ORG:WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE IN EVOLUTION?

   Have  you  ever thought about  where  you  came 
from?  For centuries, Christians accepted the Bib-
lical  account  which says that  God  miraculously 
created  a man (Adam) and woman (Eve) in  His  own 
image  and likeness, from whom all humans are  de-
scended.   However,  in  the  mid-1800's   Charles 
Darwin  began to popularize the theory  of  evolu-
tion, which says that man came from apes, which in 
turn  came from primitive mammals, which  in  turn 
came  from reptiles, which in turn ... and so  on, 
all the way back to lifeless chemicals.  
   The idea of evolution had been around at  least 
since the days of the Greek philosopher Aristotle, 
but, as a result of its new popularity,  some the-
ologians  began to teach that the Genesis  account 
of  creation  was not literally true.   They  said 
that it was merely a collection of myths which had 
been put together by the ancient Jewish people  to 
explain  their ideas about what happened  "in  the 
beginning". Thus, the opening chapters of  Genesis 
were  merely  a symbolic description of  what  had 
really happened - evolution.                        
                                                    
   If  you believe this (as I used to),  here's  a 
short  quiz.  Ready?  Name the three  best  scien-
tific evidences you know for evolution. Don't just 
say something like "fossils" - be specific.                  
                                          
   Can't do it, can you?  Don't feel too bad; nei-
ther can most other people.  Just as Christians in 
the past accepted the Bible's account of  creation 
simply because it was in the Bible, nowadays  many 
professing Christians accept the theory of  evolu-
tion  without any evidence, simply  because  their 
churches teach it or because they think it's "pro-
ven scientific fact".               
   Evolution is anything but proven, though.  I'll 
tell  you later how to find out just a  little  of 
the  tremendous amount of evidence  for  creation, 
but you might be interested to know that a  recent 
poll (Industrial Chemist, Nov. 1987) of  America's 
professional  scientists  and  engineers  revealed 
that over 20% reject the theory of evolution.  Why 
haven't you heard about it before?  Censorship.                 
                                        
   In spite of this, you may be asking, "Well, who 
cares anyway?  Couldn't God have used evolution as 
His method of creating?"  Indeed, He could have if 
He wanted to. But did He?  You may be surprised to 
find out just how important the answer really is.              
                                        
  +-------------------------------------------+
  |EVOLUTION AND THE BIBLE CAN'T BOTH BE TRUE.|
  +-------------------------------------------+

   All  we have to do is compare the  Genesis  ac-
count  and the theory of evolution point by  point 
to  see that the two are completely  incompatible.  
If one is true, the other must be false.          
+=======================-========================+
|      EVOLUTION        |      THE BIBLE         | 
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|The universe began in a|The earth was  formed in| 
|flash of light (the Big|darkness    first,  then|
|Bang).  The  earth  ap-|God  said "Let  there be| 
|peared    billions   of|light". (Gen. 1:1-3)    | 
|years later.           |                        |
+================================================+
                    - Page 1 -

