If evolution is true, then the ordinary course of nature results in life less abundantly.
Evolution, if true, operates successfully only as a vast natural system of cold and constant death and destruction. Life, whatever it is, in an evolutionary system holds no special meaning as organisms simply and selfishly consume resources without purpose or meaning. Life? For some. Death? In abundance for others.
But regardless of one’s chosen creation story, how should we think about the fact that some organisms suffer and die at the hands of others? In evolution such suffering and dying of the weaker at the hands of the stronger is not only normal, but also necessary. Abundance of one kind of life occurs only in the sense that death and destruction extinguishes other kinds of life. Death, whether by killing or starvation due to the actions of the stronger, drives the engine of evolution at the expense of the weaker.
But what about creation by God? Do we not see the same death and destruction all about us? How are we to think about the rampant killing and starvation that evolutionists claim as their explanation for the abundance of preserved life?
Jesus said he came to earth so that all human beings “may have life, and have it more abundantly”? What does this mean? What is life in the first place and how can we have it more abundantly? And who is Jesus to even make such a statement?
Questions and more questions. But first let’s step back a bit and think about the big picture. Jesus made his statement in the context of saying he was metaphorically a gate for sheep; those who enter by him will be saved. And he contrasted his role with that of the “thief” who comes only to “steal, kill, and destroy.”
Thus, if Jesus was a real person and told the truth, we have a clue about God’s views on life and death in the world today.
To drive more clarity on the subject, think about the different implications that logically derive from their respective creation stories. Let’s contrast the two creation stories to see what kind of systems operate in nature by virtue of the creation scenarios of each.
Evolution: The evolutionary creation story has no explanation for the creation of life in the first place, and the very engine that drives evolution churning through time runs on the constant stealing, killing and destroying of life. And in the evolutionary creation story the stronger, faster, and smarter ones indiscriminately steal from, kill and destroy the lives of the weaker, the slower, and the mentally challenged. Evolutionists of the modern milquetoast variety shrink from this fact, and even deny it. But natural selection explains nothing if it does not describe killing and destroying of the weaker and more vulnerable by the stronger and more dominant. It describes, after all, the survival of the fittest.
Creation by God: The Genesis creation story begins with God himself breathing into man the breath of life, creating a living being in his (God’s) image. The Biblical account of creation sees stealing, killing and destroying as sin-induced aberrations of the created order, and almost always a sin against God. And the Biblical creation story includes a solution to stem the tide of humanity’s sinful inclination to steal, kill, and destroy. Contrary to evolutionary theory, the Biblical creation story offers survival of the vulnerable.
We are free to choose our creation story. But we are not free to ignore the facts that follow if our creation story is true. And we are not free to ignore the implications of believing the wrong creation story.
If evolution is true then life, whatever it is, can only be enjoyed “more abundantly” by the fittest at the expense of the vulnerable, usually by stealing, killing or destroying that vulnerable life. Harsh words, for sure. And modern evolutionists insist that somehow the process of evolution has changed for humans who are now enlightened to the evolutionary benefits of altruism in society. But their explanations appear like contrived backfill for a theory of ruthless, amoral action for the sole reason to conform their theory to what they wish to be true. No matter the optimistic spin marshaled by evolutionists, altruism remains an unnatural and unexplainable aberration of evolutionary processes.
But if creation by God is true, then life is truly life in a special sense. And for humans that special life can be lived more abundantly by all including—especially including—the weak and vulnerable. Jesus came as a savior from the stealing, killing and destroying of our corrupted nature to offer his life—abundant life—to every human being on earth.
Life, and life more abundantly, is offered to all. But such life makes sense only in the context of a creative order in which progress is not dependent up stealing, killing, and destroying of the weak and vulnerable. Jesus did not come to save purposeless, unplanned products of nature. He came to save all men and women made in the image of his father, God.
Follow your mind and heart on this one. Abundant life awaits.
Think about it.
Photo modified from photo by Aditya Saxena on Unsplash.
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