QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS PAGE OF WAS DARWIN RIGHT?
The Questions and Answers on this page were mainly put together by Joe
Baker and are mainly (though not exclusively) aimed at teens. Click
here to E-mail Joe Baker.
We accept that we don't have all the answers, and opinions on certain aspects change can over time, but we hope you find these answers of some use.
Are
dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible?
Did
Noah take Dinosaurs on the Ark?
Does evolution replace the need for God?
Genesis
says "re-plenish" so was there life before Adam and Eve?
Genetics shows we evolved from apes as we are 98% the same as apes genetically.
If
God is loving and all powerful, why is there so much pain and suffering in this
World?
If
the evidence for Creation is so good, why do people believe evolution?
Is
there enough water to cover the World?
If
the universe is young, how can we see light from very distant stars?
This
site contradicts Science with respect to dinosaurs.
What
happened to all the Dinosaurs?
Are
dinosaurs
mentioned in
the Bible?
Sir
Richard Owens who was a Creationist did not invent the word Dinosaur until 1841.
The King James Bible was interpreted in 1611 over 200 years before the word
dinosaur existed. The word dragon was used over 45 times in the King James
Version of the Bible, many of the times it should have been translated to
Dinosaur.
In
the Chapters of Job 40 and Job 41 it is clear that these creatures mentioned are
dinosaurs. Job 40 describes an animal with a tale like a cedar tree. Some
commentators say that this is an elephant or a hippopotamus. Have you ever seen
the tale of an elephant or a hippopotamus? Believe me they are nothing like a
cedar tree! The Apatosaurus is a much better match to the description. To
top
Creationists
have spend a great deal of effort denouncing evolution, but how much time
have they devoted to exploring the possibility that Genesis is referring to
evolution and there is no controversy?".
Response from Diane Eager and Luke Randall. Having
had a university education in the biological sciences and regularly attending a
Bible Study I was not satisfied with the excuse that Genesis really means evolution.
I knew what the biologists taught about evolution and it did not remotely sound
like Genesis. The three main points where Genesis and evolution are
diametrically opposed are:-
1. Genesis says that living organisms were created
separately "after their kinds" or "according to their
kinds". Evolution is a process where one kind becomes another kind.
2.The order of creation events Genesis is nothing like the
order of events in the evolutionary story.
3. Genesis describes a world that started out "very
good". This means no suffering, death or disease. These things exist
because the world has degenerated since then, i.e. the world is going from
perfection to chaos, not chaos to perfection. According to evolution suffering,
death and disease are the very things that drive evolution via the
"struggle for existence." It is this issue that has led many,
including Charles Darwin to abandon their faith in God because they believe
that a good God could not have created by such an evil process - but they are
convinced that process is true.
The Bible says that God made man in the image of God,
evolution suggests that a bacteria or another simple cell of some sort arose by
chance and then by processes involving mutations,
adaptation and selection, gave rise to all the species on planet
earth today. However, science shows us that mutations do not increase genetic
complexity and are generally harmful to the organism. In view of this and other
points discussed on this site, I believe that the macro-evolution aspect of the
theory of evolution is in conflict with science.
To top
Did
Noah take Dinosaurs on the Ark?
The
Bible says that Noah took two of every animal that breathes through its nose.
Noah had the common sense to take young ones with him on the ark. Not only do
babies weigh less but they also eat less, poop less, sleep a lot more, are
tougher, and they would give forth much more offspring after the flood which was
his primary reason for bring them to begin with.
I
got the privilege of holding two real dinosaur eggs both of them were the size
of a melon. The largest dinosaur eggs that have ever been found were the size of
a football. Even T-rex could have perched on your shoulder at one time in his
life. To top
Does
Evolution replace the need for God?
Full
question received by E-mail in February 2004 from Naimah Haq:-
"Does the evolution theory supersede the
need for a religious explanation about how humans came into existence? And how
does it?"
Answer
from Paul Taylor:- "Evolution is a religious explanation, not a
scientific one, for the origin of life. There is not a single piece of
experimental evidence confirming the evolutionary hypothesis that I know of. If
you do know of any could you please let us know? What evidence do you
have, that you have personally verified, on which to base a belief in Evolution?
The voices of a multitude saying 'Evolution is a fact' do not replace the need
for repeatable experimental evidence before the claim of scientific validity can
be substantiated. All so-called evidence for Evolution is merely circumstantial
evidence that is more easily interpreted within the Creation model. Therefore
belief in Evolution hangs upon an absolute faith in the evolutionary
presuppositions - that ONLY naturalistic causes exist, therefore
everything MUST have arisen by naturalistic processes [over
billions of years which make anything possible, given enough time ...].
However
there isn't enough time. Things are too recent for the theory to work. The
'missing links' are still missing after the earth has been thoroughly explored.
There are impossible gulfs between non-living matter and 'simple cells' which we
know now to be more complex than modern cities. There are too many 'closed
loops' such as proteins that need DNA for their manufacture and DNA that needs
the same proteins for it to function. What of the origin of the information
encoded in the DNA? Can you really bring yourself to believe that this arose
from random events without an intelligent author?
