OceanSide church of Christ

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A FAITH-BUILDING SEMINAR

Victor M. Eskew

 

     The Creation/Evolution Seminar with Eric Lyons has come and gone.  Much planning and work went into this effort by many at OceanSide.  Eric Lyons presented his material with forthrightness and simplicity.  For those who came and listened attentively, it was a faith-building seminar.  In this article, we want to briefly summarize some of the points Eric made.

     To begin with, it is clear that there are only two alternatives that exist which set forth theories about the origin of the universe and the origin of life:  Creation and Evolution.  Any attempt to combine these theories compromises both of them.  The question that must be answered is:  “Which theory of origins has sufficient evidence that enables one to believe it?”

     On Friday, Eric showed us that the Evolutionary model cannot answer two questions:  1) Where did the first matter come from?  And 2) What brought life into existence?  Evolution teaches that a “big bang” transpired some 14 billion year ago.  Matter contained in the space as small as a period on this page exploded and spread forth, developing into our present universe.  The question that the “big bang” theory cannot answer is:  “Where did the matter that exploded come from?”  Is matter eternal?  Did matter originate from nothing?  These are not questions that the evolutionists wants to answer.

     Remember, it was matter that exploded according to the “big bang” theory.  The next question that the evolutionist must answer is:  “What caused life?”  “Spontaneous generation” teaches life can come from non-life.  Science, however, has proved that this teaching is false.  From whence, then, came life?  The evolutionary theory has no answers to this question.  Those who believe in Creation have answers to these questions.  Matter and life came from God.

     On Saturday, Eric examined some of the “proofs” of evolution.  English peppered moths and prehistoric man take center stage for the evolutionists.  Yet, when the evidence is examined, it is found to be fraudulent.  The claims made by the evolutionists are untrue.  Their finds are nothing more than hoaxes pawned off on a gullible society.  One wonders after examining the evidence, how evolution can call itself science.  Too, one wonders how evolution can still be considered credible by anyone.

     Another supposed “proof” of evolution that Eric examined in depth was the dinosaurs.  Evolution holds these massive creatures up as one of the primary evidences of evolution.  They say these creatures lived and died millions of years before man appeared on earth.  Evidence abounds, however, that shows man and dinosaurs existed together.  Pictographs and figurines have been found around the world that portray the dinosaurs in vivid detail.  These were produced long before archaeology produced the bones of these creatures.  How did the artists and the sculptures know what these creatures looked like?  How did they produce pictures and figures of them that were so exact?  The only honest answer is that they must have seen them.  This evidence confirms what the Bible has always affirmed – man and dinosaurs existed together in history (Gen. 1:24-28; Exo. 20:11; Job 40:15-24; 41:1-34).

     On Sunday, Eric addressed two topics:  “Theistic Evolution” and “The Fruits of Evolution.”  Theistic evolution involves an attempt to harmonize “science” and the Bible.  Many religious people think that evolution must be true.  They also believe in God.  Therefore, they try to “fit” evolution into the Bible.  It cannot be done.  There is no place for billions of years either before the creation, during the creation, or after the creation.  God created the heavens and the earth and all that in them is in six, 24-hour days, and rested on the seventh day (Gen. 1:1-2:3).

     With regard to the fruits of atheism, they are always evil.  Atheism has no standards of right and wrong.  It declares the concept of “the survival of the fittest.”  In a society that has been educated with these concepts, corruption, immorality, and violence reign supreme.  If it were not the leavening effect of religion, a society filled with evolutionary principles would completely destroy itself.

     It is encouraging to know that God exists.  It is reassuring to know that the Bible is His holy Word.  It is thrilling to know, Christians are right and atheists are wrong.  The psalmist summed it up well in the long ago:  “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Ps. 14:1).

 

* If you were not able to attend the seminar, CDs and DVDs of all the lessons are available.  Please see Aaron Cameron for information about how to get them.