FAITH PAGE OF WAS DARWIN RIGHT?

Introduction   Science and faith   Creation   Become a Christian   Statement of faith   Suggested reading, TV and tapes

The concept of the "Intelligent Design Theory" is that it can potentially be presented as a non-religious theory of supernatural creation. For those who do not believe the science supports a belief in evolution but do not want to consider a religious option, then the concept of Intelligent design is open to them. However, on this page we explore the concept of faith in a Creator God from a Christian perspective and some related issues such as science and faith and what is means to be a Christian. 

The WordiQ web dictionary dictionary defines Faith as below:-

To see a moving five minute visual presentation giving some of Mother Theresa's sayings relating to her own Christian faith, please click on her photo on the left - sound included. NEW - Premier Christian TV (for broadband only click here to play).

Ask the geese - short PowerPoint presentation on Creation with respect to geese!

In religious contexts, "faith" has several different meanings. Sometimes, it means loyalty to one's religion. It is in the latter sense in which one can speak of, for example, "the Catholic faith" or "the Islamic faith." or faith in the person and teachings of Jesus Christ and the Bible. 

From this definition it can be seen that faith is something that we all have. For example if we fly in a plane, we have faith or trust in the ability of the pilot or we may have faith in our doctor etc. Christians might argue that for the greatest journey one ever makes in this life, e.g. the journey to the next life, one needs faith in not an airline pilot, but in Jesus Christ, to put your life in his hands. 

Science and Faith. The media tends to present science and faith as polar opposites, for example see some of the quotes on the Anti Creation page such as "Can religion and science ever be compatible in education?". What is the incompatibility?

Let us take the example of a Doctor researching into better treatment for cancer. Are there any aspects of his understanding of biochemistry, toxicology, anatomy, drug interactions, the immune system, cellular structure etc that are compromised if he or she believes in a God that was involved in designing living things? Of course not. His or her religious beliefs do not impinge at all on the possibility of being a top rate toxicologist, immunologist, biochemist, GP or whatever. Unless that scientist were to specialise in evolutionary theory, it is likely that the teaching of the theory of evolution comprised just a small part of their science background. The incompatibility is perceived because the media tends to present a picture that all scientists believe whole heartedly in the theory of evolution, that it is a major component of biology and so to be a scientist and believe in God is incompatible. 

In his book Darwin's Black Box, Prof. Michael Behe comments that there have always been since the time of Darwin, well informed and respected scientists who have found Darwinism to be inadequate (page 30). However, Michael Behe also comments in this book that events like the Scopes trail (audio tapes recommended) have tended to give the impression that science and religion are opposed. 

It is also interesting to note that those most vocal about promoting the idea that science and religion are opposed may be those who are actually opposed to the idea of the existence of God. For example Professor Richard Dawkins, in the past has been quoted as saying, “It is absolutely safe to say that if you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid, or insane, or wicked, but I’d rather not consider that” (Dawkins, 1989). Professor Richard Dawkins is vice president of the British humanist association and a leading evolutionist in the UK. In his book Darwin's Black Box, Prof. Michael Behe comments that Dawkins believes atheism is the logical deduction from Darwinism and that the world would be a better place if more people shared that view. To top

Creation. If all life as we know did not evolve by chance, then it must have been designed and created. The Biblical creation story of Genesis is shared Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths. Surprisingly, similar Creation stories are also told by American Indians, Aborigines and many other people groups that predate any missionary influence (Mackay, 2000).                     

Will we ever know it all?

The Biblical story of creation is not a detailed scientific description of how God created life on earth. It was written thousands of years ago and originally for people who had no concept of science as we do today. However, with all the advances of modern science, we still don't know HOW the universe and life arose. We may have some interesting theories, but it is likely we never will have all the answers with respect to HOW? The Biblical story of creation is that God DID create.

For many of us the Biblical creation story appears to be no more than a parable. This may be because for many years, we have been taught and watched programs that assures us the world is billions of years old and we all evolved from bacteria (or single celled organisms of some sort of some sort).

Is creationism science?

As such, many would argue that creationism is not science, but the theory of evolution is.

However, DNA replication, the immune system, photosynthesis, Kreb's cycle, gravity, blood clotting and childbirth (to name just a few systems science can study) will all function quite well and can be studied in great scientific detail regardless of how we believe these highly complex systems came into being.

Both the theory of evolution and belief in intelligent design or creation are hypothesis that seek to explain the available evidence.

