Religion and Evolution don't play together on the playground.

   vs.   

Since I am an upper level biology student I am currently taking evolutionary biology.  Being a Christian and having a strong faith, I was really worried about this class going into it.  Now that I'm in it...I'm really worried.  I've only been to class three times and I've already been told that people with religious beliefs are "magical thinkers," there is scientific proof that God wasn't needed for creation, and everything evolved from a single ancestor.  If you a Christian, of course these claims seem absurd.  

They try to tell us that religion and evolution are two distinct topics that each answer different questions.  I disagree.  The bible tells us where we came from and why we were created and scientists are trying to use evolution to tell us the answer to those same questions.  Is it possible to be a scientist and a Christian at the same time? It seems almost impossible.  

I do not disagree with evolution.  It is a fact.  Species evolve.  There is evidence of evolution and I believe there is evidence in the bible.  The people in biblical times were huge, and now look at us.  I'm only 5'2".  There is no doubt that as time goes on species do evolve, and they can evolve so much that a new species is formed.  

My problem with evolution arises when they tell us that every living thing came from a single ancestor.  It is impossible to believe this claim and to believe the bible as well.  The bible clearly teaches us that we were designed by God in His image.  Although we may have gotten shorter and maybe we do have less body hair, we did not evolve from a single-cell organism.

So how will I sit through this class with my religious beliefs and handle all of these "facts" about evolution that are thrown at me?  I will simply do this...

 

When they tell me the world is millions of years old and there are facts to prove it, I will remember that when God first created the earth is was surrounded by a huge layer of water.  Think about what all that pressure would do to the earth.  I will remember that the earth was covered with water for 40 days.  Think about what that could do to the earth.  There are plenty of explanations within the Bible to make sense of why scientists believe the earth is so old.

What will I do when they tell me that horses evolved from dinosaurs?  I will remember that God has the power to do anything. If he wanted to make a dinosaur evolve into a horse, he could do it.  I also think about the ark.  There probably wasn't enough room on the ark to house the millions of animal species that exist today so it does seem logical that since the time of the ark, some species have evolved.

What will I do when they tell me that I evolved over millions of years from a single-cell organism that was created from an explosion?  I will remember that God created me in His image.  Scientists disprove each other's theories wrong everyday.  The God I know has never been wrong.