Do you believe one can be a sincere Christian and believe in the theory of evolution?

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

TOK SCIENCE

Critical thinking skills

Do you believe one can be a sincere Christian and believe in the theory of evolution?

Although the theory of evolution and Christianity clash greatly, and there are on going battles trying to prove which is more correct, I believe there is a chance that one can be a sincere Christian yet still believe in the theory of evolution.

The mere mentioning of these two topics in the same breath causes huge uproar and questions to be posed. Avid churchgoers always seem to ask, “Why does science constantly try to disprove the Christian religion?” while others state that the bible says that “God created the world in seven days”, thus proving that there is no evolution.

On the other hand the scientists have an altogether different mentality. To them, the bible, and whole religion is based on opinions. There is no proof of any of the things that are mentioned in the bible, and it is physically impossible that some child was born by a virgin (unless there was such a thing as the science of artificial insemination back in THOSE days!). So they ask questions as to why Christians believe such things when they have no proof at all, only the opinions that were either implanted by their parents, or achieved through the simple need to believe in something. Science believes that it is impossible for something to be created from nothing, in that case, where did the creator himself come from? Who made him? According to science there is no way he could possibly just have appeared.

I However, in my younger years, tried to add up the evidence to see which was correct, science or religion, and I was distraught to find out, upon reading the whole bible cover to cover, that there is no place in the bible that states that God created the world in seven consecutive days. Following that fact, it is then unclear that, if God did create the world, how long did he dawdle between creating one thing and the next? How long was the time between the day he made animals and the day he made humans? Centuries could have ...

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I However, in my younger years, tried to add up the evidence to see which was correct, science or religion, and I was distraught to find out, upon reading the whole bible cover to cover, that there is no place in the bible that states that God created the world in seven consecutive days. Following that fact, it is then unclear that, if God did create the world, how long did he dawdle between creating one thing and the next? How long was the time between the day he made animals and the day he made humans? Centuries could have passed before he decided to use his next free “day” to create something. In these centuries, animals and plants that had already been created could have evolved, changing and adapting to suit the world around them.

Science has proven through the discovery of skeletons, that there has been a gradual change in the shape and size of man and other animals in the past centuries. Although, there is still the question of the missing link. According to the skeletons and the graphical images that scientists have used to show how the bearer of the skeleton may have looked, man evolved from one species of monkey into the semi hair-less apes we are now.

History has also played a part in unfolding the mystery as to “who is right, science or religion?”. Upon reading a certain book by Dan Brown, I discovered that the bible is merely a collection of selected tales. Other tales were hidden from the outside world as they contradicted those shown in the bible. These were either destroyed or hidden so well that only a few have been found (such as the dead sea scrolls). Upon looking up these “ideas” from the book, I found them to be true. Although this does not disprove the ideas portrayed in the bible, it does not do anything to increase my faith.

In conclusion, despite the fact that there is not enough evidence to prove or disprove either of the theories, and the fact that many people believe that they completely contradict each other, it is possible that one may believe in both theories. As in actual fact they do not completely contradict each other but fit in perfectly. There is no proof in the religion that God created the world in seven consecutive days, which may have led to some evolution, and then when he finally did create man, evolution may have ceased, thus there is the question of the missing link, the final stage between ape and man. This compromise between the two theories would put an end to a debate that has been going on for many years. And would make the world a whole lot less complicated.

Amen!