Creationtriumphs_06
CHAPTER SIX
It's a Matter of Life or Death
In 1859, over a century ago, Charles Darwin published his treatise, THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES. Ever since, scholars and believers have debated the truth and value of Darwin's assertion that man developed through a process of natural selection—or evolution. Currently, most people regard evolution as an accepted principle in the realm of science and fail to weigh the heavy negative impact which the theory of evolution has already had upon human life and society.
Does it matter what we believe about the origin of man? Does it make a difference whether we believe an Intelligent Creator designed and created man and the universe—or whether creation came about through "natural" or even random processes?
Yes, this is a great matter. . .a matter of life and death! William Provine, a Cornell biologist and evolution supporter, plainly stated what Darwinism means for human values:
No life after death;
No ultimate foundation for ethics;
No ultimate meaning for life;
No free will. (1)
If mankind was created by natural law or by chance— then there can be no human choice, meaning, or purpose in mankind's destiny. Nor can there be a reliable moral compass to govern the individual members of society. If Darwinism is followed to its logical, social conclusion, any course of action taken by the strong against the weak can be justified as harmonious with the process of natural selection. Modern human history has clearly shown the devastating impact of the theory of evolution upon society.
The twentieth century began as the century of promise and progress, noted Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor, in his book, OUT OF CONTROL. He then painfully observes that the twentieth century:
. . .became mankind's most bloodiest and hateful century, a century of hallucinatory politics and of monstrous killings. Cruelty was institutionalized to an unprecedented degree, lethality was organized on a mass production basis. The contrast between the scientific potential for good and the political evil that was actually unleashed is shocking. Never before did it consume so many lives, never before was human annihilation pursued with such concentration of sustained effort on behalf of such arrogantly irrational goals. (2)
Wars for world or regional domination and attempts to create totalitarian utopias caused the deaths of approximately 175 mil-lion people in this century of insanity. How is it that the course of human history was so tragically directed toward the devaluing of human life on such an immense scale? After "millions of years," have we arrived at a pinnacle of evolutionary progress?
Social Evolution
To understand the unthinkable—the destruction of so much of humanity—it is essential to discover the philosophical underpinning of those who perpetrated such destruction and horror upon their fellow human beings. The roots of Nazism are well known to have their source in the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche and his theory of the "Superman." Nietzsche's philosophy, in turn, drew from the writings of Darwin and Herbert Spencer. While Darwin's work and conclusions were confined to the field of biology, Spencer attempted to apply the principles underlying evolution to other fields of science—including the social sciences. Spencer coined the phrases "struggle for existence" and "survival of the fittest." Yet it was Nietzsche who most clearly articulated that evolution showed that strength is the most desired quality and weakness the only failing. Will Durant wryly observed the connection in THE STORY OF PHILOSOPHY:
The ethical philosophy of Spencer was not the most natural corollary of the theory of evolution. If life is a struggle for existence in which the fittest survive, then strength is the ultimate virtue, and weakness the only fault. Good is that which survives, and wins; bad is that which gives way and fails. Only the mid-Victorian cowardice of the English Darwinians, and the bourgeois respectability of French positivists and German socialists, could conceal the inevitableness of this conclusion. These men were brave enough to reject Christian theology, but they did not dare to be logical, to reject the moral ideas, the worship of meek-ness and gentleness and altruism, which had grown out of that theology. They ceased to be Anglicans, or Catholics, or Lutherans; but they did not dare cease to be Christians . . .they had removed the theological basis of modern morals, but they had left that morality itself untouched and inviolate, hanging miraculously in the air; a little breath of biology was all that was needed to clear away this remnant of imposture. Men who could think clearly soon perceived what the profoundest of minds of every age had known: that in this battle we call life, what we need is not goodness but strength, not humility but pride, not altruism but resolute intelligence; that equality and democracy are against the grain of selection and survival; that not masses but geniuses are the goal of evolution; that not "justice" but power is the arbiter of all differences and all destinies. So it seemed to Friedrich Nietzsche. (3)
Against this philosophical backdrop the nations in the early twentieth century justified the dividing of the world into colonies. The non-white peoples of the world became the burden of the Western nations, whose duty it was to extend their rule to a guardianship over the lesser, weaker nations. In the case of Germany, hegemony was sought over the entire world because all were considered inferior to the Aryan race. This idea influenced Kaiser Wilhelm before World War I. Later this view found full expression in Adolf Hitler during World War II.
The total military and civilian deaths of just these two wars alone was more than 75 million people—including the deliberate destruction of Jews and others in the Holocaust—all this justified in the name of "survival of the fittest," due to the claimed genetic superiority of one people over all others.
Furthermore, this philosophical madness was not limited to the German nation, but was the source of the majority of the multitude of wars in the twentieth century. Almost as tragic as the world wars are the deaths of nearly 60 million people while Communist states sought to create and control perfect socialist societies. Lenin, Stalin, and Mao all believed that strength and power were essential to survival and should be used ruthlessly— even against their own people.
