This is a thread to discuss whether or not evolution can be reconciled with the Bible, in particular the book of Genesis. I would like to build a case that it cannot. The following are a list of reasons:
#1
The order of events in the creation story does not agree with evolution. For example, you would have birds before dinosaurs (which evolutionists believed to have turned into birds) and so forth.
#2
"Day" means earth day as shown by "evening and morning," etc. See also Ex. 20:11.
#3
"6 Then God said, Let there be [e]an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. 7 God made the [f]expanse, and separated the waters which were below the [g]expanse from the waters which were above the [h]expanse; and it was so. 8 God called the [i]expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day." Gen. 1:6-8 (NASB)
The waters above the expanse are actually mentioned in Revelation 4:6:
"6 and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the [c]center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind." Rev. 4:6 (NASB)
This sea of glass is nothing other than the waters which were originally separated in Gen. 1. This argues for a literal interpretation of the creation account.
#4
Genesis 1:29-30 juxtaposed with Genesis 9:3-4 strongly implies all animals/humans were herbivores prior to the Flood. Obviously this would contradict evolutionary findings.
"29 Then God said, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the [an]surface of all the earth, and every tree [ao]which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the [ap]sky and to every thing that [aq]moves on the earth [ar]which has life, I have given every green plant for food; and it was so." Gen. 1:29-30 (NASB)
"3 Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. 4 Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood." Gen. 9:3-4 (NASB)
#5
"5 Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to [c]cultivate the ground." Gen. 2:5 (NASB)
This passage is most likely a flashback to the creation account of Genesis 1, but it shows that the days in Genesis 1 do not represent long ages because prior to the creation of vegetation there had never been any rain. Obviously this would be impossible in an evolutionary scenario. Since the vegetation was created on day 3 this would mean that there had never been any rain on days 1/2, which rules out those days being long ages.
#6
"10 Now a river [g]flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four [h]rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it [i]flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it [j]flows around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is [k]Tigris; it [l]flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the [m]Euphrates." Gen. 2:10-14 (NASB)
The geography of Eden is nowhere existent on this planet today, which argues for a catastrophic global flood which drastically changed the topography. This wouldn't happen in any sort of local flood scenario - there would have to be cataclysmic changes.
#7
Genesis 2:21-24 makes it clear that the woman was made from the man, as per Paul in 1 Tim. 2:13, 1 Cor. 11:8-9, 12. So she did not evolve.
#8
Gen. 3:14 says that the serpent had legs back in Eden but evolution says they lost their legs long before that:
"14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;" Gen. 3:14 (NASB)
How Snakes Lost Their Legs : Discovery News
BBC News - Studying how snakes got legless
#9
"17 Then to Adam He said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat from it;
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In [f]toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the [g]plants of the field;" Gen. 3:17-18 (NASB)
This passage strongly implies that there were no thorns/thistles prior to the fall, which contradicts the evolutionary interpretation of the fossil record.
#10
"19 By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return." Gen. 3:19 (NASB)
The meaning of this passage is entirely lost if Adam evolved from an ape-like ancestor - the irony would be completely lost.
See also:
"23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken." Gen. 3:23 (NASB)
#11
"22 Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever " Gen. 3:22 (NASB)
This passage means that Adam would have lived forever had he not eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good/evil since he obviously had access to the tree of life prior to his fall (Gen. 2:16/2:9). This contradicts evolutionary assumptions about human longevity; theistic evolutionists have to admit that Adam/Eve and their descendants would have lived forever had they not eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good/evil.
#12
The following passages about the Flood indicate that it was global and destroyed the entire human race and all of the animals:
"5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved [e]in His heart. 7 The Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the [f]sky; for I am sorry that I have made them." Gen. 6:5-7 (NASB)
"12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
13 Then God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth." Gen. 6:12-13 (NASB)
"17 Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish." Gen. 6:17 (NASB)
"4 For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made. " Gen. 7:4 (NASB)
"21 All flesh that [s]moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; 22 of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. 23 Thus He blotted out [t]every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the [u]sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark." Gen. 7:21-23 (NASB)
"21 The Lord smelled the soothing aroma; and the Lord said [k]to Himself, I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the [l]intent of mans heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again [m]destroy every living thing, as I have done." Gen. 8:21 (NASB)
" 11 I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.12 God said, This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for [h]all successive generations;" Gen. 9:11 (NASB)
"15 and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. 17 And God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth." Gen. 9:15-17 (NASB)
#13
"Erets" the word for "earth" in the Flood narrative is also used in Gen. 1:1 to describe the creation of the heaven and the earth (erets) as well as in Gen. 8:22 ("while the earth "erets" remains").
#14
The size of the ark indicates the Flood could not have been local. The ark was 450 ft long, 75 ft. wide, and 45 ft. tall. If the Flood were local, the animals (and Noah) could have simply left the local area, much like Lot in Sodom. The ark is large enough to hold all land animals on the surface of the planet. See:
How could Noah get all the animals on the Ark? - creation.com
How did all the animals fit on Noah's Ark? - creation.com
#15
"19 The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains [q]everywhere under the heavens were covered. 20 The water prevailed fifteen [r]cubits higher, and the mountains were covered." Gen. 7:19-20 (NASB)
This passage can only be describing a global flood since water always seeks its own level. Obviously water could not stay above the mountains for a significant period of time without draining away. The word for mountain is "har" which is not translated "hill" (like theistic evolutionists like to do) but is actually translated "mountain" the vast majority of the time:
Hebrew Lexicon :: H2022 (KJV)
[QUOTEThe KJV translates Strongs H2022 in the following manner: mountain (261x), mount (224x), hill (59x), hill country (1x), promotion (1x).][/quote]
See also Gen. 8:4-5, the "mountains" of Ararat.
