8/10/2019 Creation or Evolution 1, 2

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Creation or Evolution?Part 1: Why Believe inGod?

Creation or evolution?

Why do I believe in God?

Explaining my belief

Creation or evolution?

Do you believe that God created all things? If so,youre not alone; many young people (and adults)share your view. But others say that life and the

universe evolvedwithout the help of a SupremeBeing.

Did you know? People on both sides of the debateare often quick to state what they believe withoutreally knowing why they believe it.

Some people believe in creation simplybecause thats what theyve been taught atchurch.

Many people believe in evolution simplybecause thats what theyve been taught atschool.

This series of articles will help you to reinforce andexplain your belief in creation. First, though, you needto ask yourself an even more basic question:

Why do I believe in God?

Why is that question important? Because the Bibleencourages you to use your mind, your power ofreason. (Romans 12:1) That means your belief inGod should not be based merely on

emotion (I just feel that there must be a

higher power)

the influence of others (I live in a religiouscommunity)

pressure (My parents raised me to believein Godor else)

Instead, you should be personally convinced that Godexists and should have sound reasons for your belief.

So, what convinces you that God exists? Theworksheet Why Do I Believe in God?will build yourconviction. You might also find it helpful to considerhow other young people have answered that question.

When Im in class listening to the teacher explainhow our bodies function, theres no doubt in my mindthat God exists. Each part of the body has its ownfunction, down to the smallest detail, and thesefunctions are often carried out without our awareness.The human body truly is mind-boggling!Teresa.

When I see a skyscraper, a cruise ship, or a car, Iask myself, Who built this? It takes intelligent peop leto build a car, for example, because so many smallcomponents have to work just right for the whole thingto function. And if cars have to be designed bysomeone, then so do we humans.Richard.

When you realize that its taken the most intelligenthuman minds hundreds of years to understand eventhe smallest fraction of the universe, then thinking thatit took no intelligence to bring that universe intoexistence seems completely unreasonable!Karen.

The more I studied science, the less credibleevolution seemed. For example, I thought about the

mathematical precision in nature and the uniquenessof humans, including our need to know who we are,where we came from, and where we are going.Evolution aims to explain all these things in termsassociated with animals, but it has never been able toexplain why humans are unique. To me, it takes morefaith to believe in evolution than to believe in aCreator.Anthony.

Explaining my belief

What if classmates ridicule you for believing insomething you cant see? What if they say thatscience has proved evolution?

First, be confident in what you believe. Do not beintimidated or ashamed. (Romans 1:16) After all,remember:

1.

You are not alone; many people stillbelieve in God. That includes highlyintelligent, professional people. Forexample, there are scientists who believethere is a God.

2. When people say that they dont believe

in God, sometimes what they reallymean is that they dont understand God.

Rather than offer evidence to support theirview, they raise questions such as, If Godexists, why does he allow suffering? Ineffect, they turn an intellectual issue into anemotional one.

3. Humans have a spiritual need.

(Matthew 5:3) This includes a need tobelieve in God. So if someone says there isno God, that personnot youhas theresponsibility to explain how he or shecould reach such a conclusion.Romans1:18-20.

4.

Belief in God is entirely reasonable. Itconforms to the proven fact that life cannotcome into existence by itself. No evidenceexists to support the idea that life couldspontaneously come from nonliving matter.

What, then, could you say if someone questions yourbelief in God? Consider a few possibilities.

If someone says: Only uneducated people believe inGod.

You could respond: Do you really accept thatstereotype? I dont. In fact, in a survey in which morethan 1,600 science professors from various eliteuniversities took part, a third did not claim to beatheist or agnostic.*Would you call those professorsunintelligent just because they believe in God?

If someone says: If God exists, why is there so muchsuffering in the world?

You could respond: Perhaps what you mean is thatyou dont understand how God actsor in this case,doesnt seem to act. Is that right? [Allow forresponse.] Ive found a satisfying answer to thequestion about why there is so much suffering. But

understanding it takes an examination of several Bibleteachings. Would you be interested in learning more?

The next article in this series will discuss why thetheory of evolution does not provide a satisfactoryexplanation for our existence.

Creation or Evolution?Part 2: Why QuestionEvolution?

Alex is confused. He has always believed in God andin creation. But today his biology teacher forcefullyclaimed that evolution is a fact, that it is based on

credible scientific research. Alex doesnt want toappear to be foolish. After all, he says to himself, ifscientists have proved evolution to be true, who am Ito question them?

Can you identify with this scenario? Perhaps for allyour life, youve believed what the Bible says: Godcreated the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)Yet, recently people have been trying to convince youthat creation is a myth and that evolution is a fact.Should you believe them? Why question evolution?

Two reasons to question evolution Questions to consider

What your peers say

Two reasons to question evolution

1.

Scientists dont agree on evolution. Despitedecades of research, scientists have yet to comeup with an explanation for evolution that they allcan agree on.

To think about: If scientists cant agree onevolutionand theyre supposed to be theexpertsare you wrong to question the theory?Psalm 10:4.

2. It matters what you believe. If life came about byaccident, then our livesand all the things in ouruniverseare meaningless, says a boy namedZachary. He has a point. After all, if evolution weretrue, life would not seem to have any lastingpurpose. (1 Corinthians 15:32)On the other hand,if creation is true, we can find satisfying answers toquestions about the purpose of life and what thefuture holds.Jeremiah 29:11.

To think about: How would knowing the truth aboutevolution and creation make a difference in yourlife?Hebrews 11:1.

Questions to consider

CLAIM: Everything in the universe came as aresult of a random big bang.

Who or what caused the big bang?

Which makes more sensethat everythingcame from nothing or that everything came fromsomething or someone?

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