Neither the theory of evolution or creationism is science in itself. However, data from scientific research can be used to evaluate the evidence and see if it more closely fits the creation or evolution model - see conclusions for an overview.

So, in perceiving the creation story to be no more than a parable, we are limiting God. Even though there are scientists who consider that science does not clearly support evolution (open to how the data is interpreted) if you look at many aspects of the theory, it somehow seems more palatable to some of us that bacteria (or single celled organisms of some sort) eventually turned into all life on Earth, rather than God made all life on Earth, with the ability to adapt to a limited extent to the environment.

If God made the World, why is it in such a mess today?

Christians generally believe that although God originally created man and the World good (The Bible, Genesis, Chapter 1),  man chose to rebel against God's ways for him at the start of time, and as a result humanity and creation fell out on harmony with God - please listen to audio presentation "Crime and Punishment" for an excellent thirty minute talk on this subject.

Original sin is not an easy concept for any to grasp, but in essence this means that just as we inherit physical characteristics from our parents via our DNA, so the whole human race inherits a nature that tends towards rebellion to God and selfishness through the original disobedience of the parents of mankind. We certainly see evidence in the World today that if once the World was all "good", it is far from "good" in many ways now.

Sin is not a popular word, but perhaps we understand the word selfishness better (which in essence is sin). Selfishness is something we are all aware of in our lives and the selfish nature of man leads to greed, hatred, jealousy, immorality and all those other big issues of life that eventually generally lead to unpleasant consequences. Many Christians also believe that the physical world was somehow affected by mans rebellion to God, for example, by a global flood. As such, today our world suffers from earthquakes, drought, flood etc. However, man is also directly responsible for many of the environmental problems that we see in the world today (e.g. due to pollution, de-forestation etc.).

Is there a solution - Grace?

In the introduction to this page it was suggested that we are likely to have faith if we fly in the abilities of the pilot. Christians might argue that for the greatest journey one ever makes in this life, e.g. the journey to the next life, one needs faith in not an airline pilot, but in Jesus Christ. In the next section there is a very brief summary about what it entails to be a Christian. Becoming a Christian won't instantly solve all the worlds problems, but if we all truly loved our neighbors as ourselves and had internal peace with God, what a difference it could make! The book on "What's so amazing about Grace" is well worth a read (picture left) and is available from the cart. To top

Become a Christian. If you are really interested in what the Christian faith is all about, it is recommended that you attend an ALPHA course at a good Church or a similar course such as Christianity Explored. Alternatively you may find some of the books listed below helpful. Another option is to listen to Christian teaching tapes or to the "Drama of redemption talks" or to  Christian radio (see Audio / Visual page). A very brief summary of what it means to become a Christian is given below and also in the "Why Jesus pamphlet" pictured right which is available from the cart.

The central theme of Christianity is that God reached out to men and women to restore relationship with them. In one sense, such a restoration can be as simple as a child wanting to restore a good relationship with a loving parent after some break down in the relationship. We often make it more complex than need be.

The story of Genesis is about Creation of a good world and man's alienation from a harmonious relationship with God - please listen to audio presentation "Crime and Punishment" for an excellent thirty minute talk on this subject.

The story of Jesus Christ is about God coming to the World to restore that harmonious relationship. The Biblical story of the prodigal son is a wonderful analogy of how God loves us unconditionally and longs for us to restore relationship with him, no matter what we have done (The Bible, Luke chapter 15 verses 11 to 24).

The Bible portrays God as perfect, loving and kind but also as holy and just. If we are honest with ourselves, we have all done things to wrong and hurt others and which in turn wrong and hurt God. So if in effect we apologise to God (i.e. repent), God on his part promises us not just total forgiveness, but peace of mind and certainty of heaven when we die. What an amazing offer and it's free, although it does require a change in life style to follow the teachings of Christ.

Jesus paid the price for our forgiveness on the cross. Jesus dying on the cross was to take the penalty for our wrongdoings himself. An analogy could be that that a judge sentences a criminal to life imprisonment for some crime, the criminal is totally repentant and so the judge says "I will serve the sentence in your place so you can go free".

For God so loved the World, that he gave his only  Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life - (The Bible, John 3 v 16).

We don't have to work to make ourselves acceptable to God but we do have to turn to him and turn away from doing the things that would hurt him. In the story of the prodigal son (The Bible, Luke chapter 15 verses 11 to 24), the rebellious son did not have to attend church and do lots of charity work (although this may be very worthwhile) to become acceptable to his father. He just turned from his old ways that were destroying him and returned to his father with a belief in the love of his father. Then his father welcomed him and forgave him completely.