-------the end of Part 1--------
#1
The order of events in the creation story does not agree with evolution. For example, you would have birds before dinosaurs (which evolutionists believed to have turned into birds) and so forth.
#2
"Day" means earth day as shown by "evening and morning," etc. See also Ex. 20:11.
#3
"6 Then God said, Let there be [e]an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. 7 God made the [f]expanse, and separated the waters which were below the [g]expanse from the waters which were above the [h]expanse; and it was so. 8 God called the [i]expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day." Gen. 1:6-8 (NASB)
The waters above the expanse are actually mentioned in Revelation 4:6:
"6 and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the [c]center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind." Rev. 4:6 (NASB)
This sea of glass is nothing other than the waters which were originally separated in Gen. 1. This argues for a literal interpretation of the creation account.
#4
Genesis 1:29-30 juxtaposed with Genesis 9:3-4 strongly implies all animals/humans were herbivores prior to the Flood. Obviously this would contradict evolutionary findings.
"29 Then God said, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the [an]surface of all the earth, and every tree [ao]which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the [ap]sky and to every thing that [aq]moves on the earth [ar]which has life, I have given every green plant for food; and it was so." Gen. 1:29-30 (NASB)
"3 Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. 4 Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood." Gen. 9:3-4 (NASB)
#5
"5 Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to [c]cultivate the ground." Gen. 2:5 (NASB)
This passage is most likely a flashback to the creation account of Genesis 1, but it shows that the days in Genesis 1 do not represent long ages because prior to the creation of vegetation there had never been any rain. Obviously this would be impossible in an evolutionary scenario. Since the vegetation was created on day 3 this would mean that there had never been any rain on days 1/2, which rules out those days being long ages.
#6
"10 Now a river [g]flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four [h]rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it [i]flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it [j]flows around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is [k]Tigris; it [l]flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the [m]Euphrates." Gen. 2:10-14 (NASB)
The geography of Eden is nowhere existent on this planet today, which argues for a catastrophic global flood which drastically changed the topography. This wouldn't happen in any sort of local flood scenario - there would have to be cataclysmic changes.
#7
Genesis 2:21-24 makes it clear that the woman was made from the man, as per Paul in 1 Tim. 2:13, 1 Cor. 11:8-9, 12. So she did not evolve.
#8
Gen. 3:14 says that the serpent had legs back in Eden but evolution says they lost their legs long before that:
"14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;" Gen. 3:14 (NASB)
How Snakes Lost Their Legs : Discovery News
BBC News - Studying how snakes got legless
#9
"17 Then to Adam He said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat from it;
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In [f]toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the [g]plants of the field;" Gen. 3:17-18 (NASB)
This passage strongly implies that there were no thorns/thistles prior to the fall, which contradicts the evolutionary interpretation of the fossil record.
#10
"19 By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return." Gen. 3:19 (NASB)
The meaning of this passage is entirely lost if Adam evolved from an ape-like ancestor - the irony would be completely lost.
See also:
"23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken." Gen. 3:23 (NASB)
#11
"22 Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever " Gen. 3:22 (NASB)
This passage means that Adam would have lived forever had he not eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good/evil since he obviously had access to the tree of life prior to his fall (Gen. 2:16/2:9). This contradicts evolutionary assumptions about human longevity; theistic evolutionists have to admit that Adam/Eve and their descendants would have lived forever had they not eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good/evil.
#12
The following passages about the Flood indicate that it was global and destroyed the entire human race and all of the animals:
"5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved [e]in His heart. 7 The Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the [f]sky; for I am sorry that I have made them." Gen. 6:5-7 (NASB)
"12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
13 Then God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth." Gen. 6:12-13 (NASB)
"17 Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish." Gen. 6:17 (NASB)
"4 For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made. " Gen. 7:4 (NASB)
"21 All flesh that [s]moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; 22 of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. 23 Thus He blotted out [t]every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the [u]sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark." Gen. 7:21-23 (NASB)
"21 The Lord smelled the soothing aroma; and the Lord said [k]to Himself, I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the [l]intent of mans heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again [m]destroy every living thing, as I have done." Gen. 8:21 (NASB)
" 11 I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.12 God said, This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for [h]all successive generations;" Gen. 9:11 (NASB)
"15 and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. 17 And God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth." Gen. 9:15-17 (NASB)
#13
"Erets" the word for "earth" in the Flood narrative is also used in Gen. 1:1 to describe the creation of the heaven and the earth (erets) as well as in Gen. 8:22 ("while the earth "erets" remains").
#14
The size of the ark indicates the Flood could not have been local. The ark was 450 ft long, 75 ft. wide, and 45 ft. tall. If the Flood were local, the animals (and Noah) could have simply left the local area, much like Lot in Sodom. The ark is large enough to hold all land animals on the surface of the planet. See:
How could Noah get all the animals on the Ark? - creation.com
How did all the animals fit on Noah's Ark? - creation.com
#15
"19 The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains [q]everywhere under the heavens were covered. 20 The water prevailed fifteen [r]cubits higher, and the mountains were covered." Gen. 7:19-20 (NASB)
This passage can only be describing a global flood since water always seeks its own level. Obviously water could not stay above the mountains for a significant period of time without draining away. The word for mountain is "har" which is not translated "hill" (like theistic evolutionists like to do) but is actually translated "mountain" the vast majority of the time:
Hebrew Lexicon :: H2022 (KJV)
[QUOTEThe KJV translates Strongs H2022 in the following manner: mountain (261x), mount (224x), hill (59x), hill country (1x), promotion (1x).][/quote]
See also Gen. 8:4-5, the "mountains" of Ararat.
-------the end of Part 1--------
You notice what sorts of threads I start, eh? 