+=======================-========================+ 
|      EVOLUTION        |      THE BIBLE         | 
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|The earth began as mol-|From the very  beginning|
|ten  rock. For billions|the  earth  had a liquid|
|of years it was too hot|water  surface. (Gen. 1:|
|for  water to exist  as|2,9-10)                 |
|a liquid. Land appeared|Dry land  appeared after|
|long    before   liquid|liquid water.           |
|water.                 |                        |
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|Seed-bearing       land|Seed-bearing land plants|  
|plants evolved billions|were   among  the  first|
|of   years   after  the|living  things. (Gen. 1:|
|first living cell.     |11-12)                  |
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|The sun and  stars  ap-|The  sun  and stars were|
|peared    billions   of|created  on  the  fourth|    
|years before the earth.|day, after the earth.   |
|                       |(Gen. 1:14-17)          |    
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|Evolution occurred over|Creation  was  completed|
|four  eras ranging from|in  six days,  each con-|
|hundreds of millions to|sisting  of  an  evening|
|billions of years.  The|and a morning.          |          
|"evenings and mornings"|                        |
|are meaningless.       |                        |
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|In  order for evolution|The sun  was  created  a|  
|to  fit  into  Genesis,|day  after  plants,  in-|
|each  "day" would  have|sects another day later.|  
|had to last millions or|Plants  can only survive|  
|billions of years.     |a few 24-hour days with-|  
|                       |out sunlight,  and  most|  
|                       |cannot reproduce without|  
|                       |insects. They would have|  
|                       |become extinct in a very|
|                       |short  time.  The "days"| 
|                       |could not have been mil-|
|                       |lions of years long.    |   
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|The  first  members  of|The first members of the|
|the animal kingdom were|animal kingdom  included|
|microscopic,    single-|fish, birds,  and "great|
|celled organisms.      |sea monsters".(Gen.1:20-|
|                       |22) These were certainly|
|                       |not microscopic.        |
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|Birds evolved from rep-|Birds  were  created the|
|tiles after millions of|day   before   "creeping|
|years.                 |things". (Gen.1:20-25)  | 
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|All    living    things|God   created   distinct|
|evolved from one common|"kinds"  of   creatures.|
|single-celled ancestor.|Each   reproduces   only|  
|                       |"after  its kind". (Gen.|
|                       |1:24-25,  I Cor.  15:39)|
|Variation is unlimited.|Variation is limited.   |  
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|The Garden of Eden is a|The Garden  of  Eden  is|
|myth.                  |also  referred  to  as a|
|                       |literal  place by  Joel,|
|                       |Isaiah, and Ezekiel.    | 
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|The  first  man  was an|The first man's body was|
|already  living, highly|miraculously formed from|
|evolved ape-like  crea-|the  dust of the  earth.|
|ture into whom God  in-|(Gen. 2:7)  He  did  not|
|fused a soul.          |exist before.           |
+================================================+

                    - Page 2 -

+=======================-========================+ 
|      EVOLUTION        |      THE BIBLE         | 
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|Language  evolved slow-|Adam had a large vocabu-|
|ly.                    |lary the day he was cre-|
|                       |ated. (Gen.2:19-20) Lan-|
|                       |guages  multiplied  sud-|
|                       |denly at Babel. (Gen.11)|
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|Human  females  evolved|Woman  was  formed  from|
|at  the  same  time  as|man  in a miraculous op-|
|males.                 |eration. (Gen. 2:21-22) |
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|Animals  had  been com-|If    Adam   had   never|
|peting  and  dying  for|sinned, he and Eve would|
|billions of  years  be-|have   lived    forever.|
|fore  Adam  and Eve  e-|(Gen. 2:19, 3:17-24)    |
|volved.   From   birth,|                        |    
|they  too were destined|                        |      
|to die.                |                        |
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|Evolution worked by the|Before    Adam   sinned,|
|death  of the unfit and|there  was no  death  in| 
|the   survival  of  the|the  world.  (Gen. 3:17-|
|fittest.  Adam and  Eve|24, Rom. 5:12-14) All of| 
|were merely products of|creation suffers because| 
|this process.          |of his sin.  (Rom. 8:19-|
|MAN HAD  NOTHING  TO DO|22)                     |
|WITH DEATH.            |MAN CAUSED DEATH.       |        
|-----------------------+------------------------| 
|Fossils   were   formed|Since man caused  death,| 
|over millions of  years|fossils  could  not have| 
|(long    before    Adam|been formed before Adam.|
|evolved) by slow, grad-|Most  were produced by a|
|ual processes.         |worldwide   flood  in  a| 
|                       |very short time.        |
+================================================+

   There are at least thirty other direct  contra-
dictions between the Bible and the theory of  evo-
lution,  but you get the idea. These two  accounts 
absolutely rule each other out. If either is true, 
then  the  other  is not just a  myth,  it's  dead 
wrong.                     
           +--------------------------+
           |WHAT IF EVOLUTION IS TRUE?|
           +--------------------------+

   "Well", you say, "so what if Genesis is  wrong? 
It  doesn't  really matter anyway. Peter  and  the 
apostles  passed on their authority to my  church. 
We don't need the Bible anymore." 
   Okay, how do you know that Peter and the  other 
apostles had any authority to pass on? 
   "Because Jesus gave it to them."
   And how do you know that?
   "Because the (gulp) Bible says so..."
   Oh,  yes, the Bible! Isn't that the  book  your 
church  doesn't need anymore?  Besides,  evolution 
proves that you can't take the Bible literally!

