The relentless dragon

Why trying to avoid the topic of evolution won’t work.

by Calvin Smith

Illustration: Caleb Salisbury

The Komodo dragon

I was recently reading about The Komodo dragon; a frightening creature. It’s the world’s largest lizard¹, living mainly on the isles of Komodo and Rinca in Indonesia. An ambush predator, it will attack large prey (including humans) without hesitation, inflicting horrendous wounds with large serrated teeth. Many larger victims survive the initial attack only to die later on.

The long held belief that toxic bacteria in the Komodo’s mouths are responsible for ultimately killing its prey has been described as a ‘scientific fairy tale’² now that it is known they have a venomous bite³ which may send a victim into shock.

The most terrifying aspect of its behavior is that even if the Komodo’s initial attack isn’t fatal it will continue to tirelessly pursue its prey until its victim is exhausted. Creatures far more agile may run ahead and stop for a rest, thinking they are safe, only to see the relentless dragon off in the distance closing in for the kill.

Komodo Dragons have been known to follow wounded prey at a leisurely pace for weeks. It is only a matter of time before the creature collapses, too weak to fight, and is often eaten alive.

The dragon of doubt—evolution

Similarly and analogously, I believe there is a stealthy and powerful concept stalking the corridors of many of our Christian churches, schools, homes and minds. It acts like the mighty dragon of old, the one that tempted Eve with a powerful concept; “Did God actually say … ?”⁴ This dragon manifests itself by causing doubt, weakening the ability of the believer to stand on God’s word, defend it properly or proclaim it boldly.

It seeks to paralyze its victims, poisoning them with confusion, leaving them weak and unable to properly defend themselves. Running won’t help, it is a relentless concept promoted everywhere in western society. The concept of evolution …

Targeting the next generation

The comparison of being pursued by a tireless predator may seem like an overly dramatic analogy but it’s a reality nonetheless. The statistics are in. Hardly anyone in Christendom argues the fact that western world churches are losing their youth at an alarming rate (statistics from various studies say anywhere from 60–90% of kids from Christian homes are abandoning the faith by age eighteen). The only real question now seems to be “Why?”

CMI has long pointed out the dangers of evolutionary teachings and its relationship to apostasy and atheism. However, many Christians still seem oblivious to how militant atheist groups have become and how effective their evolutionary resources have been in crippling the church. For many the origins debate is still a ‘side-issue’, not worth upsetting the apple cart over. But has this “Just ignore it and maybe it will go away” position worked?

There and back again, a speaker’s tale …

Several years ago I spoke at a Christian youth retreat. The youth pastor was supportive of CMI (although not all of the leaders agreed with our position initially, thinking of it as a side issue). There were around 80 people present and as the event unfolded many confessed they could now see how important the topic was, admitted they had had serious doubts about the Bible beforehand and how they were encouraged that they could “ … really trust the Bible now!”

Flickr: rachdian

Although the weekend turned out very well and the staff and participants were now extremely enthusiastic about the ministry, it started off with a general attitude of indifference. Many Christians question why a ministry would exist that employs scientists and produces resources that deal with the kinds of subjects we do. Many say “What does this have to do with Jesus?”

Recently we received a call from the same youth group mentioned above, and the tone was much different. Five years later the new crop in the youth group were struggling. Copies of atheist Richard Dawkins’ books The God Delusion and The Greatest Show on Earth were circulating at the local high schools. Students were targeting the Christians in the school and challenging them to defend their faith.

“What about dinosaurs?” “Evolution is a fact, there is no proof of a God.” “Science has disproven the Bible”, etc. These are objections these young people are forced to deal with. There is no escape. It doesn’t matter if you want to ignore them. The relentless dragon of evolutionary teaching is steadily moving forward.

This time the pastor’s manner reflected a very real and desperate need. Could we send a speaker? (Yes.) Did we have resources that could deal with Dawkins’ books? (Yes.) Could I tailor my talks to meet the specific needs his young people had? (Yes.)

You are being hunted

Atheists are taking advantage of schools, TV, summer camps, the internet, video games etc and are pumping out books (for all ages) constantly in order to promote evolution (a key concept needed to bolster their secular world view). Christians cannot run long or hard enough to avoid the indoctrinating affect of evolutionary teaching and many Christians have already been bitten (the poison of doubt regarding God’s word is coursing through them).

Most younger Christians are now backed into a corner where they can no longer avoid the fight regarding the creation/evolution debate. They will need to take a stand, and the outcome may largely result from how well equipped they are.

Turn and fight!

CMI is an information ministry with multiple ways (speaking events, books, DVDs and audio recordings, a TV show, ‘YouTube’ style teaching videos) of equipping Christians in the vital area of origins. Please consider having a speaker into your church, getting some resources (like Creation Magazine) into someone’s hand, forwarding a link to an article or video and/or making a donation so we can keep this vital information flowing into our communities and changing people’s lives. It’s time to turn and face the relentless dragon head on before it devours our family and friends in our homes and churches.