Creation Science Book Review
The Battle for the Beginning
Chapter 6: An Abundance of Living Creatures
Review by Greg Neyman
© Old Earth Ministries
First Published 4 August 2005
This chapter deals with the creation events of Day Five. He starts out with a claim that plants and animals are distinct, i.e. plants are not referred to in Scriptures as "living creatures." He does not develop this line of thought far, however, it is easy to see what he is trying to accomplish. Dr. Hugh Ross, of Reasons to Believe, argues that plants died before the Fall of Man. This argument is in response to young earth creation science claims that there was no death before the fall. MacArthur makes a passing statement concerning plants and animals, and moves on.
This is but a minor point, one which old earth creationists can adopt, or live without. There is ample evidence of death prior to the Fall of Man. I'll discuss this further in Chapter 7.
One caveat up front...this chapter and the next are full of "God of the Gaps" arguments. If something is so wonderful, so complex, then it must have been designed by a Creator. While I agree with this concept, it is a poor argument for convincing non-believers. It is arguing out of ignorance, instead of arguing out of solid known facts. Click here to read an explanation of this type of argument. (The basic root of this type of argument is emotions...to be awed by the created item. We should argue from facts, not emotions.)
Creation (Page 125)
Again, he ceaselessly preaches fiat, or instant creation. This poses no problems for the old earth believer. Progressive Creationists, such as Dr. Hugh Ross, accept instant creation. And, as previously stated, there is no implication of how much time passes between the declaration and the finished product, thus it causes no problems for Theistic Evolutionists.
In this section, however, he carries his fiat argument even further. He says, "He spoke them into existence at once, all on the same day--in fact, all at the same moment." If all of the creation events for Day Five occurred instantaneously, then what did God do with the other 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds of Day Five? It just doesn't' sound right.
At the bottom of page 126, he makes the statement, "In comparison to the biblical account it is fanciful, preposterous, and genetically impossible." He is referring here to evolution. In this chapter and the next, he uses several arguments about genetics, claiming that no new genetic material has ever been produced, no new species are developing, the only genetic mutations are bad ones, etc. As he presents the information, it is apparent that genetic arguments must be the downfall of evolution. However, a quick check of websites shows answers to many of the problems that creationists give against evolution. While it's true that evolution and genetics still have unanswered questions, they are far from being overthrown in the scientific community. To argue against it, using a "God of the Gaps" mentality, is improper. To see some Genetics claims and their answers, click here.
Pages 127 through 132 is all God of the Gaps material. As such, evolutionists will not be impressed with these arguments. It is reminiscent of the young earth ministry Creation Moments, which produces a daily email and radio spot. I would venture to say that over 90 percent of their daily spots are God of the Gaps arguments. I have refrained thus far from rebutting them, as I view them as harmless to old earth belief. They are however, not helping as much as they think with this type of argument. They would do better if they included more facts, and less emotion.
Procreation (Page 132)
Don't get me wrong...I agree with MacArthur that all these wondrous creatures glorify God, and could only have come from Him. They do all testify to an Intelligent Designer. However, they can do this, whether they were instantly created, or whether they evolved under God's direction.
Here, he tackles the re-creation of animals "after their kind." In the middle of the page, he says "Scripture is expressly teaching that God completed His creation of all the sea creatures and birds before He gave the order to reproduce. If evolution were true, it would mean that animal reproduction must have already been going on for billions of years before so many species of sea creatures and birds could emerge." Funny, the fossil record shows millions of years of reproducing animals!
Let's break this down further. God gave an order to reproduce. Would the animals have done so if God had not said it? Yes. They were genetically programmed this way. Second, remember the statement that they were all produced at the same moment on Day Five? What about the other 23+ hours that day? We must admit that the Genesis account is brief...there was probably a whole lot more said by God than just these words. We don't have a complete record of the creation of all species...such a list would be too long. Thus, while it is interesting that God verbally told His creation to reproduce, that's all it is...interesting. No conclusions or arguments for or against evolution can be drawn from it.
He then starts the "kind" discussion at the bottom of page 133, but he doesn't develop it. By this, each animal is to reproduce according to its kind. In other words, dogs produce other dogs, and not something new. This is crucial to an understanding of the young earth theory of putting all the animals on the ark, as it is argued that Noah took a pair of each "kind," and not one of each species. To do so, however, introduces evolutionary change to animals after the flood at such a pace as to make even evolutionists turn over in their graves. We will come back to this if MacArthur addresses this issue later. For more, see this article.
On page 134, he makes the claim "Science has never observed, and never will observe, the evolution of one species into a new life form." Evolutionists disagree...here is one web page that differs. It also depends on what is meant by "species." Undoubtedly, no matter how much a species changes, it will never be recognized by young earth creationists, as they will probably find some way to discredit it, whether or not it is truly a new species.
Later on the same page, he starts his Genetics arguments, all of which fall into the category of "God of the Gaps" arguments. If you want to learn more, be sure to go back to the Genetics link at the top of this page. This type of argument continues for the rest of the chapter. Again, let me state that this has absolutely no impact upon old earth Progressive Creationists or Gap Theorists, as they believe in fiat creation just the same as young earth creation science proponents do. It does not present problems for Theistic Evolutionists either. There are answers to the challenges against evolution.
If you are not a Christian, and you have been holding out on making a decision for Christ because the Church always preached a message that was contrary to what you saw in the scientific world, then rest assured that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and you can believe in Christ and receive salvation, while still believing in an old earth. Click here for more.
Are you a Christian who believes in young earth creationism? Now that we have shown the many difficulties of the young earth creation science model in this and many other articles, how does this impact your Christian life? If you are a young earth creationism believer, click here.
Battle for the Beginning Book Review Home
Chapter List
Chapter 6
Related Articles
To learn more
about old earth creationism, see
Old Earth Belief,
or check out the article
Can You Be A
Christian and Believe in an Old Earth?
Feel free to check out more of this website. Our goal is to
provide rebuttals to the bad science behind young earth creationism,
and honor God by properly presenting His creation.