Also, is it logical to say that something created itself? If it existed before
it was created then it had to both exist and not exist at the same time. If
something else created it, then that something else was either itself created or
was eternal. Ultimately it goes back to something [or someone] that is eternal.
If anyone attributes physical matter with eternal existence, then that is
essentially a religious belief.
The biblical statement, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth" is therefore logically and scientifically defensible. It tells us
that the universe had a beginning, including its time dimension. This agrees
with the second law of thermodynamics, which states that entropy is increasing
throughout the universe and is one of the most well authenticated laws of
science. It is also in accordance with logic as it posits a creator who is
eternal and greater than the creation that he made.
So, no, I submit that Evolution does not supersede the need for a religious
explanation. Rather it is simply a competing religious explanation, espoused by
many for its 'liberating' effect freeing them from any need to acknowledge their
Creator or obey his moral law. It hides under a cloak of scientific validity but
when exposed is revealed as a set of unsubstantiated religious beliefs".
To top
Genesis
says "re-plenish" so was there life before Adam and Eve?
Comment
from Rodney Schamerhorn, July 2003:- We did not evolve from apes
because the apes (that looked like us) were rendered extinct by God before He
created Adam and Eve. Didn't God say to Adam and Eve "be fruitful and
multiply and Re-plenish the earth?" Doesn't that imply the earth was
once "plenished"? Doesn't that also imply that the earth was "UN"plenished.
Response from Kyle Shockley, July 2003:- "Replenish", during the King James Version translation, meant "to fill". Since that time, it has meant "to fill again". Words change meaning over time in English (and other) languages. "Scan" used to mean "to read carefully and thoroughly". What does it mean now? Exactly my point. The Hebrew word in Genesis ("mil'lae") means "to fill", just as how "replenish" embodied at one time the same definition in the English language. To top
Genetics
show we evolved from apes as we 98% the same as apes genetically.
Please go to the Homology page to see a response to this. To top
If God is loving and all-powerful, why is there so much pain and suffering in this World?
See also Why Does God Allow Suffering?
This
is a question that many of us ponder over some time in our lives. The answer
that many Christians might accept might be along these lines. The Bible says
that God created a "Good" World, and in the story of Genesis, Adam and
Eve were in a harmonious relationship with God in the Garden of Eden. However, God
made us with a free will and not as programmed robots. The Bible says we were
free to love God and obey him or not. In some way, in the Garden of Eden, humanity chose
to rebel against God and this destroyed the harmonious relationship with
God. Some people believe that not only did the harmonious relationship between
God and man break down at this stage, but also in some way the whole of Creation
became affected and out of harmony with its Creator. The good news is there is a
way to restore our relationship with God (see Faith
page).
Much
of mans suffering is as a result of mankind not following God's ways for him.
For example, it is not God's ideal for us to drink excessively or take
dangerously addictive drugs for recreation purposes. Just these two things alone
caused untold misery through crime, sickness and death of addicts, relationship
and marriage breakdown, gang warfare, murders etc.
Jesus Christ taught us that the two greatest commandments are to love God with all our heart and our neighbours as ourselves (The Bible, Matthew chapter 22, verses 37 to 40). If we all achieved this wholly it would remove much of the suffering (e.g. wars, loneliness, crime, famine etc.) from the World. Whilst we may not in our lives wholly love God and our neighbour, we can choose to restore our own relationship with God (see Faith page) and with God's help love him, our neighbours and ourselves.
See also Why Does God Allow Suffering? for more in depth answers. To top
Is
there enough water to cover the world?
The Darwinist are right when they claim that there is not enough water on the planet to cover Mt. Everest. If the ice caps were all too melt the continents would decrease in size by about 20%. However they are assuming that Mt. Everest was 29,000 feet high during the antediluvian world. The Bible says in Psalm 104:8 that the Mountains arose and the valleys sank down and the water wasted away after the flood. If we sank every mountain into the great trenches in the ocean and smoothed out the whole globe, the world would be covered by about 2 miles of water. The mountains arose after the flood and the mid-oceanic trenches sank down. As the water quickly ran off it created massive erosion, such as the Grand Canyon, and Canyon Land National park. If every drop of water in the atmosphere was to fall right now, it would rain about three inches world wide, that would sure cause a lot of problems and kill millions of people but would not even come close to creating a global flood. To top
If
the evidence for creation is so good, why do people believe evolution?
I think the answer to the question is simple and yet
terribly sad. Ever since Adam and Eve fell people have developed "Creation
Myths." Evolution is just today's most popular "Creation Myth."
In Romans 1 we find that God has revealed himself to man through his Creation.
Just take a look at the stars or examine a butterfly. From the microscope to the
telescope there is evidence of design all around us. In 2nd Peter chapter 3 we
read that "scoffers are willingly ignorant" of the Creation,
the Flood, and the Coming Judgment. The Bible says that they don't believe
these things because of the lack of evidence, but rather because of their lifestyle.