   You have a problem! If you're depending on your 
church's  apostolic authority, you'd better  think 
carefully  about  how the apostles got it  in  the 
first place. Matthew 16:17-19 tells us that  Jesus 
gave Peter his authority - but just three chapters 
later,  Jesus Himself referred to the creation  of 
Adam and Eve as a literal event (Mt. 19: 4-5).  In 
other places He talked of Noah as a real man and a 
worldwide  flood as real and historical. It  looks 
like  He was mistaken - but God doesn't make  mis-
            
                    - Page 3 -

takes! Either the Gospels don't accurately  record 
what He said, or else He wasn't the Son of God. In 
either case, you can't trust the Bible's record of 
His  words. So how can you be sure that He  really 
gave Peter (or your church) any authority at all?
   If you still claim to rely on the apostles' au-
thority, maybe you'd better read what they  wrote. 
Peter refers (1 Pet. 3:18-20) to a worldwide flood 
as a historical event; he warns us (2 Pet.  3:3-7) 
that in the last days men will deny that a  world-
wide  flood ever occurred.  Paul refers  over  and 
over to creation and the Flood as literal  events; 
so do James, Jude, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - 
every single one of the New Testament writers.  So 
if evolution is true, every one of the men you re-
gard  as  your  church's source  of  authority  is 
wrong!  What  kind of "authority" could  such  men 
have passed on?

   There's  an even more important reason to  find 
out if you can trust Genesis. Your faith is worth-
less if you can't. 
   The Christian faith depends entirely on Christ, 
"the  last Adam" (1 Cor. 15:21-22,45), having  ac-
complished what He came to earth to do: to save us 
from the sin we inherited from the first Adam. 
   What if the story of Adam and the fall is  just 
a myth? Then the first man was merely another in a 
long  line  of apelike creatures who  evolved  and 
died. He, like all the other animals, was destined 
to die from the time he was born.  It's foolish to 
believe that he brought death into the world. 
   Now,  since  Genesis is the  only  source  that 
tells  us that Adam caused death by his  sin,  and 
since  evolution  tells us that he  really  didn't 
cause death, then why should we bother to  believe 
in  his  "original sin"?  And if original  sin  is 
just a myth, who needs to be saved from it? 
   If  we don't need to be saved, then  "the  last 
Adam", Jesus, is either a liar or a fool! He  came 
to  earth and suffered an agonizing death to  save 
us from sin - all because of a myth! 
   And if Christ is not really who He said He was, 
why  bother  to call yourself  a  Christian?   You 
can't  be sure of anything about God.  Maybe  some 
other religion is right. For all you know, you may 
be on your way to hell - if Genesis is a myth.

   But maybe you don't care about heaven and hell. 
Maybe  you don't even claim to be a Christian,  so 
you  don't think Genesis has anything to  do  with 
you. You're wrong; it affects you too. 
   Suppose you saw someone committing a  murder or 
molesting  a  child.  You'd  try  to  stop   them, 
wouldn't  you?  Or suppose your  teenage  daughter 
wanted  to go out on a date wearing a  see-through 
blouse with no bra underneath. Would you let  her? 
I doubt it. You have standards of right and wrong. 
   Have you ever thought about where you got those 
standards?  Probably  from your parents,  who  got 
them from their parents, etc.  But at some time in 
the past, somebody decided what was right and what 
was  wrong and began to pass it on. And where  did 
they get their standards? If they lived in  almost 
any  country in the Western Hemisphere,  they  got 
them from the Bible.                    

   If  evolution  is  true,  you're  in   trouble! 
Whether  you  like it or not,  your  standards  of 

                    - Page 4 -

right and wrong originated in the Bible, which  is 
saturated  with references to the Genesis  account 
of  Creation and the Flood.  But  evolution  means 
that  Genesis  is either just a man-made  myth  or 
else a divine riddle whose meaning you can't  ever 
really be sure you understand correctly. 
   Either way, you'll have to discard Genesis as a 
guide  for living. You'll also have to reject  all 
the  other parts of the Bible that refer to it  as 
literally true. Say goodbye to:
- Everything  Moses wrote. This includes not  only  
  Genesis  but also the Ten Commandments  and  all 
  the rest of the moral laws on which most of  our 
  civil laws are based;
- Most of the Old Testament;
- All four Gospels;
- Fourteen other books of the New Testament.

