Why I Believe - Why I Believe in Creation, Part 2

Creation versus evolution. The never-ending debate, right? So many, both scientists and theologians, want us to believe that science and faith are incompatible, that they're mutually exclusive.

Well, what if they're not? What if science actually supports faith, and what if faith actually informs science? Today, we're going to take a fascinating look at some of the latest findings. You don't want to miss it. Stay with me. Thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.

Living on the Edge is an international discipleship ministry focused on helping Christians live like Christians. I'm Dave Drewy, and in just a minute, we'll hear the second half of Chip's message, Why I Believe in Creation. But before we begin, let me encourage you to try using Chip's message notes while you listen. They contain his outline, scripture references, and much more. Chip's notes will really help you remember what you hear, and maybe even share what you're learning.

To download these message notes, just go to the broadcasts tab at livingontheedge.org, tap listeners, tap fill in notes. Well, as Chip gets started, he continues unpacking the tough question, Why Did Life Begin?, which informs our thoughts about morality and eternity. Well, let's dive in. It was C.S. Lewis who talked about this ought or should that every human being has in your heart.

It's the sense that this is right and this is wrong that makes us different than all the other animals. And in fact, his book, Mere Christianity, is what Francis Collins was reading. He was making his rounds, and he had all this intellect. He had a PhD over here.

He's now a medical doctor. He's making his rounds, and as he was making all of his rounds, he met people that were dying. And he kept meeting people of faith that had this peace and this certainty and the way they responded. And he said there was one particular patient who was dying, and he kept pressing me, What do you believe?

What do you believe? He said, Basically, I had rejected religion, and I thought it was people just asking God, and it was a crutch. But I just couldn't get away from this man's life, and he gave me a copy of Mere Christianity. As I read Mere Christianity, despite all of his intellect, he said, It made sense.

I realized there was something more than just random chance. And then he talks about the power of creation. And he says, I remember one morning wrestling with all of this, and I was out in a meadow, and it was breathtakingly beautiful.

Right? This is Romans chapter one. The creation screams of the character of God. His invisible attributes are screaming about his power, his eternality, his love, his purpose. And Francis Collins says, I knelt down in the grass in that dew, and I received Jesus as my savior.

He would go on after that to discover the gene that caused cystic fibrosis, and then become a leading scientist, and then, of course, write that classic book, The Language of God. What I want you to see is that this is so much more than just facts and figures. It's about what do you believe? What is your faith proposition? Why do you believe what you believe? Or have you unconsciously, as many of us have, I think, in Christian circles, basically had a sort of a compartment over here of science, a compartment of religion, and pretended that they don't connect? The fact of the matter is your morals, your values, your purpose, what you teach your kids, how you live your life, fundamentally goes back to do you believe in a creator that has a purpose, where there's meaning? Or do you believe that you're a product of random chance? And those two worldviews and the multiple worldviews that flow out of each, I mean, they're at war.

They're at war in the world. Question number three is how did the various plants and animals develop? According to classic evolution, one simple cell slowly evolved into more complex plants and animals through a process of time, chance, natural selection, mutation, and survival of the fittest. That was what Darwin would write in Origin of the Species, and he believed in spontaneous generation. What I mean by that is at that time, Darwin believed that just life could happen, chemical soup.

Well, a year later, 1860, Louis Pasteur proved that spontaneous regeneration was absolutely impossible. The scripture, by contrast, says, where did they come from? For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, His eternal power, His divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from that which He made so that people are without excuse. God made plants and animals and species and stars, and He made them all to reflect His glory and His character. Long before there were these amazing telescopes, and before we put that Hubble out there and we could see into galaxies, the scripture declares the heavens declare the glory of God.

The skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day, they pour forth speech. Night after night, they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words, no sound is heard from them, yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the earth. You have to ask yourself, what is the best explanation for all the things that we see? You know, one of the things I like to do, actually, I do it nearly every morning. I'm actually very disappointed when they're not there. I guess they're really there.

