Wednesday, May 20, 2009

American Idol and "The Missing Link"

Well, the American Idol judges all but delivered Kris' concession speech last night.  I don't remember a year in which the judges have been so prejudiced toward a contestant as this year.  They are determined to make sure Adam wins.  Last week, Simon even encouraged America to be sure and vote for him.  Yet he only won by 1 million votes.  I wonder who those who voted for Danny Gokey will vote for?  I guess we will see tonight if David has slain Goliath.
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Scientists have announced the discovery of "the missing link" in human evolution.  I don't claim to be an expert, but their conclusions seem desperate to me.  However, I will say this:  My faith in Scripture does not hinge on the rules established by the radical fundamentalists who say that Genesis 1 speaks of literal 24-hour days.  The Hebrew word translated "day" is not limited to such an interpretation.  And the section is written in a very poetic style.  Moses was not writing a geology book, but the drama of God's pursuit of humanity.

For those whom I have already seen commenting about us stupid Christians who believe in a book of fairy tales, I would say this:  How did Moses, writing in 1500 BC, know the order of creation?  No one in science proposed such things for another millennium or more.  His order is in agreement even with the order evolutionists say things evolved. 

I wish we could stop with this "science vs. God's Word" war.  It is a war that is being waged by the extremes of both systems.  Moderate scientists as well as moderate Christians can actually see the beautiful agreement between the two.  A good read on this subject is Lee Strobel's A Case for a Creator.

How does this recent discovery affect your faith?

3 comments:

Unknown said...

As in all evolutionary "discoveries," there are many assumptions made about fossils. First and foremost in my mind, to assume that this is actually a link or transition is just that-- an assumption.

It is well understood within the world of biology that microevolution occurs, which is what Mr. Darwin observed on the Galapagos 150 years ago and lead him to propose natural selection as the means that animals develop traits that are conducive to survival. I don't think you would find anyone that understands biology that would argue with the concepts of natural selection and microevolution.

Now, macroevolution, in which it is theorized that species actually evolve into other species-- this is a differnet ballgame. Many, many assumptions must be made to make a logical case. These are major assumptions that include natural selection, fossil records, time, among other things, all working in synergy.

In essence, macroevolution is a religion-- it is system of faith. It is a faith that puts faith in natural selection, fossil records and time. Now, you would never hear proponents of macroevolution characterize it as faith, but when you look closely at it, it is a faith.

As for me, I choose to base my religion on someone rather than a system. Simply stated, my religion is based on the someone who says that He created all this, even though He does not give specifics of how He did it. Rather than putting my faith in fossil records, I choose to put my faith in the Word of God-- the incarnate Word revealed through the written word, who promised to give me His Spirit.

So, how does this discovery affect my faith? To me, it doesn't. Because I don't put my faith in fossils.

Jeff said...

It doesn't. While I believe there is a place for good explanations of creation, they don't replace someone's heart turning from evil to God and, for me, it's hard to imagine an explanation of creation will get them there. I credit the battle to satan and his power over hearts that blinds people to faith and I pray they reach the point, maybe a crisis in their lives, where they will see God in his glory. Their argument about something I was not alive for cannot sway what my heart has experienced.

Jonathan said...

good thoughts, pops!