People don't reject the Bible because of evidence, people reject the Bible
because they want to be in charge and do whatever they want. All people take
things on faith. An Atheist (person that posits the non-existence of God)
believes by faith that no one made this world but that the world made itself.
Though it is very reasonable to believe that God designed this universe you and
I believe by faith that God created this world as described in the Bible. People
look at the world and understand things through their worldview window.
When we look at the evidence it makes sense because we are looking at it through
our worldview window. An atheist looks at the same world and concludes that
evolution is true, not because of their science but because of their faith in
Naturalism. Since they don't believe in God, Evolution must have brought about
our existence; there is no other naturalistic explanation for our origin so they
must accept it. Any evidence that contradicts their faith is eliminated, or
explained away. I have to admit that we sometimes do the same thing, but that is
the point. See God has placed enough reason in this universe to make faith in
God's world a very reasonable proposition however God has left enough reason out
to live by reason alone. In other words we don't believe the Bible because the
evidence can prove it, we believe the Bible by faith, and then everything seems
to make sense. What I read in God's word corresponds with what I see in God's
world. Our job as believers is to love those that reject God's Word and to
gently remind them that they are fallen and in need of a savior. Once they
accept by faith that God framed the world then they will see the mountain of
evidence like you and I, but as long as they hold onto their faith of
methodological naturalism they will not be able to accept the evidence that
proclaims the existence and primacy of our wonderful all mighty God.
The Bible, Hebrews 11:3 "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." To top
If
the universe is young, how can we see light from very distant stars?
It is obviously not possible to answer such a question with certainty, however, one possible explanation is that God did not create a brand new universe. This may sound an odd explanation, but in the recorded miracle of Jesus turning water in to wine (The Bible, John chapter 2 verses 1 to 11) Jesus produced not new young wine but matured wine. New young wine is generally not of the good quality as was the wine reported to be produced in this miracle. Thus, God could have produced a universe that was in some senses "mature" from the outset, as was the wine in the miracle miracle described in The Bible (John, chapter 2). Please see also some commentary about the speed of light. To top
This site contradicts Science with respect to dinosaurs
Question
in full to Joe Baker - October 2003. You suggest (on a page on previous
version of this site) that not only did dinosaurs live in the garden of Eden
with Adam and Eve, but they were around at the time of the ark, and that they
became extinct after the flood due to death, and hunting by man.. Humans did not
exist until 65 million years after dinosaurs. Your answer is not only
impossible, but strangely ignorant to modern science. How is it possible you did
not know of the age of dinosaurs and its relation to man.
What
happened to all the Dinosaurs?
We
could talk for an hour on how dinosaurs
died off. But the simple fact is that they died. They did not evolve, they
simply died. Lots of animals become extinct; Many plants and animal species each
year go extinct. Everything seems to be heading toward death and extinction,
which is the opposite of evolution and is called devolution. That is no problem
for me because after Adam sinned God stopped preserving and sustaining his
world. Death came into the world and everything in the entire universe began to
run down. The fossil record is record of death and extinction, not evolution. If
it were a record of our evolutionary history as Darwin said it is, then we
should find countless intermediate fossils. Today there is still not a single intermediate
fossil found in the fossil record.
The existence of dinosaur fossils suggests that there must have been a global flood to bury such creatures. Many dinosaurs are found in large herds fossilized. This could only result from a catastrophe. They simply died out after the flood in the new hostile environment, probably man's hunting killed many of them off, and (there are thousands of stories of people killing dragons). The word dinosaur wasn't invented until 1841 and meant terrible lizard. The King James Version of the Bible refers to dragons at least 45 times. Many Creationists including me (Joe Baker) believe that there are a few dinosaurs still alive in many remote parts of the world. There have been over 20,000 reported sightings of dinosaur like creatures in this century. To top
See
also Who
Wrote Genesis and
Who
wrote the first book of the Bible - Genesis?
Moses
is attributed to writing Genesis; the big question is whether he was solely
responsible for all the history in Genesis. A better question is “Did Moses
write Genesis, or did he edit it?” I
believe along with most Creationists that Moses edited the book of Genesis and
compiled documents already written before his time. The history may have been
written on a series of tablets handed all the way down from Adam. Noah could
have taken the tablets on the ark, and then passed them down through the
generations in the post flood world. God could very well have just given Moses the knowledge of
the past, but I know of no other case in the Bible where God revealed the past
to anyone except for Jesus and he is an exception (tell me if you know of any).
I am sure that before the flood the people wrote stuff down, and passed
it along, I don't think the Bible says this so I am telling you my opinion, but
it seems to makes sense. There are many prophets in the Bible that predict the
future events, but eyewitnesses wrote the historical books. The previous tablets
that Moses edited from may have been very precise and much more detailed. Moses,
being inspired by God edited all the chapters down into one perfect book.
Genesis
is awesome and is also the foundational book of the Bible.
Jesus quoted from Genesis more than 40 times, more than any other book. To
top
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