I get up early, I get a cup of coffee, I feed the dog, that's my assignment from my wife, and then I walk outside and every morning I look up at the stars. And there's just something about remembering how small and how finite we are and how big God is. And, you know, I've done enough research that I know that I'm just with my eye looking at a tiny part of the Milky Way, and the Milky Way has somewhere between 100 to 200 billion stars.

And what I know is outside the Milky Way there's another 100 to 200 billion galaxies. And what God's word says, He says that I spoke that and I hold it by the word of my power, and that God also says, Chip, and to every human being, I've placed my affection on you. You matter. I love you.

I'm for you. And when I look up at those stars, that passage from Psalm 19 comes to mind. You know what I think? I think that's a big God and He can handle all my problems. That's a big God that is sovereign over all the issues that we're facing politically and racially and things that are happening around the world. That's a God that I can put my trust in.

And as I've claimed His promises, a faith statement, I've watched Him deliver, and you have too. But what I want to ask you is, are you communicating that kind of faith and what those stars mean to your kids? Is that making it into the worldview of education of how you're teaching your kids or your grandkids or your nephews? See, this message is not so much about are we going to understand everything about evolution and creation?

It's much more about what are you going to do with the fact that if you do believe that God created you, what are the implications for your life, for your worldview, for how you live, for where your kids are educated, for what you teach them? I hope you're getting that when you compare and contrast these basic questions, it's pretty amazing. Now I want to jump into those aspects that are a bit technical and very enlightening. When Darwin looked into a microscope, because he only had one that would multiply what he saw by maybe 200 or 300x, today we have microscopes that multiply them, electron microscopes, way, way more. So when he looked into the center of a cell, he saw just a membrane and he thought it was very simple.

In fact, that's what he called it, and there wasn't much in there. And his whole philosophy was that it's very simple and it goes to complex. And what has been the core behind especially non-Christian scientists challenging Darwin is they now can look inside that cell.

It's anything but simple. We now have microscopes that are super complex. Some cells, are you ready, are so small that you can fit 150,000 cells just on the tip of a strand of hair.

I mean it's unbelievable. Molecular scientists describe a single cell, are you ready, as a high-tech factory. They're complex with artificial languages and decoding systems. They have a central memory bank that store and retrieve impressive amounts of information.

They have a precise control systems that regulate automatically and assembling and components and parts. I mean what's happening inside of a cell is what led the Michael Behe's of the world and the Michael Denton's of the world to say this simply can't happen by random chance. Cells also have a system that replicate. You understand it's not just the size of the cell and the complexity of the cell, it's the actual DNA in the cell. If I had a spoon up here, I could take a spoon and if I could fill just a tablespoon with DNA, there's enough information there for all the information and all the species for all the planet that has ever lived with room left over. If I could take when you were a little dot in your mother's womb one single cell, if we could take that cell and pull your DNA and uncoil it, it would be six feet long. In fact, expert in DNA world class Dr. Robert Shapiro was asked what he thought the chances were that DNA could have been formed by a random process. His answer, none.

It's absolute nonsense. The genius and the complexity of a single cell in DNA challenge the very core and the presuppositions of classic evolutionary thought. In fact, so much so, we heard earlier about, remember Anthony Flew? He was the most famous atheist. At 84 years old, near the time of his death, he did something that you almost never hear. He renounced his atheism. Now, to be fair, because I think sometimes we Christians want to read into things and make it sound a little bit better to support our position, he did not become a Christian. But what he said was after 50 years of looking at the science, especially DNA, he could not believe any longer that life occurred without an intelligent designer.

He didn't come to believe that Jesus was that intelligent designer, but think of what the facts are doing even among agnostics and atheists. Now let's turn our attention from what's amazingly small to what's amazingly big. Albert Einstein published his equation on general relativity in 1915, and a Dutch astronomer, Wilhelm de Sitter, discovered a solution that predicted an expanding universe. The importance of these discoveries showed that the world and the universe was expanding.

