A.      In the previous lesson, we considered the popular, false concept of separation of church and state and how that false concept is being used to eliminate God from our national conscience.

B.      In this lesson, we will consider another false concept that is being used to supplant God in our nation, which is the concept of evolution as a scientific fact with the implicit denial of God’s creation of the world.

II.      THE BIG LIE

A.      Let us recall from the previous lesson that the “big lie” is a propaganda technique that employs the frequent repetition of an outrageous lie to affect belief in the public (for a full explanation, see Lesson 2).

B.      The “big lie” technique has been used extensively to promote the belief that evolution is a fact of science.

                                                             1.      First, let us understand the basic theory of evolution in science.

a.       The word “evolution” means “change.”  It is development from one stage to another.

b.       The theory of evolution states that all life has evolved from a common ancestor through the process of mutations over billions of years.

c.        Since the British biologist Charles Darwin published On Origin of Species in 1859, evolution has become the dominant scientific explanation for the diversity of life.

                                                             2.      For years now, the theory of evolution has been promoted by the scientific community and the popular media as the only plausible explanation for life in the universe.

a.       In 1952, Richard Goldschmidt, a German geneticist, wrote, “Evolution of the animal and plant world is considered by all those entitled to a judgment to be a fact for which no further proof is needed.”

b.       In 1960, Sir Julian Huxley, a British evolutionary biologist, wrote: “The first point to make about Darwin’s theory is that it is no longer a theory, but a fact.  No serious scientist would deny the fact that evolution has occurred…”

c.        In 1966, Hermann J. Muller, an American geneticist, published a manifesto which stated that evolution was a “firmly established” fact of science.  It was signed by 177 of the world’s most famous scientists, including John T. Bonner and Carl Sagan.

d.       Harvard University scientist Stephen J. Gould wrote in 1980, “Evolution is a fact, like apples falling out of trees.”

e.        In almost any government school science text book, television nature program, or popular news media story about science, the tenets of evolution (common descent, eons of time, etc.) are presented as unquestioned facts.

                                                             3.      With the clout of imminent scientists and universities and the influence of popular media, any dissent against the theory of evolution is typically squashed.

a.       The implicit intimidation of the scientific community against dissenting opinions is evident in the quotes above.  Any scientist who rejects evolution as a fact is to be rejected himself.

b.       Not only are scientists discredited for disbelieving evolution, but there is also a strong distain for any person who rejects evolution.  Here are a few examples:

i.         A study conducted by the Journal Science in 2005 concluded that Americans who reject Darwin do so because of “religious fundamentalism, inadequate science education, and partisan political maneuvering.”

ii.        Rolling Stone magazine called Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee a “right-wing nut job” because of his “well-documented disdain for science” and “hostility toward the teaching of evolution” (Nov. 29, 2007).

iii.      The internet website Livescience calls vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin “a worrisome character from the point of view of science education” for fear that she is a creationist.

C.      The effect of the big lie of evolution is that people now have an excuse to deny their accountability to God.

                                                             1.      Evolution has become popular because it presents an alternative to creation for those who reject God.  If they can deny that God created them, then they can also deny His authority to judge them.

                                                             2.      Notice Romans 1:18-32.  This passage examines the idolatrous Gentiles, but the effects of belief in evolution are exactly the same and can be seen in the world around us.

a.       The first point to notice is that denial of God’s creation is inexcusable.  The evidence of God’s design demands belief in the Designer (see vv. 18-20; also Ps. 19:1-2).

b.       Nevertheless, unbelievers “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (v. 18), and they do “not honor Him as God, or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (vv. 21-22).  “Professing to be wise, they became fools…” (v. 22).

c.        Because of this, “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity...” (v. 24), “to degrading passions…” (v. 26), and “to a depraved mind…” (v. 28).

d.       Thus, we see how that belief in evolution leads people to wickedness and immorality of all kinds because they lose their fear of accountability to their Creator.

III.   THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH

A.      Inconvenient Truth #1: Evolution is not a scientific fact.

                                                             1.      For a theory to become a scientific fact, it must pass certain criteria, and evolution does not pass.

a.       The scientific method requires a theory to be tested by experiments that can be measured and repeated.  This is impossible with evolution for it cannot be observed.

b.       Even without the scientific method, some facts can be established by sound assumptions based on certain observations.  However, evolution does not even meet these grounds.

                                                             2.      In truth, evolution does not even pass as a good scientific theory.

a.       The basic premise of the theory is that evolution occurs through mutations to organisms that are beneficial, yet every mutation observed in nature is harmful or fatal.

b.       The timeframe for evolution has been stretched from thousands to millions to billions of years because of the many problems with the theory.  Rather than rejecting the theory when it is disproven, scientists modify it to give more time for the impossible to happen.

c.        The theory of evolution has no explanation for the origin of life.  If every form of life has a common ancestor, where did it come from?  Some have even said aliens planted life here on earth (no joke – they were serious).  If so, where did they come from?

B.      Inconvenient Truth #2: The evidence favors the Bible’s account of creation.

                                                             1.      The Bible teaches that God created the world and everything in it in a matter of six days (Gen. 1), whereas evolution teaches that life slowly evolved over billions of years.  No man was present to witness the beginning (Job 38:1-7), so we must consider the evidence to see which is most likely.

                                                             2.      The fossil record, which is the evidence of life found within the strata of the ground, indicates a sudden appearance of fully developed organisms rather than a slow progression from simple to complex.  This supports the creation account.

                                                             3.      Nothing in nature proceeds from less organized to more organized on its own, but evolution depends on such a progression.  The evidence indicates that there must have been intelligent design for the complicated universe to function as it does.  It could not happen by chance.

                                                             4.      Much of the evidence for evolution has been so poor that it has been discredited as bad misinterpretations or outright hoaxes (Piltdown Man, Nebraska Man, Neanderthal Man, Ramapithecus, Orce Man, Australopithecus, Lucy, etc.).  Talk about the big lie!

                                                             5.      Truly, it is the absence of evidence that is the undoing of evolution.  If the theory was true, then there would be no lack of evidence throughout the world.  However, the evidence is not there.

C.      Inconvenient Truth #3: The faithful fact of God’s creation means that we are accountable to Him.

                                                             1.      Whether a person believes in creation or not, the Bible says that he will have to stand before the Creator and give an account of himself (2Cor. 5:10).

                                                             2.      Those who did not love the truth regarding creation will be allowed to believe a lie and be condemned for it (2Thess. 2:10-12).  Remember that the evidence of God is present within ourselves so that we are without excuse (Rom. 1:19-20).

IV.    CONCLUSION

A.      Belief in creation is not a science, for “by faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God” (Heb. 11:3).  However, true science will not conflict with truth faith, for true science is simply the knowledge of what God has done or is now doing in the physical world.

B.      We have barely touched the tip of the iceberg on this subject, and we could certainly go far more in depth, but this lesson is sufficient to demonstrate that spiritual forces are at work among us to turn us away from our Creator.

C.      Let us always remember that regardless of what we may see in the world around us, victory is in Jesus.