So, here is the dilemma. The Christian Bible has language, if taken literally, that can be interpreted to describe a world where humans were created as fully human just six thousand years ago (Young Earth Creationist=YEC). There is also a rational understanding of Christian theology that requires humans to sin before any death can occur on Earth, which would rule out a progressive development of life. However, when observing the real world, the evidence of an ancient Earth of billions of years and a progression of life forms, including humans, is overwhelming. In my defense of the evidence, I barely scratched the surface, mentioning the over eight thousand transitional (between apes and humans) skeletons that have been found. I only briefly mentioned the fossil evidence and completely ignored the overwhelming genetic evidence supporting evolution, including human evolution.

I must also mention that the non-literal interpretation of the creation story in Genesis is not new. Some of the greatest early church fathers in the first three centuries of Christianity, did not believe it should be read literally, such as Origen, Clement of Alexander, and Augustine.

For the YEC Christian, it is not a moral problem at face value. I’ve had plenty of YEC friends, whom I love and respect. I must because I understand where they are coming from, as I was a YEC for 28 years. It took years of honest study, trying my best to maintain my YEC view, but it was impossible to be factually honest and hold that view.

However, there is a serious problem in how the YEC handles this dilemma. The typical approach is to make their view the absolute essential way to believe in being a Christian. I’ve mentioned before that I was forced out of my last church, after serving it faithfully for ten years, when they suggested that they should require the children to be YEC. When I said that this would be a bad idea, I was declared not to be a “real Christian.” It wasn’t that someone hurt my feelings, but how could I function in a church that has such a low view of my character?

When you elevate this YEC view to a core dogma, it is a disaster. It is like requiring people to believe that it never snows on Earth to be a Christian. You must enter such a state of self-delusion that it changes your entire epistemology (the way you find truth). I would equally oppose making the belief in an old earth and some form of evolution a requirement for being a Christian.

The next big mistake that the YEC makes is lying. I was trying to make sense of my YEC view and joined two major YEC organizations in 1990. I felt conflicted because, as someone who respects science, I knew they were lying. They were lying about the dating of fossils and relics. They were lying about the geological and fossil records. This conflict came to a head when I volunteered to be an usher at a large YEC convention, hosted by the leading YEC “scientists.” I heard things there that were not only blatant lies but were absurd. Such as, “There is evidence that dinosaurs are alive today, living in the darkest corners of Africa, where white men have never visited.” I also witnessed the uncanny way they tried to make money off their talks, showcasing their books and telling the audience that all good parents would have this book. Then they would break and tell everyone to go to the lobby to purchase this book (implying it would prove they are a good Christian). Very manipulative. You would never, ever see this at a real science convention. Finally, I had had enough, and standing as an usher in the aisle, I mumbled, “This is bullshit,” took off my nametag, and walked out.

Because this brand of Christianity has made the absurd essential to their faith, not only does it require intellectual gymnastics to hold their position, but to quieten the evidence against them, they lie about that evidence and demonize anyone who believes it.

A good friend and previous roommate, a wise man, wrote a book titled “The Sin of Evolution.” The title illustrates this demonization. But what I found remarkable about this kind, intelligent man writing a nonfiction book is that the evidence he included for evolution was grossly misleading. It was the same old lies that I mentioned in the Chick tract in the last post. Why, in the real world, would an intelligent person write a book as an authority on the topic, and then grossly misrepresent the evidence not even doing the minimal due diligence on the topic?

The YEC not only makes the belief in an old earth and evolution a moral problem, but they have also spun baseless conspiracy theories to discredit the scientists. It is not just the scientists in the forefront of the opposing view, such as Hutton (father of geology) and Darwin, but all scientists. They have declared science itself to be the enemy of God.  Now, they spread misinformation against all science, such as vaccines and climate change. They no longer trust any expert including their own doctors.

While believing in a young earth or an old earth are not moral problems, lying and self-deception are. While the Bible is not clear about the age of the earth, it is very clear about “bearing false witness” and lying. If I were to write a book on this topic, I might title it, “The Sin of Lying About Evolution.”

In closing, I want to give a couple of references for the honest searcher. The organization BioLogos, is an honest Christian scientific foundation that acknowledges the overwhelming reality of an old earth and evolution. Bible scholar, Peter Enns does a comprehensive examination of Christian theological concepts in the face of evolution in his book The Evolution of Adam.

I will do an an epilogue to this series, by writing an article on how my changing view on the age of the earth and evolution has changed my concept of God for the better.

Respectfully, Mike