The majority of deaths occurred not by civil war, but rather by the consolidation of Communist rule: through forced collectivization of society, systematic elimination of opponents, and the manufacturing of famines in areas of resistance. Again, "survival of the fittest" was appealed to for justification for sacrificing the weakest of society to ensure the continued dominance of the strong.
Even today after the grim histories of Fascist and Communist regimes, man's inhumanity to man has been replayed in a smaller but no less inhuman fashion in Bosnia, Rwanda, Cambodia and other places. Even in the richest of nations, the United States, the principle of "survival of the fittest" can be found pervading its institutions, particularly the financial, industrial and political segments of society. While a democracy ostensibly provides pro-tection and opportunity to all citizens, in fact, the rich and influential exercise a disproportionate influence to secure power and control to themselves.
Personal Amorality
Personal experiences of many individuals also corroborate the degrading influence of the evolution theory. For example, Provine's statement above about the effect of Darwinism on human values was challenged by a young evolutionist who said:
My background is murder and rape. I once thought that wasokay, because who cared about life? (4)
Then this young man went on to say that he had come to realize that "life does matter" and that "there are absolutes." His words were a stunning reminder that the origins debate is not merely academic. Belief in evolution influences the most fundamental principles by which people live and die.
It Does Matter. . .
Does it matter then whether we believe in creation or in evolution? Based on overwhelming historical evidence alone we answer emphatically, YES! The theory of evolution has had an extraordinarily adverse impact on mankind and should be committed to the dustbin of history. Let us reexamine the scriptural testimony which the theory of evolution was meant to replace:
1. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." (Genesis 1:26) Man was cre-ated in the mental and moral likeness of God, with ability to reason and to exercise his free will to choose right or wrong. Man exists on a higher plane than the animals, just "a little lower than the angels." (Psalms 8:5) Man is, therefore, responsible to the Creator for failing to observe His law.
2. "For as all in Adam die, even so all in Christ shall be made alive." "All that are in their graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth." (1 Corinthians 15:22; John 5:28-29) Adam's fall into sin affected the entire human race. It is through Adam that mankind inherited sin and death. Jesus tasted death for every man that all might have an opportunity for fullness of perfect life. Contrary to evolution, fallen man will have a return from death.
3. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." "What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Matthew 4:4; Micah 6:8) The Bible provides a firm foundation for moral behavior as it has been given by the Creator through faithful prophets and teachers. Subjective human standards are unreliable at best. Rather, they can be destructive.
4. "The times of restitution of all things." "I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." "For thus saith the Lord who created the heavens; God him-self who formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited." (Acts 3:21; Isaiah 13:12; 45:18) God's purpose in creating man was to have a perfect race of men living harmoniously with the rest of His creation in an Edenic paradise. Contrary to the evolution theory of man reaching an ever higher estate from an original low estate, the Bible promises a time of restoration of man back to the perfection and potentials which Adam possessed in the garden. Every man's life will no longer be esteemed to be of little or no enduring value—but precious and fullof meaning.
5. "God at the first did visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name ['partakers of the heavenly calling. . .them who are the called according to his purpose . . .to be conformed to the image of his son']. . . .After this I will return and build again the tabernacle of David. . .that the residue ['rest,' NAS] of men might seek after the Lord. . ." Acts 15:14-17; Hebrews 3:1; Romans 8:28-29 Man did not enter immediately into paradise restored after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. God designed that first a bride—a helpmate to assist him in the work of reconciling man and God—would be selected from the nations. The purpose of the Gospel Age is the calling of the Church to be like her Lord and follow in his footsteps. It is after the Church is completed and receives her heavenly reward that the remainder of mankind—those now living and those who will return from the grave—will be lifted up to perfection as human sons of God. Those of mankind who are shown to be incorrigible, who will not obey Christ and the Church, will be cut off from life in the second death. The vast majority of people, however, will then "seek after the Lord"—their Creator.
6. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth." "And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." (Matthew 6:10; Revelation 5:10; 20:4, 6) The faithful Church is privileged to reign with Christ for the thousand years of judging and blessing mankind in the kingdom. The purpose of the Millennial Age is to teach every man the law of God so that at its close the will of God will be "done on earth" as fully as it is now done in heaven.
What a contrast is shown when the principles of life in the Scriptures are compared with the effects of the theory of evolution on mankind! Evolution held out the hope of mankind ever rising to higher levels of life, but this dream turned out to be a nightmare! The Scriptures have always exercised an uplifting influence upon man, whereas evolution has degraded him. Belief in an Intelligent Creator and Designer of all things is indeed a matter of life—and belief in the evolution theory a matter of death!
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." John 17:3