Last time, we discussed giving an answer to critics who claim that evolution has been proven and it, therefore, rules out a creator God. To respond to this, we suggested asking the evolutionist: "Do you know of any evidence that life could arise by only natural means?", and then perhaps showing him quotations from non-Christian scientists who admit that there is no such evidence.

It is this absence of any evidence for the appearance of life by natural means that is the "Achilles' heel" of evolution, the little "trade secret" that is kept hidden from the public. The Christian apologist must stay on the offensive by continuing to ask the evolutionist for evidence to support his beliefs. After all, is not "evidence" the key issue in the scientific method?

Well, if we embark on such a confrontation, what kinds of responses should we expect and be prepared to answer?

Looking back to Jesus' experiences, we observe that surprisingly few of His opponents were won over to His views. Many became angry and hardened in their opposition, and would often come back with other kinds of verbal attacks. Some responded with more or less "legitimate" questions, even acknowledging the correctness of His basic position, but then raising other related issues. Some cited other religious authorities that contradicted Jesus' position.

Often Jesus' opponents switched from dealing with real questions to attacking Him personally. Some tried to trap Jesus into taking a position on a complex political or cultural topic that would be considered "politically incorrect", might confuse bystanders and perhaps even be dangerous. Some went so far as to attack Jesus personally, citing his lack of approved education and even alluding to the presumed immorality of His conception. Interestingly, Jesus' opponents rarely gave Him a direct answer to the specific question He asked of them, since they knew that an honest answer would be self-defeating.

Surely we can and must expect similar responses and not be unsettled by them. Rather, as Jesus did, we should keep our opponents on the defensive by asking them further questions.

As examples, let's deal with some of the more or less "legitimate" responses that evolutionists often use to defend their views.

One of these responses is the claim that evolution has been observed or "proven" in many ways.

To deal with this claim, it is important to remember that the word "evolution" has more than one meaning. It is often used to refer to minor changes or variations within a species, such as the varieties of dogs produced by selective breeding. Yes, that kind of "evolution" obviously occurs. However, "Evolution" in the larger and more classical sense, (notice the capital "E"), the idea of "molecules-to-man", has never been observed and, therefore, obviously has not been proven. And we must not allow the evolutionist to confuse these two meanings and give the impression that minor variations are a legitimate "proof" for the enormous changes required to go from one species to another, ultimately to go from "molecules-to-man".

In this case, a suggested response would be: “Everyone agrees that selection may cause species to undergo minor variations over time. But how can you accept the idea of molecules-to-man evolution if you can’t go from molecules to the first cell?”

Another response commonly made by evolutionists is the claim that ongoing research will someday reveal how a cell could arise by simple chemical processes, even though today we don’t know how it could happen. True, scientists today are making great strides in understanding the chemistry of living cells. But the results of ongoing research only support the conclusion, that any hope of explaining the origin of life by natural means gets less and less with time, not greater and greater. Based on this trend, there is no real hope that more research will change this situation. Rather more research can only be expected to lead to the opposite conclusion: life is supernatural.

So, we should leave our opponent with a question such as the following: “Are you aware that, as more and more research is done, scientists only discover more and more complexity in living things, leading them to the conclusion that life could not have happened by natural means alone?”

An honest opponent will have no answer to these questions.

In our next article, we will deal with some of the personal attacks which the Christian may expect and experience when he “gives an answer (defense) for the hope that is in him” and how he is to answer them. (I Peter 3:15).

 

Paul L. Tecklenberg, M.D.

(Dr. Tecklenberg, was a founding Board member of ENM. Now retired, he lives with his wife, Hilda, in western North Carolina.)