Here's the deal. If galaxies were moving farther and farther apart, the implication was they were once closer together. From this realization, Hubble went one step farther, and he laid the foundation for the Big Bang theory, providing evidence that the universe exploded into existence with a furious burst of energy and has been expanding ever since. It was a shattering blow to centuries-old notion of a static universe. The theory of an expanding universe was consistent with Einstein's theory, but it wasn't accepted early by scientists.

And they were very honest about it. They just said, we understand if we actually believe there was a beginning, we could be in trouble in terms of our faith assumptions about random chance and there is no God. Robert Jastrow, an American astronomer and a planetary physicist, argued that the reason that scientists were slow to accept the Big Bang, because if it was true, it would imply a moment of creation. In an interview with Christianity Today, this scientist said, Astronomers now find themselves painted into a corner because they've proven by their own methods that the world began abruptly in an act of creation, to which they can trace the seeds of every star, every planet, every living thing in the cosmos and on Earth. And they have found that this all happened as a product of forces they can't hope to discover.

That there are what I and anyone would have to say is a supernatural force at work, and I think a scientifically proven fact. And then in his book, God and the Astronomer, Jastrow says, For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance.

He is about to conquer the highest peak. And as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who've been sitting there for centuries. To be fair, the Big Bang does not disprove classic evolution, but it strongly argues for a specific moment in time. What I want you to know is that we could go on and on with more and more scientific discoveries. We could look at Darwinian evolution and ask ourselves some basic questions like what were the social implications.

I alluded to Nazi Germany. Huxley would say that, Actually, I'm so thankful for Darwin because whether I believe it or not, it gave me moral license to live any way I want apart from God. Another great scientist said, Darwinian evolution is the engine of atheism. Here's what you need to understand. Your worldview really matters. You have two great options with a few that are developing on either side.

But your options are this. Do you believe that life is a result of a single cell, random chance, no plan, that you in fact and all the world is the product of billions of years of chemical reactions and all the logical implications? Or do you believe that there is a personal God that made you and made everyone, that every single person, those that you disagree with, those that are different, those who believe different, they're made in the image of God. God created them and he loves them and he calls you and he calls me to treat them with dignity, that there's no room for prejudice.

There's no room for all the kind of things that mankind has done for one another because the infinite personal God has made all of us and he's created us for himself. And here's my question. Do you honestly believe with your life, not just in your head, that God created all that there is? And are you teaching your children and your grandchildren the worldview that by faith flows out of that? Are you willing to spend some time and say, you know, science is great.

There's no dichotomy. God created it all. Would you introduce them to some great Christian scientist? Would you be willing to have a dialogue and talk about evolution?

Not like you're afraid or intimidated. What I can tell you is brilliant people, Christian and non-Christian, are not buying evolution. So you're not a minority and you're not anti-intellectual. What I want you to know is that I have confidence and I believe that God has spoken. And I believe when I look at all the questions that my intellect is intact.

I've not thrown my brains in the trash. If you want to get more specific information and dig in a little bit deeper, I have all this in my book, Why I Believe. Father, I pray now that we would grasp the implications of what it means that you made us, that you are the creator, that there is purpose and meaning, that there is life eternal, that every single person matters, that the sunsets that we see, that when we hold a new baby in our arms, when we look into the eyes of someone that we love, that it's not some chemical reaction.

It is the reality of being made in the image of God and having the capacity to love and to be loved. Lord, I pray that for my brothers and sisters. I pray that we'd be bold and we would enter the public square winsomely, kindly and completely not afraid. In Jesus' name.

Amen. Chip will be right back with his application for this message, Why I Believe in Creation. Now, as you may or may not know, there's actually a lot of solid verifiable evidence that supports Jesus' existence and his ministry. The real challenge is articulating that and other biblical truths to those who genuinely want to know more.

So how do we do that? Well, in this series, Chip shares ways we can effectively and winsomely answer honest questions about our faith that will attract people to the gospel, not repel them from it. For more information about Why I Believe or our resources, go to livingontheedge.org, the Chip Ingram app, or call 888-333-6003. You know, before I come back and talk about today's program and give you some specific application, I just want to take a moment and share a letter from a listener that really struck me that I think you'll love. Dear Chip, just finished reading the book, Why I Believe, and had to tell you what an awesome read it is.

