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My amazing paradigm change

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Glasses and evolution

When I first became a committed Christian, I didn’t, and indeed couldn’t, accept the Bible’s explanation for the origin of life and of the universe. How could any sensible educated person believe the Genesis account to be true? Evolution and long ages seemed to me to completely and rationally explain our origins.

Genesis’ six days of creation was simply mythological writings, old-fashioned beliefs that couldn’t be accepted by sophisticated people of the modern age. I was a firm believer in the ‘scientifically proven’ evolutionary theory, and I thought, had no reason to change that belief.1

Attending church for the first time, I began talking to one of the ladies there and told her I’d noticed many parts of the Bible could be taken as myth, including Genesis. I suggested that this must be a stumbling block to some people who, having read the Genesis account, and judging it to be ‘obviously’ wrong, may then assume the rest of the Bible was also ‘made up’.

I forget now her reply, but I do know I didn’t think any more about this conversation, until a magazine called Creation arrived in my letterbox. Apparently, this lady had arranged a year’s gift subscription to be sent to me. She told me later, when I thanked her for the gift, that she had simply felt I would appreciate it.

Up until that point, I have to admit, I had no idea there was a theory that challenged evolution—I thought Darwin’s evolutionary theory was so established it was equal to, say, Einstein’s theory of relativity, or Newton’s theory of gravity.

I readily committed myself to reading the magazine, and quickly realized that creation scientists interpret exactly the same facts as evolutionists, but come to very different conclusions.2

According to evolutionists many of the facts used by scientists in this field formed during pre-history. But according to creationists they simply formed in history since there is no such thing as pre-history, as man has been here from the beginning.

Consequently, it stands to reason that experimental science isn’t a possibility here, as no-one can repeat history. Only observations in the present are possible. This is true for both evolutionists and creationists alike.

So, it follows that everyone is basing their conclusions on their own presuppositions—their own particular belief system.3 The differing views are simply a case of using a ‘different pair of glasses’ whilst viewing the same facts.

I decided to give ‘creationist glasses’ a try and it wasn’t long before I realized that I could both rationally and logically believe the Genesis account to be true.1

Creation science showed me that I didn’t need slow-and-gradual change, or molecular leaps of faith to explain our origins, as evolutionists had taught me, but I could instead trust the biblical account. Creationists scientifically explained that God created the universe and all life within, in six literal days.4 They also showed how the global Flood, and other descriptive accounts of our development found in the Bible, further explained much of the observable facts we find today.

It’s now clear to me just how many puzzles—or anomalies—there are within long-age evolutionary belief. A few of these are such things as the strangely absent ‘missing links’,5 and the ‘astonishing’ genomic complexity in ‘simple’ bacteria,6 and the ‘baffling’ discovery of blood cells in bones of a ‘65 million year’ dead dinosaur7 (from a biblical perspective there are no anomalies with any of these issues).

Glasses and bible

Four years on, I now read each new Creation magazine with undeniable appreciation. The knowledge I have gained, and the assurance this knowledge has given me in God the Creator, just can’t be valued.

Yes … I’ve had a complete change of view. I now wear God-focused glasses to investigate the evidence, and I can clearly see that the Bible should be taken as trustworthy right from the very first page.

Since a fundamental change in belief is clearly possible on a personal level, I ask myself whether such a fundamental change in belief is possible for an entire community. The short answer is, ‘Yes’. That’s exactly what occurred in the past8 when evolutionary belief revolutionized, and became dominant over, creation belief.

The website creation.com has a list of scientists living today who hold a doctorate in a science-related field and fully accept the truth of the Bible.9,10 Also, the book ‘In Six Days11 by John F Ashton Ph.D., has 50 scientists—from such diverse fields as biochemistry, mathematical physics and geophysics (to mention but a few)—who all explain why they choose to believe in creation.

As creationists continue to give clear-cut explanations to the anomalies within evolutionary, long-age belief, the new paradigm of creationism (or more accurately, the old paradigm) will continue to be promoted, investigated, and if it is God’s will, accepted by growing numbers of people.

I send a gigantic thank you CMI—your efforts are helping both lay and professionals alike to find the Truth of our existence in the accuracy of the Bible, and in Jesus Christ.

Published: 20 May 2008

References

  1. Batten, D. and Sarfati, J., 15 Reasons to Take Genesis as History, Creation Ministries International, Brisbane, Australia, 2006. Return to text.
  2. We all have the same earth, the same fossil layers, the same animals and plants, the same stars, but we start with different presuppositions. See, Faith and facts.Return to text.
  3. For the belief system behind evolution see: Sarfati, J., Who’s really pushing ‘bad science’? Return to text.
  4. Batten, (Ed.) et al. The Creation Answers Book, ch. 2, Creation Ministries International, Brisbane, Australia, 2007. Return to text.
  5. For a variety of articles relating to missing links use the search engine at creation.com. Return to text.
  6. Batten, D., Simple? Whole bacteria genome sequenced, Journal of Creation 10(1):6–7, 1996. Return to text.
  7. Catchpoole, D. and Sarfati, J., Schweitzer’s dangerous discovery. Return to text.
  8. See ‘Scientists of the past who believed in a Creator’. Return to text.
  9. See a list of more than 200 people living today who hold a doctorate in a science-related field and accept the biblical account of creation to be true. Return to text.
  10. Kulikovski, A.S., The Bible and hermeneutics: biblical inerrancy. Return to text.
  11. Ashton, J.F., In Six Days, Strand Publishing, Sydney, 1999. Return to text.

Helpful Resources

15 Reasons to Take Genesis as History
by Dr Don Batten, Dr Jonathan D Sarfati
US $4.00
Booklet
In Six Days
by John F Ashton
US $17.00
Soft cover