Here is an analogy that many a churchgoer has probably heard more than once: “If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
Let me ask that question again, but with a twist. If you had to convince someone that evolution is more than a theory, could you do it? Could you offer convincing proof – even of a general nature – that a reasonable person would recognize as fairly conclusive evidence that life came about on its own, and then evolved?
My guess is the answer is no. In fact, within even the upper echelons of science, among the staunchest proponents of evolution, there is major discord. In the scientific community there is nothing remotely approaching consensus about the nuts and bolts of how life began or how evolution progressed to the many complex life forms on earth today.
Despite that, it’s not unusual to hear evolutionary “fact” casually inserted into articles, TV programs, and conversation. I was watching a TED speech the other day and the speaker made a comment about teeth, and almost as an afterthought mentioned that we’ve had teeth like we do now “for three and a half million years.” I wonder what alleged proof there is for that statement.
Somewhere in the Bible are these words (more or less): “Don’t believe everything you hear. Weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who claims to speak for God does.” That’s in 1 John chapter 4. As one paraphrase Bible version concludes the verse, “There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world.” If the Bible – a book that claims to be the inspired word of God himself – encourages its readers not to swallow everything hook line and sinker, shouldn’t that apply to an even greater degree to the claims and statements of humans?
food for thought