be set in place (Day Three). Time passed, allowing the cosmos to work it’s magic (Day Four). Life first appeared in the ocean and flourished (Day Five). Life then emerged on land – both plants and animals of every sorts – and finally humans graced the face of Earth (Day Six).

When looking at the major bullet points in Evolutionary Theory, there are no differences between the scientific view of life on Earth and biblical interpretations. What Christians should be teaching their children at home, is how what is taught in secular schools complements their religious beliefs rather than stirring up controversy where none truly exists. The US classroom is void of God by design of the Constitution. One may not like it, but that’s the law. Lee Strobel wrote “The Case for Christ,” which used various forms of hard evidence to support the claims that Jesus was a real person and, in fact, the Son of God. The Theory of Evolution should be viewed in much the same manner – hard scientific evidence for Genesis.

Many times Christians ask Atheists to simply consider the possibility of God when discussing the Gospel. Shouldn’t the reverse be true? Shouldn’t Christians consider the possibility that the Theory of Evolution is the scientific explanation of Genesis?