   Well,  that wipes out almost the  whole  Bible. 
And  even if you call yourself an atheist,  that's 
still where most of your moral standards original-
ly  came  from. If evolution is true,  then,  your 
standards  are firmly rooted in nothing. You  have 
no  basis to believe in right and wrong!  All  you 
have is an opinion. 

   Of course you're entitled to your opinion.  But 
guess  what? So is everybody else. Everybody.  For 
example, Hindus have a right to believe that kill-
ing  cows is wrong, so if you go to  India  you'll 
probably  have  to abstain  from  beef.  Harmless, 
right?  Wrong!
   Let's be logical. If everybody else has a right 
to their opinion, so do the satanic cults. Some of 
them practice human sacrifice, which you doubtless 
think  is wrong.  But remember, if Genesis is  not 
reliable, then your moral standards are ultimately 
based on a myth. Who are you to say that they  (or 
Hitler  or Stalin) are wrong? It's just your opin-
ion against theirs!
   How about your kids? What right do you have  to 
tell  them not to use drugs, or steal, or beat  up 
old ladies? And what about your teenage  daughter? 
Who are you to tell her that it's wrong to wear  a 
micro-mini  skirt (or go naked, for that  matter)? 
After  all, your children are at least  as  highly 
evolved  as  you are. They have as much  right  to 
their opinion as you do!

   It  all comes down to this: if there is  a  God 
who  made the universe, He has the right  to  make 
the rules. But has He told us what His rules  are? 
Assuming  Genesis to be unreliable, the answer  is 
NO. The Bible can't be trusted. Since you can't be 
sure what God's rules are, everybody else is  free 
to  make  up their own. You have  nothing  to  say 
about it. You have no right to impose your opinion 
on  anybody - if evolution is true. And if it  is, 
you might as well start your own religion, because 
Christianity is worthless.

            +------------------------+
            |WHAT IF GENESIS IS TRUE?|
            +------------------------+

   Have  you noticed that modern morals are at  an 
all-time  low?  Behavior which wouldn't have  been 
mentioned  in  polite company in the past  is  now 
flaunted. Why? Because modern society has  largely 
abandoned Biblical standards. 
   But suppose evolution is wrong, and Genesis  is 

                    - Page 5 -

literally  true. Instead of having to  defend  our 
values, we suddenly find that they are built on  a 
solid foundation. A few examples:
- Marriage is not a cultural development of  man's 
  evolution.  It was directly instituted  by  God. 
  Adultery, fornication, and polygamy are sinful.
- Homosexuality  is a perversion of God's  design. 
  He  put a man and a woman together, not two  men 
  or two women.
- Clothing  is not a human invention. God  devised 
  it  because  of  man's inability  to  cope  with 
  nakedness properly. (Parents, remember this when 
  your teenagers argue about their clothes.)
- Pornography is wrong because it appeals to  this 
  same lustful human weakness.
- Substance  abuse  (the  first  drunkenness)  and 
  disrespect for parents are first seen in Genesis 
  9, along with their consequences.
- Crime and punishment are first seen in the story 
  of Cain and Abel, and then in Genesis 9:6  where 
  capital punishment is instituted.
- Abortion  is  wrong because  God  commanded  the 
  human  race to "be fruitful and  multiply",  not 
  kill its offspring. Children are seen as a  gift 
  from God, not as rubbish to be discarded.
- Family structure of husband as leader, provider, 
  and protector, and wife as helper, is not a cul-
  tural development. God established it. (Sorry if 
  you  don't like it, ladies; you'll have to  take 
  it up with God.) 
- Race  relations  should be no  problem  for  be-
  lievers. We are all descended from Noah and  his 
  three  sons, so physical differences between  us 
  shouldn't matter. 
- Man  needs a Savior.  He is a  fallen  creature, 
  not an ever-improving being.
- The  judgment of God is revealed in  the  Flood. 
  This  past  judgment assures us  of  the  future 
  judgment of the world at the return of Christ.