So much research and study given to produce such an informative work. I ordered five more copies to give as gifts to my family members that have asked questions, some of which I had no answers for. Thank you for creating such an easy read and so complete with answers to some very important questions. I've been in a relationship with the Lord for 30 years now, and I'm seeing God transform our family by His love in so many ways. Many miracles have taken place revealing the transforming power of His love, forever grateful for people such as you responding to the needs of others so that the life-changing power of Christ can be easily understood by anyone. May God continue to use your ministry to reach the masses.

Blessings, Jean in South Carolina. Well, first, thanks, Jean. And I think the reason I'm so passionate about this Why I Believe series is because I found these answers and literally they changed my life. I did not grow up as a follower of Christ, and shortly after, you know, kind of a real strong growing spurt, I just got slammed by intellectual people about, Chip, I mean, you don't really believe the Bible, do you? And Jesus being the only way, and you know, what about evolution? And I'll just be honest with you, I literally had to dig in and study and be honest to say, you know what, if there's not good answers, I'm not going to throw my brains in the trash to be a follower of Christ. But what I want you to know is that the product of that study, I didn't throw my brains in the trash. And you and your friends and your kids and your grandkids, they don't have to throw their brains in the trash either. But they need to understand why they believe, not just what they believe.

And the research is just obvious. Most Christians in America, let alone their children or grandchildren, can't articulate what they believe. And so what we've done is we've put together a book, we've put together a small group study, and we've done it in a way that in a simple without being simplistic way, we can answer those questions. We want to encourage you like never before to get this small group series, or if you're a reader, get the book, and begin to ask and answer these questions for yourself. What we want you to know is that we're asking you to really join us and create a movement, if you will, where Christians in America would know what they believe, why they believe it, and then share it in a winsome and loving non-judgmental way with the people around them.

Don't you think that'd make a difference? Here's my plea. Join us. Thanks, Chip. Well, to get your hands on the Why I Believe book or the small group study, visit LivingOnTheEdge.org or call 888-333-6003. These tools will not only help fortify your own convictions, but will help you pass them along to the next generation, too. And during this series, we've discounted Chip's book and the study guides, so take advantage now. Again, to order these resources, call 888-333-6003 or go to LivingOnTheEdge.org.

App listeners, tap Special Offers. Well, Chip, let's get to that application you promised. Thanks, Dave.

You know, as we wrap this up, here's what we have to remember. No one was there at the beginning of creation. So, Christianity and evolution are both faith-based ideologies. I mean, it takes faith to believe that, like, something came out of nothing. It takes faith to believe that a personal creator, God, spoke and the world came into existence.

The question then is, where's the evidence? What do you base things on? And there's certain presuppositions with the evolutionary mindset that takes all the facts and says, this is what's true.

And there's certain presuppositions from Scripture that if God created things and you look at the evidence, this is very clearly true. What we need to make sure is that we never budge from what the Bible says, but we do it in a way that's kind and loving and listening. And we care about the person.

So often, the evolutionary theory is a smokescreen for a lot of personal hurts, for a lot of damage, for some bad experiences with other Christians. Let's make sure they have a good experience with us, that we really listen, we do our homework. And then, in a calm, kind, loving way, we share, this is what I believe and why. And by the way, we can agree to disagree.

And I want to care for you as a person, whether we end up agreeing or not. Great reminder, Chip. Just before we close, I want to thank those of you who regularly give to the Ministry of Living on the Edge. You're making a big difference in helping Christians live like Christians.

If you're benefiting from Living on the Edge but aren't yet on the team, would you do that today? You can set up a recurring donation by visiting us at LivingOnTheEdge.org, or by texting the word DONATE to 74141. It's that easy. Text the word DONATE to 74141. Or visit LivingOnTheEdge.org. App listeners, tap Donate, and thanks for doing whatever the Lord leads you to do. Join us next time as Chip continues his series, Why I Believe. Until then, this is Dave Druey saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge.