Creation & Evolution:


Is it not strange, that the most highly developed organism and species upon the surface of planet earth, engages in a confrontation over the intent and activity of a Creator about which they know nothing? God is a word introduced into our vocabulary so that we can all agree and be in harmony as to that which we are discussing. We cannot see God. We cannot comprehend the essence of God. We cannot estimate or measure the range of His powers. There is nothing that we can know about God except that He exists and we know that He exists because of the overwhelming evidence that attests to His existence. God exists as far above our ability to know Him as the human intelligence exists beyond the inanimate rock to grasp the human mind. We ascribe all sorts of titles and attributes to God, not because we can ever grasp the extent of these attributes but, rather, to describe what God is not. God is an absolute, that is to say, He has no faults or imperfections and possesses each and every attribute to an infinite and immeasurable degree. This is what makes Him God. He is the only absolute and all else is created by Him, is less than Him and, hence, imperfect in relation to Him. No human can grasp or wrap their mind around even one absolute quality let alone all of them. The human mind is imperfect and limited and even if, as the Sacred Scriptures attest, humanity was created in the ‘Image and Likeness” of God, nonetheless, humankind possesses each and every attribute of God to a limited degree which is what makes him human. Humanity is not God but is simply a reflection of Him. Humans make mistakes but God does not.

The greatest gift of God to humankind is the ‘power of discovery’ by which he gradually unlocks the secrets of nature. The process may be agonizingly and frustratingly slow but is, nevertheless, constant and unfaltering. With each passing year, decade, or century we gain more and more knowledge of the workings of the universe and the laws and principles by which it operates and we creatively employ these discoveries to our advantage, however, we are not the cause of that which we discover but are merely the recipients of a previously undiscovered knowledge. Humans do not create anything. True creation, by definition, means to bring something into existence out of nothingness which is something that no human can do. This is something that only God can do. Humankind must have something with which to begin the process of discovery. The use of the word discover presupposes that something was there before our discovery of it but in no way advances the claim that we are the cause or creator of that which we discover. Only God can create, whereas, humankind is empowered to discover it and then to be creative with it and to employ it to his advantage.

All too often an individual’s concept of God interferes with the process of their reason and logic. Whenever we seek to portray an image of God we are immediately trapped in a self-evident oxymoron inasmuch as God, by definition, is unknowable and indescribable and far beyond any means we might employ to portray Him. Hence, anytime we attempt to describe the mind of God we become hopelessly mired in the swamp of myth and superstition the result of which is to distort and pervert our ability to process the realities which surround us each and every day.

Science and religion are, most assuredly, two of the most precious gifts of God to humankind of which all other organisms on the face of the planet find themselves bereft. An axiom, whether in science or religion, is a self-evident truth that any normal human mind can grasp. The existence of God is self-evident. The evidence that attests to the existence of God is ‘all existence’. Each and every person knows that they did not create either themselves or the universe and that something other than themselves is responsible for the existence, not only of all matter in the universe, but also for the laws and principles to which all matter is obedient and from which it is powerless to depart. This is what we call God or the Creator without ever advancing the mistaken notion that we can either understand the nature or grasp the essence of God. How is it possible for the limited to grasp the absolute, the imperfect to comprehend the perfect, the feeble to express the strength of the All-Powerful, or the ignorant possess the knowledge of the All-Knowing? We know God exists because of the overwhelming abundance of evidence which attests to His existence, however, we cannot know God directly or directly converse with Him. Our knowledge of God is indirectly acquired through His creation and particularly through the crowning point of His creation – the human temple, within which He has deposited a reflection of all of His qualities in the form of an intelligent soul and upon which He has conferred the ‘power of discovery’ to a degree found nowhere else in nature.

Where else in nature can be found an organism that has devised both a written and oral language? What other organism has developed both a written and oral science? What other organism has both the imagination and creative impetus to produce arts and crafts? What other organism can delve into its own past to discover the secrets of its own creation? What other organism constructs instruments to express the beauty and infinite range of music, organizes that music into an oral and written form, and then synthetically reproduces and stores it? Where else in nature can be found an organism that is consciously aware of the existence of its Creator and which is capable of entering into prayer and discussion with that self-same Creator? What other organism has ever, or will ever, lay claim to be both a physical and spiritual entity? What other organism passionately asserts that it is more than just an animal and further asserts that there is a spiritual life that exists beyond the grave?

It is evident that God created all things and, in this regard, the ‘creationists’ are correct, however, it is also evident that God created all things to evolve and, in this regard the ‘evolutionists’ are correct. There is no inconsistency in either of these views except in the intransigent mind of the ignorant literalist who is addicted to the outer shell of the ‘word’ without ever perceiving the inner significance thereof. God created all things and He created all things to evolve. This is not a mystery. There is no confusion in this regard. This is an axiom of existence that should be self-evident to even the most diminished intellect.

The Sacred Scriptures of the major religions are replete with stories designed to reveal spiritual and intellectual truths. It is not the literal shell of the words employed in relating these stories that is of importance but, rather, it is the inner significance of the story as a whole to convey a spiritual truth that is intended and which is the most effective means of illustrating a non-physical concept through physical description.

In the case of the ‘creationists vs. evolutionists’ it seems that each side strives to dismiss the relevance of the other. How sad that the self-evident truth of their complementary existence is subject to denial and confrontation. How tragic that cruelty, torture, and violence should be the means devised to resolve this difference of opinion. Tears must flow in abundance in the heavens and hearts wring in despair at the foolishness of those who profess to speak in God’s name but who violate every principle of His justice in their dealings with His creatures.

Who amongst humankind would have the arrogance or audacity to advance the claim that they have greater wisdom or knowledge than God? And yet, there are those who profess to speak on behalf of God and who perpetrate moral and ethical atrocities upon their own kind the like of which even the most bestial and predatory of the lower order of animals could not imagine or devise. Such persons are shackled in the prison of their myths and superstitions from which they are unable to extricate themselves and have abdicated their privileged position as humans and entered the abysmal abode of the egomaniacal beast.

We have but to examine the two words involved in this dispute, ‘Create’ and ‘Evolve’, to realize how ludicrous is this confrontation between these two schools of thought.

To ‘create’, within the framework of this argument, means to bring something into existence out of nothingness. Humans are incapable of this whether individually or as a group effort. Only God can create.

To ‘evolve’, within the framework of this argument, means to change from one condition or state to another, regardless of whether that change is in a forward or reverse direction, and irrespective of whether the end result is positive or negative. Evolution is the natural order of things and is a direct result of the creation of God. To argue against and to oppose this self-evident truth is to argue and dispute with God. God creates and that which He creates evolves. How simple and undeserving of confrontation and hostility is this axiom of science and religion.