Here We Go Again

Here’s a headline for you: Scientists Discover How Life on Earth Began 1.75 Billion Years Ago (https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/scientists-discover-how-life-on-earth-began-1-75-billion-years-ago/). This is an article published on a website called the Brighter Side of News. In some ways, it is hard to take this seriously, as the article’s author is 18-year-old Joshua Shavit who co-founded the website with his father. The reason for taking it seriously, though, is that Shavit got his information from sources within the scientific community that most people depend on as authorities concerning this topic.

The premise of the article is that some scientists have discovered fossils they claim date back 1.75 billion years. These fossils are comprised of “cyanobacteria,” which are microorganisms whose innovation in oxygenic photosynthesis marked a turning point in Earth’s history.” That’s science speak for a plant structure that is able to convert sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into oxygen – photosynthesis. The supposed significance of this is that over the period of billions of years, enough oxygen was finally created on earth to support life as we now know it.

Like so many other articles of this type, the title does not deliver what it promised. It promises to share with us how life on earth began. What it delivers is simply the fact that the structures which produce photosynthesis existed earlier than scientists had previously thought. This fact says absolutely nothing about how life began on earth.

 

That being the case, why in the world would the writer script a title like that? The answer is that something is being assumed to be true that the author didn’t believe needed to be explained. And the problem with that answer is that what is being assumed is not based on science.

The assumption is that the readers of this article also believe in naturalistic evolutionary theory the same way he does. For this writer, and the scientists he got his information from, there is no other possibility for the origin of life than for it to have evolved by naturalistic evolution. But even before that could happen, the environment of the earth had to have evolved to a place where life could be supported.

The article also refers to the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE). This supposedly happened 2.4 billion years ago. The belief is that at one time the earth was a totally dead object just floating in space. However, because its location in space, the properties of this body, and the minerals it was composed of, over time, various elements were able to combine and react with one another to ultimately form cyanobacteria. And as these cyanobacteria massively proliferated and produced oxygen, earth’s atmosphere eventually became rich enough with oxygen that life could form and evolve until we finally have the planet that exists today.

I don’t know whether or not you realize the significance of what you just read, but that is a MASSIVE amount of unproven assumptions. For the things to be true that these evolutionary scientists believe:

• Naturalism must be true (the natural universe, operating by natural laws, is all that exists)
• It must be possible for something to emerge out of nothing
• It must be possible for life to emerge from non-life
• It must be possible for life to naturally evolve from less complex to more complex forms.

But, NONE of these assumptions can be demonstrated to be true using the very beliefs these people claim. In fact, there is no science in the world that can even approach dealing with these assumptions. If anyone is going to believe them, they must do it by faith. In other words, we are dealing here with religion, not science.

One thing that is important to keep in mind is that this article is not a put down of science. Christians are not against science. We do not believe that science and Christianity are in conflict with one another. In fact, we are firm believers in science. But it is so critical to be able to distinguish between science and beliefs that claim to be science but are not. 

Science is the use of observation and experimentation to study things related to the natural universe. Christians believe God created the natural universe to operate by natural laws that can be understood by human beings. Those things are learned by doing science.

On the other hand, there is an element of reality that exists outside the natural universe – the domain of God, Himself. It is also possible for humans to learn some things about transcendent reality, but not by science. Concerning that, we can only know what God reveals to us. And since God does objectively exist, He is there to reveal the things He deems important for humans to know. 

Those who don’t believe in God are still interested in understanding things that are beyond the reach of science. The only problem is, they continue to search for answers to their questions using the scientific method – which cannot deal with non-material reality. The way they rationalize their continued search is to hold on to the belief that Naturalism is true. They have convinced themselves that once our knowledge and technology progress enough, everything is ultimately knowable by science.

And why are they convinced of this? It is because, by faith, they simply believe it. It is their religion.

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Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books entitled The Truth Mirage, Rules for Christians Radicals, Liberalism vs. Conservatism, and his latest book Shattering the Truth Mirage and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah.

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

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