“The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and I for one must be content to remain an agnostic” - Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." - Genesis 1:1
"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." - Genesis 1:27
Evolution or Creation? That's a debatable topic which is not yet settled up to this day. Ever since Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species", on November 24, 1859, that was when the controversial debate started. His book influenced many people and tells about the theory that all kinds of species are descended from a common ancestry and evolved in different ways in accordance to the state of the place it adapts and belongs. Way after his book was published and that many people have come to know of it, this paved the way of the beginning of Atheism and Agnosticism (Atheism and Agnosticism, although both beliefs are majorly influenced by Darwin's Theory, differ in some ways. Atheism is the belief that opposes the existence of a god and the disbelief of a supreme creator above all. Whereas Agnosticism is more like going with the flow of beliefs; they believe in a "certain god" but they don't specify what god they believe in or who that god is. At least that's what I know of. It's quite difficult to give their differences because as a Christian, I have less knowledge of those two beliefs.). Charles Darwin's book has also caused a spark of controversies from religious sectors. Most especially that of the Christian Church because his theory is a total contradictory of the teachings of the Bible and they regard his work as a heresy.
I was raised as a Christian and was taught of the basic Christian beliefs, doctrines, and principles. As a Christian, I believe that there is one God, the Father Almighty who created all things for His glory. As a Christian, I believe that God created everything with a purpose. As a Christian, I believe that God formed us through His image and likeness. As a Christian, I believe that we are God's greatest masterpiece. As a Christian I believe in the belief of Creationism. But when I was at school, our science teacher would often share to us about the teachings of evolution. That was when the confusion of my belief started.
Now let's discuss about the theory of evolution. It's funny how sometimes science contradicts the teachings of your faith and that leaves you into a state of confusion because science always has the upper hand. They have more evidences of the things which can be seen. Speaking of evidences, have you seen the pictures of those fossilized bones of the early human existence? Well, that's what we sometimes see when we study evolution. Scientists believe that all species belong to the same ancestor-bacterium. It was a single bacterium that started it all until it multiplied into myriads of bacteria. Then over time, as the climate and geography changed, those bacteria was transformed into certain kinds of species. Those species have changed depending on what location they are in and what climate they have in that place. As those species changed and as time passed by, there are already different kinds of creatures and that's how every living thing came to existence. That results to the beginning of apes and mankind. At least that's what I'm taught in the study of evolution. The study of evolution is somewhat complicated because there are plenty of names of the stages of how species evolve. Just like how humans evolve. There's this Ardipithecus Ramidus, Australopethicus Anamensis, Australopethicus Afarnesis, Australopethicus Africanus, Australopethicus Robustus, and the list goes on. The funny thing about human evolution is that they say we are descended from apes. Hahaha! Do we really have ape traits in our blood? Well, maybe scientist can prove that. But as far as I know of, if we compare ourselves to apes nowadays, we're much wiser and civilized than them. Now I'm not saying that apes are dumb creatures. As a Christian, I believe that God made every creature special in their own way. What I'm trying to say is that we humans are nothing like any species of the animal kingdom. God made us to be unique. Scientists say that we humans are the highest form of animals. My question is: do we act like animals? Do you want to be one? Don't get me wrong but I'm not discriminating animals on how they act. My point is that we are totally different from them. We humans are more advanced in our knowledge and conduct. We may have similar locations of eyes, ears, mouth and other body parts, we may be alive like them, we may have similar senses they have, but based on intellect and values and conscience, I can say that we're nothing like them and that it's hard to believe that they are our ancestors.
Another study of evolution tells that everything happened coincidentally. Coincidence? All these? Everything you see? Everything you touch? Everything you know and who you are? In my humble opinion, I guess not. Atheists believe that the universe was created coincidentally and that all creatures evolved in their own way. If that's the case, then there would be no purpose of all these things. Going back to human evolution, other scientists believe that up to this day, we are still evolving. Now my question is: Do you feel yourself evolving? Aging, yes. Physical changes, yes because that's part of aging. But evolving into a different kind of creature? I find it very impossible. Are you comfortable with that idea? I guess not. Evolution, as others perceived it to be, is a biological change over some period of time depending on what state, where you are, and what the surroundings and the atmosphere bring.
Now let's talk about Creationism. Creationism is a religious belief that entirely everything, the universe, the creatures living in it, things that can be seen or unseen, and life in its fullest form, are the creation of one supreme being and deity. Creationism is also practiced by many religious sectors. Jews and Christians believe that God (Yahweh) is the ultimate creator of everything. Muslims believe that it is Allah. Zoroastrians believe that it is Ahura Mazda. Shintoism, a belief practiced during the early foundation of Japan, has Izanagi-no-Mikoto and his wife, Izanami-no-Mikoto as their creators. There are two types of this belief. One is monotheism which has the teachings stating that only one supreme God created everything. The other one is polytheism which has the teachings stating that there are multiple gods or goddesses who helped form the creation of everything. Monotheism is practiced by Christians, Jews, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Baha'i, and Samaritanism. While Polytheism is prominent in Hinduism, Egyptian and African Mythologies, Native American Mythology, Greek and Roman Mythologies which have similar gods and goddesses but only differ with their names, Nordic and Scandinavian Mythologies and other myths.
In my case, since I am a Christian, I believe that God is responsible for the creation of all things and He is behind everything He planned. For me, the belief of creation makes more sense and it'll help you solve the mysteries of your life. It will make you understand your life's purpose that you are not an accident but you are made for a reason and for His plans. The Bible tells us that God created us in His own image and likeness. Now that's something science couldn't compare and answer. The difference between evolution and creation is that evolution happens coincidentally and that creation happened with love. Yes, that incomparable thing all of us know, love. I bet science couldn't explain that either. Even though science has plenty of proofs to prove their teachings, I still hang on to my belief because my faith tells me so. I know that there is a God up there who loves me more than my mind can conceive and my heart can bare. I know that He created me with a purpose. I believe that everything is His creation and being a creation, He loves it. He loves all his creation and that includes us. No matter what evidences science shows, I'm still hanging on to my faith. In my opinion, nothing is stronger than a person's faith.
"We live by faith, not by sight." - 2 Corinthians 5:7
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