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Bryan Luu
Dr. Lawton
Chemistry Seminar
Eastern University
As we all know, the debate between God's method of choice in creation has been between
evolution and literal biblical creation for the last century and a half. Evolution describes the
timeline and transformation of species and how they changed, in response to adaptive necessity,
over large periods of time to finally become the creatures and animals known today. Essentially,
God has set the laws of nature first and has directed and adjusted these laws to result in the
process of evolution; it should be noted again that all direction of creation is done within the
constraints of nature (Collins & Giberson, 2011). On the other hand is literal biblical creation,
which describes God directly forming existence within a seven day period rather than
influencing the laws of nature. Though the laws of nature may have been set before the
formation of Man, they did not play as great a part in his becoming. Yet, this essay does not
argue the physical evidence of each method, but instead analyzes how each means of creation
reveals God's character, and to what degree of validity that warrants each mean. While both
methods of creation reveal unique characteristics of God, evolution seems to counter one
characteristic of God, therefore running unparallel with scripture.
Evolution is a long and complex process. Scientists say that it has taken about 13.7
billion years for formation of galaxies, stars, planets, and life to become what they are known as
today (Collins & Giberson, 2011). Every masterpiece in art, from the Mona Lisa to the Sistine
Chapel, took great amounts of time to complete. It is irrefutable to say that creation is a much
more beautiful work than those masterpieces, and therefore should take much longer. The
apostle Paul says, "...Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those
who would believe in him and receive eternal life" (1st Timothy 1:16). Clearly, The time span

during which God chose to create life through evolution illustrates his extreme patience.
Moreover, the evolution of the universe into what it is today demonstrates God's absolute
perfection. This is shown in what scientists call "the fine-tuning" of the universe (Collins &
Giberson, 2011). According to Francis Collins, "the laws of physics have precise properties that
make them look like they were designed to enable life" (Collins & Giberson, 2011). In essence,
if any of these propertiessuch as gravity or electromagnetic forceare changed by even a
fraction, the planets and life would not have been able to exist (Collins & Giberson, 2011).
The literal biblical account of creation shows God's power and omnipotence. He is able
to create an incredible creation within seven days. Aforementioned, great works of art take time;
yet, here God is able to create such a creation with much less time than should be required. The
next characteristic, which is shown in both evolution and the biblical account of creation is God's
omniscience. The Bible says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth"
(Genesis 1:1). The fact that God created those realms illustrates that God is outside of them;
therefore, he can see all that goes on in those realms. The literal account also portrays God in a
more relatable or involved fashion. Instead of using the laws of nature to form man, He is
directly forming the universe. A closer analysis of the text shows that God uses the phrase, "Let
there be..." when forming the sky, light, or animals. On the other hand, when he begins forming
man, He says," Let us make..." (Genesis 1:26). When forming the rest of the world, it is as if
God allows it into existence, but when He begins to realize man, his use of the word "make"
creates the image of a personal and involved God.
All of the above characteristics correspond with what scripture says about God. In the
book of Zephaniah it says, " The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with
loud singing" (Zephaniah 3:17). He is patient, sovereign, and relatable which is shown through

his unconditional love. However, the Bible also says, "He is not the God of the dead, but of the
living" (Mark 12:27). This points out what seems to be a flaw in evolution. As stated above,
evolution can take millions or billions of years in which natural selection favors the mutations of
one species over another. In other words, it requires an unaccountable amount of death until the
rise of humanity. After creating man, the Bible says God saw that it was all good. If God's
product is good, so must the process in which He came about the product because His nature is
consistent. Therefore, evolution cannot be the way that God brought about the world because
death is not good according to scripture. Paul says, "The last enemy that will be
destroyed is death" (1st Corinthians 15:26). In Romans he says, " Therefore, just as through one
man sin entered the world, and death through sin..." (Romans 5:12). Death is not of God, nor is
it natural.
As Galileo affirmed, the Book of Nature must run in accordance with the Book of God
(Clark, 2014). Though read differently, the aspects of one can be reflected in the other. The
revelations of God's character that have been revealed through both evolution and the literal
biblical creation do this exactly (Clark, 2014). Evolution demonstrates God's patience, creativity,
and perfection. Literal creation shows his power, omniscience, and relatability. Unfortunately,
the unavoidable amount of death required in evolution counters a key truth that God is a God of
life. This does not prove the literal biblical creation is the exact method of creation; there may be
other issues with the account that this paper does not address. Instead, it suggests that there is
slight err in the theory of evolution, and that maybe there is another means of creation that has
not yet been brought to light.
References
Clark, K. J. (2014). Religion and the sciences of origins: Historical and contemporary
discussions [Kindle].
Collins, F. S., & Giberson, K. W. (2011). The Language of Science and Faith.