Commentary by Roger Oakland
www.understandthetimes.org
For years, people who embrace the idea of evolution have reverenced the term natural selection as a means of explaining away God. Changes in the environment through time, the evolutionist believes, molds and shapes life from simple to the complex. A Creator is not necessary for life, they say. Time, chance, and a changing environment, according to those who believe in Darwinism, can adequately explain away the need for a Creator.
While it is possible to accept that random changes within the genetic code could provide the variation required for a species to adapt, how reasonable is it to say that natural selection can explain the complexity of all living things. Evolutionists can make some pretty large claims, but what evidence do they have to support their cherished views?
For example, consider the human eye. Where in the fossil record do we find the evidence to show the development of the complex eye? How about the feathers of a bird, or the organs essential for life like the kidney, the liver, the heart, or the brain?
Although, Darwin is often credited with providing the mechanism that explains away God, a survey of the literature will show that he himself realized there was more to life than blind chance. Darwin once stated: “The belief that an organ as the eye could have formed by natural selection, is enough to stagger anyone. I have felt this difficulty far too keenly to be surprised at others hesitating to extend the principle of natural selection to so startling a length.” [1]
Stop and think about what Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, said. He was “surprised” that others made “natural selection” the mother of all miracles. As any scientist will tell you, in order for a theory to be classified as scientific, it has to be backed up by the hard cold facts. If there are no facts, then the theory is only a belief based on faith. Could it be the idea that life developed by natural selection is nothing more than a religious myth?
What would Charles Darwin say if he were alive today? Modern science has revealed life is far more complex than Darwin could have ever imagined. If natural selection could not explain the complexity of the eye when Darwin was alive, what about now? Nearly one hundred and fifty years have passed, and creationists are still asking the same question Darwin asked – why do so many people jump to such wild conclusions without any evidence? Is it possible they would rather believe in evolution than in God?
I am Roger Oakland. This has been a biblical perspective to help Understand The Times.