To become a Christian we do have to believe that God exists, that he came to Earth in the person of Jesus Christ and that as the God-Man He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our wrongdoings. He did this because God is both merciful and just. If this is all very difficult for you, you can pray and ask God to help you to understand. God wants us as His children to understand His nature and character. We also need to recognise that we are created by Him in His image. He, as our Creator, is not only our Originator but also our Ruler, Lawgiver and Judge, Only after we have understood all this can we really make an intelligent and willing response to His loving offer of forgiveness. It may be helpful to attend a suitable course, read some books, listen to the "Drama of redemption talks" or to Christian radio or to suitable teaching tapes.

As with all relationships, time and care is needed to nurture our relationship with God. We would have a very poor relationship with our friends if we never saw them or spoke to them. In Christian terms, this means talking (praying) to God, learning about him (reading the Bible and getting teaching from a good Bible believing Church), meeting and getting support from his friends (other Christians), turning away from doing things that hurt him and apologising (asking for regular forgiveness) when we do things that hurt him.

Below is a simple prayer which if prayed genuinely from the heart to God can restore our relationship with God. God will always hear and answer the prayer that acknowledges sin before him and asks forgiveness.

Prayer - taken from "Why Jesus", by Nicky Gumbel - Available from Was Darwin right cart:-

Lord Jesus Christ,

I am sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life (take a few moments to ask his forgiveness for anything particular that is on your conscience). Please forgive me, I now turn from everything that is wrong.
Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free.
Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Spirit, I now receive that gift.
Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me forever. 

Thank you Lord Jesus. Amen. 

"If we say we have done nothing wrong (have no sin), we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our wrongdoing (sins) to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and cleanse us from everything that is wrong". (The Bible, 1 John Chapter 1 verses 8 and 9).

If you have prayed the above prayer and mean it, then ask God to direct you to a good Bible-believing Christian Church and start nurturing your new relationship! If this is not possible, then do make use of good books, teaching tapes and or listen to teaching on a Christian radio station. To top

Statement of faith. This site embraces the general declaration of Christian belief as made by the Evangelical Alliance (UK) as shown below:-

1. The one true God who lives eternally in three persons—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

2. The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling, redeeming and judging the world.

3. The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God—fully trustworthy for faith and conduct.

4. The dignity of all people, made male and female in God's image to love, be holy and care for creation, yet corrupted by sin, which incurs divine wrath and judgement.

5. The incarnation of God’s eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ—born of the virgin Mary, truly divine and truly human, yet without sin.

6. The atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross: dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God.

7. The bodily resurrection of Christ, the first fruit of our resurrection; his ascension to the Father, and his reign and mediation as the only Saviour of the world.

8. The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ.

9. The ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us with Christ through new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness.

10. The Church, the body of Christ both local and universal, the priesthood of all believers—given life by the Spirit and endowed with the Spirit's gifts to worship God and proclaim the gospel, promoting justice and love.

11. The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to the redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth.

This site recognises that Christians have different views as to "how" God created and "how" literally the first few chapters of Genesis should be taken, and accepts that many Christians believe God worked through evolution or through progressive Creation over a long period of time. To top

Suggested reading and tapes

Books

Case For Christ, The. A journalist investigates the toughest objections to Christianity, by L. Strobel.

Church, Why bother? by Philip Yancey.

Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey.

Father Heart Of God, The, by F. McClung.

Historical Jesus, The: Ancient evidence for the life of Christ, by G. R. Habermas.

Many Infallible Proofs, Evidence For The Christian Faith, by M. Henry.

Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis.

The Bible

The Jesus I never knew, by P. Yancey.

What's So Amazing About Grace, by P. Yancey.

Where Is God When It Hurts, by P. Yancey.

Why Jesus, by Nicky Gunbel, ALPHA course book. Only £0.40 UK in 2004. To top

On line

Honest answers to tough questions about Christianity

Is Our Copy of the Bible a Reliable Copy of the Original?

Jesus A Biblical Defence of His Deity - on-line book

Your most important decision

The full ‘scope’ of the trial of the century - About a rigged trial of a teacher accused of teaching about evolution.

What’s wrong with ‘progressive creation?

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Audio and TV

Christian teaching tapes to buy from Telling the truth.

• PLAY Part 1
• PLAY Part 2

Premier Christian radio (London UK). ( click here to play).

Premier Christian TV (for broadband only click here to play).

UCB Christian radio station ( click here to play). UCB programme guide.

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