What’s the difference: evolutionism

September 30, 2023

… an 8-minute read

evolutionism

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Origin and background:

~ also falls under the labels of Darwinism and Scientism
~ a “religion” based on Charles Darwin’s theory that all of life forms evolved from a common ancestor
~ the idea of evolution has been around since ancient Greece
~ Darwin (1809-1882) was the first to popularize the concept in his book “The Origin of Species by means of natural selection, published in 1859

The Origin of Species:

~ Darwin left room for the belief in the creator, but not as a relevant part of the process
~ his theory of evolution by natural selection was heralded as an “astounding scientific breakthrough”, but what he was really doing was using science to “prove” the worldview of naturalism, the belief that nature is all there is
~ evolutionism or Darwinism can be seen as a “religion”, particularly among scientists who refuse to allow the possibility that God created life

“Naturalism may parade as science, martialing facts and figures, but is a religion.”
~ Charles Carson

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~ according to Darwin’s theory of natural selection, plants and animals prey on each other to survive, as they cope with their environment – some through mutation develop new characteristics, capacities or features that give them a better chance of survival
~ these characteristics allow only the species most well adapted to their environments to survive
~ as these new characteristics become permanent, a new species evolves
~ Darwin believed that from one or a few simple original forms produced every species of animal that ever existed
~ Darwin had no specific proof of evolution from “amoeba to man”
~ nevertheless, his theory hit society like a bombshell
~ those who didn’t want to believe in God of=r His “interference” with natural order embraced it as a scientific “reason” to dismiss God and the “creation myth”
~ Charles Spurgeon called the idea of evolution “a monstrous error which would be ridiculed before another twenty years”
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~ Darwin’s theory gained credibility and popularity
~ in the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century, Christians fought a losing battle trying to defend Genesis (creation) in the face of what seemed like an all-powerful science – which suddenly looked as if it could explain everything
~ “theistic evolutionaries” – Christians who found a way to accommodate their faith with evolution
~ as the controversy ebbed and flowed, academic circles became more and more intolerant of anything that smacked of authority coming from outside the realm of science
~ in American education, complete naturalistic evolution became the reigning scientific “orthodoxy” and it was academic “heresy” to not believe or question evolution

teachings/practices

~ evolution is taught as fact today (in reality it is only a theory)
~ supports the philosophy of naturalism
~ in 1995, the National Association of Biology Teachers summed up its approach to teaching high school students about the origin of life by saying that life results from “an unsupervised, impersonal, unpredictable, and natural process”
~ statements like these (above and below) prove that the education system is in the hands of people who believe that life is an outcome of a purely material process, acting purely by chance

“By coupling undirected, purposeless variation to the blind, uncaring process of natural selection
Darwin made theological or spiritual explanations of the life process superfluous”
~ typical statement that appears in college textbooks

~ God is absent; and if God – the creator – did not make life, then we don’t need God or His morals

“No life after death, no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning for life; no free will.”
~ William Provine (biologist)

~ Darwin was not completely sure how the first crude lifeform started, but hesitated to say that it came from nowhere
~ he spoke of how life could have “been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one”, a statement made near the conclusion made in “The Origin of Species”
~ once scientists and secular humanists decided that evolution “had to be the way it happened” they filled in any blanks Darwin may have left

~ Evolutionists generally believe that 3 or 4 billion years ago the universe began with a “Big Bang” and somehow the planet earth formed with conditions that were “just right” for life
~ the first speck of life came into existence through a series of accidents
~ another possibility is that life formed in the oceans in what some evolutionists call “prebiotic soup”
~ this speck of life somehow survived and reproduced itself, going on until finally a cell emerged
~ that first living cell then reproduced itself and evolved through the eons by natural process alone and eventually developed into simple plants and animals, then fish, then amphibians, then reptiles, then mammals, then primates and finally man
~ some evolutionists believe that it took as long for the first little speck of life to become the first cell as it did for the first cell to progress to man
~ all of this happened not with any great leaps or sudden changes according to Darwin’s theory
~ small changes in species are recognized by everyone – creationists and evolutionists, known as microevolution
~ microevolution: the change in frequencies that occurs over time within a population; this change is due to four different processes: mutation, selection, gene flow and genetic drift and happens over a relatively short amount of time (wikipedia)
~ Darwin claims that if given enough time microevolution will result in macroevolution, which is evolution from species to species

From the beginning Christians have contested Darwin’s theories, not just because of the assumptions of macroevolution but on the basis of the evidence itself
~ Darwinian evolution cannot be proven as a fact because macroevolution has not happened, which can be found in the fossil record and the complexity of the cell
~ there is no conclusive evidence of single-cell organisms changing step-by-step into plants and animals found in the fossil remains
~ the same is true with the “pre-biotic soup” theory
~ Michael Behe, molecular biologist: wrote a book titled “Darwin’s Black Box” in which he explains or spells out the “irreducible complexity of molecular mechanisms”, further explaining the cell was a “black box” for Darwin, meaning that it – the cell – was a complete mystery for Darwin; there simply is not enough time for macroevolution to happen, no matter how much time might pass
~ “punctuated equilibrium”: a theory brought forth by Stephen Jay Gould, which states that evolution could have happened in extremely short time periods, but without hard evidence this theory – and others – are still very much in flux and unproven

What’s the difference?

~ naturalistic evolution believers claim that the process of evolution is unsupervised by any deity and caused purely by chance/the Bible teaches the mighty and personal God created the earth and all living things – lovingly and caringly
~ Naturalistic evolution teaches that there is no purpose or meaning to life, which arose spontaneously out of a blind combination of time, chance and matter/ the Bible tells us that God created us, the earth and all living things; that Jesus was there in the beginning (John 1: 1-5 and Col 1: 16-18), and that God offers eternal life and the opportunity to belong to him, instead of nothingness
~ Evolutionism claims that there is nothing special or sacred about humanity, reduces man to a highly developed animal who is really no more valuable than a cow or chicken/the Bible tells us that man is created in God’s image, we have value and have preeminence over animals and creation
~ evolutionism theorizes that humans are not “free” but are determined by their genes and environment/the Bible tells us we have the ability to choose and also have consequences for those choices
~ natural selection does away with universal moral values (based on divine law)/ the Bible tells us that morality is not for sinful man to decide but rather law and authority come from God alone
~ naturalistic evolution and Christian faith are incompatible

“Human beings did not fall from perfection into sin as the church had taught for centuries, we were evolving, and indeed are still evolving, into higher levels of consciousness”
(unknown)

~ the Bible tells us that sinful man’s only hope is the salvation provided by God through Jesus, not evolution
~ believers in evolution continue to preach their gospel, which one eminent zoologist said “is a fairy tale for grownups…it is useless”
~ Isaac Asimov – secular humanist and atheist repeats the evolutionist’s creed with conviction: “Simple forms of life came into being more than 3 billion years ago, and have formed spontaneously from nonliving matter.”

source: So What’s The Difference by Fritz Ridenour

source: So What’s The Difference by Fritz Ridenour

…I personally don’t believe in religion, not as it has been defined in society. All it is, is a tool to divide us. I grew up a Baptist and went to a Christian school. To this day I have questions, but I still believe – and I keep looking for answers. Having faith that God is in control and believing that He sent His son to die for our sins is all that is needed to be saved. One doesn’t need to pray on the rosary, live a life of celibacy, or not eat certain foods to be saved. Jesus paid it all!

hope you have a great day!
thanks for stopping by!!