   Is  it  any wonder that  the  ungodly  ridicule 
those  of us who believe Genesis?  They  recognize 
clearly that if Genesis is accurate, they are  ac-
countable  to God. So they tell us, "You  have  no 
right to impose your standards on us. That's  just 
your  opinion".   And if we can't  trust  Genesis, 
they're right. 
   But  if  Genesis is accurate and  evolution  is 
wrong,  we're  standing on rock-solid  ground.  We 
need not apologize for our beliefs; our  standards 
of  right and wrong are not just our own  opinion. 
They're God's.  We're not on any kind of ego trip. 
We're standing fast for God, not for ourselves.

            +------------------------+
            |HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE?|
            +------------------------+

   Surely  now you see how crucially important  it 
is to find out if Genesis can be trusted. But per-
haps you're one of the many who have accepted evo-
lution  as  "proven scientific fact"  without  any 
evidence. Don't you wish you knew some of the sci-
entific facts in support of creation? 
   Here's your chance to learn a few. All you have 
to do is write me, and I'll gladly send you a free 
brochure of Creation/Evolution Facts. In it you'll 
find, in layman's terms, eighteen of the best evi-
dences  for creation from such diverse  fields  as 
physics,  biology, astronomy, biochemistry,  gene-
tics,  and paleontology. . You'll see that  Bible-

                    - Page 6 -

believing  Christians need not be  intimidated  by 
"science falsely so-called" (1 Tim. 6:20).  You'll 
be  amazed at how many scientific facts have  been 
withheld from you and your children. Why?  Because 
when  all  the  facts  are  presented,   evolution 
(and the value system based on it) crumbles.

   It's  time to choose. Will you  keep  believing 
lies and half-truths you've never investigated for 
yourself, knowing that they destroy the very  rea-
son  for your Christian faith? Or will you believe 
God? 

   One  last  thing. Perhaps you believe  in  many 
Biblical values and even teach them to your  chil-
dren. But until you give yourself to God, you have 
no right to try to get others to follow His stand-
ards.
   Does  that make you feel left out or angry?  If 
so,  maybe it's because you don't have a  personal 
relationship with Jesus. I know the feeling. I was 
a  church  member for 27 years before I  became  a 
Christian  myself. Why? Because I  didn't  believe 
the Bible!
   The  Bible  is much more than just  a  book  of 
rules. It tells of Adam and Eve, who brought  suf-
fering  and  death into the world  and  passed  on 
their  sin  to each of us. It tells of a  God  who 
loves  you so much that He allowed His  only  Son, 
Jesus,  to die a horrible death on a cross to  pay 
the penalty for your sins. It tells of the  loving 
Son of God who willingly gave His life for you and 
wants to save you - if you'll let Him.
   The Bible tells us that we all have sinned  and 
fall  short  of the glory of God (Rom.  3:23).  It 
says  that  because of our sin, we  deserve  death 
(Rom. 6:23) - but that God shows His love in that, 
while  we  were yet sinners, Christ  died  for  us 
(Rom.  5:8). It says that to anyone  who  receives 
Him, He gives power to become a child of God (John 
1:12-13). 

   God made you, so He has the right to force  you 
to do what He wants. He won't, though; you have to 
ask to become one of His children. If you want to, 
pray something like this: 
   "Dear  God,  I confess that  I'm  a  sinner. 
   Thank  you that Jesus died for my  sins  and 
   rose again.  I accept Him now as my Lord and 
   Savior. I give you my life. Lord Jesus, come 
   into  my  heart and make me the  person  you 
   want  me to be. Thank you for  forgiving  me 
   and  making  me a child of  God,  in  Jesus' 
   name. Amen."

   If you prayed that prayer and want to know what 
to do next, or you'd like the free Creation/Evolu-
tion  brochure I mentioned earlier,  please  write 
me. I care.
                Dave Prentice
                P.O. Box 73461
                Metairie, LA 70033
                                       or contact:
+------------------------------------------------+
|                                                |
|      Word of Faith Christian Fellowship        |
|           13123 I-10 Service Road              |
|            New Orleans, LA 70128               |
|             Phone (504) 241-1234               |
|                                                |
+------------------------------------------------+
                  copyright 1989
