Evolution and Creation Science

Fiat (Out of Nothing) Creation

     Young earth creation science advocates have always argued that a belief in evolution is denial of the Genesis account of fiat (from nothing) creation.  They believe that God said it, and poof!, there it was.  For the purposes of this discussion, lets look at Day Three, Five, and Six of creation.  First, here is the Day Three passage

   ¹¹And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

   ¹²And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  (Genesis 1:11-12, KJV)

     Notice that God did not say, "Let there be grass," and there was grass.  God told the land to produce the vegetation!  It was the land doing the producing, not God.  God told the earth to bring forth grass, and in verse 12, "the earth brought forth grass..."  In essence, God let the land "do its thing" on its own.  Instead of fiat, out of nothing creation, the text for Genesis actually supports evolution better!  The same is also true of Day Five...

  ²⁰And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

   ²¹And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:20-21, KJV)

    In this passage where God creates ocean life, He tells the ocean to bring forth the creatures.  He does not say, "Let there be whales;" or "let there be sharks."  Verse 21 shows the result, that "God created great whales."  Verse 20 gives the process God used to create..."Let the waters bring forth..."  Again, this seems to support evolution better than fiat, out of nothing creation.

     Now let's move on to Day Six.

   ²⁴And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

   ²⁵And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

   ²⁶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

   ²⁷So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:24-27)

     Again, notice that God instructed the earth to bring forth the living creature.  Verse 25 says that "God made," and verse 24 gives the method.  God did not say, "Let there be cattle," or "Let there be tigers."  He instructed the earth to bring them forth.  This again is strong evidence for God's use of evolution. 

     Even the account of man's creation supports this.  Genesis 2:7 says,

   ⁷And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

     God made man from the dust of the ground...from previously existing material.  Young earth creationists admit this, but the implications for evolutionary theory are staggering.  It shows that it agrees with the previous creation of life on Days Three, Five, and Six, in that the earth brought forth the creatures.

     Young earth creation science proponents counter with the argument that the Hebrew word for create requires fiat creation.  This is not so!  The word does not require it, but it is the only word in Hebrew that could be used if fiat creation was the intended meaning.  As such, this argument is not valid.¹ (You must be careful of young earth claims for rules for interpreting Hebrew, as they will fabricate rules to support their cause, such as the "ordinal" rule for interpreting the word for day, "yom.")

The "Kind" Argument

     Young earth creationists will also argue that the kinds reproduce after their own kind, thus eliminating the possibility of their evolving into other kinds.  In the verses above, God created them according to their kind.  This does not address reproduction, which could lead to evolving creatures.  The only verse addressing reproduction is Genesis 1:22:

   ²²And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

     Notice in this verse, there is no "kind" mentioned.  They are not instructed to multiply "according to their kind." 

     For plants, the term "after his kind" is used.

   ¹¹And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

   ¹²And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  (Genesis 1:11-12, KJV)

     Here we see the plants bringing forth fruit after its kind.  Of course, an apple tree produces apples, an orange tree produces oranges, and so on.  What is missing here?  There is no command to "reproduce and fill the earth."  Trees are not instructed to reproduce after their kind."  There is nothing here that argues against evolution!

Conclusion

     The Scripture references for the creation of plants and animals seem to support evolutionary theory better than it does fiat creation.  As you can plainly see, evolution is not contrary to the creation account, and Christians should feel free to believe in evolution if they so choose...you have a better leg to stand on than the young earth creationists do!  God Bless!

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