• Did God take billions of years to create the universe?
  • Mutations could have created many new species over time, couldn’t they?
  • Were there human-like creatures before Adam and Eve?

Today I answer, “No, no, no,” to these questions with much clarity and confidence.

When I was growing up, in India, evolution was taught in schools. But it did not shake my faith even one teeny bit because none of my teachers believed in it. But the theory of evolution was sneakier than our teachers realised. Terms like adaptations and modifications soon became second nature to us all, teachers and taught alike. In reality, the monster was too crafty for ordinary people to handle. We did not know what to do with concepts like radioactive dating, Neanderthal man, Cambrian explosion, and the myriad others that we came across.

I believed that ordinary people need not worry themselves about these matters that were best left to Christian scientists to deal with. At the same time I believed resolutely, that the Bible will eventually be proved right. For all my zeal for the Lord, I was like the proverbial ostrich, imagining that if I did not think about the problem, it would go away.

At first I found much strength in the work of Christians like Professor Enoch and later John Clayton. John Clayton tried to add a Biblical perspective to the body of so-called scientific data as and when it was becoming available. He did not question the science itself but with all boldness spoke out against the interpretations and conclusions reached by evolutionary scientists. His love for God and his faith in the Bible constrained him to explain the data as best as he could. As a result, he did not think it necessary to believe in a young earth, and he had reasonable reasons for the same. His commentary on modern trends like divorce and abortion and his news about issues that impact Christians was enlightening. I am still very grateful for the work of Mr. Clayton, especially in focusing on the wonder of God’s design in creation. “Dandy Designs” is what he called them in his magazine. His own personal life was a good example to all readers of his magazine “Does God exist?” So, while I think differently about his stand on the age of the earth now, I would feel very sad if anyone trashed his lifelong work and service. We are all in the process of fighting off the same enemy and I wish we could just get on with the task at hand, every man doing his best with prayer.

The first kiwi family to invite us for a meal when we first came to New Zealand were the Aikens from church. When we were at their home, Dave Aiken asked us what we thought about the age of the earth. He believed in a young earth. We had until that point not given much thought to the matter. From that day on, we added this matter to our ever growing list of ‘subjects we need to find out more about.’

Today, we understand how important this subject is. Evolution has sneaked its way into every little space it can find, and where it cannot go—Archaeology, anthropology, astronomy, education in general, churches— the world view it fuels is able to go. Everywhere you go expecting truth to meet you, this world view stares you in the face instead.

If your world view dictates that the Bible is true when it states that God created you, you know that you are subject to God’s rules. But if your world view teaches you that you are the product of evolution, you know that you can make your own rules. So you cannot afford to be a Christian ostrich.

Unless we embrace the Bible and trust it to be wholly and literally true, unless we are anchored to the solid rock of the word, we will find that we cannot stand. If we do not believe in the authority of the Bible’s Genesis account, the Bible loses its credibility. How can we then believe in the absolute morality of the Bible. In these days of moral relativism, our parliaments lay down laws on the basis of pragmatism, convenience, and majority vote. This was how Israel found itself towards the end of the period of the Judges. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” Judges 21:25. Christians are the salt of the earth who by their death grip on the Bible, and its absolute moral standards, will delay and stagger the world that is on a downward spiral towards moral bankruptcy and chaos.

If the Bible says, “six days” let us agree that it is six days, the days being defined six times in the first chapter itself as

” God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.” Gen 1:3
“. . . So the evening and the morning were the second day.” Gen 1:8
“So the evening and the morning were the third day.” Gen 1:13
“So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.” Gen 1:19
“So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.” Gen 1:23
“. . . So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.” Gen 1:31

So also with the flood account or that of the dispersion of peoples at Babel. There is no need to explain these away. They are quite credible as they are. Far more credible than the theory of evolution. Neither do we need to be open to dodgy stories intended to make the Bible explanations more credible. We do not need a falsified account of how NASA has discovered the missing day spoken of in Joshua. The Bible can manage without such help, thank you. We do not need help from the likes of Ron Wyatt who claimed that he had found Noah’s ark. When in doubt, it is simply better to honestly say, “I do not know.”

Let us not be ashamed of the Bible. It is a credible and amazing account of the history of our race. This great book contains the gospel concerning the Lord Jesus, who came to save mankind from sin and death and hell. It speaks of Him from the very first book of Genesis to the very last one of Revelation. So let us lift up this gospel unashamedly that all men may draw near and so be saved. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes . . .” Romans 1:16

All Christians must equip themselves with good information. The well-advertised book War of the Worldviews published by Answers in Genesis gives you the big picture in a nutshell very nicely.