What Should You Expect?

EVOLUTIONISTS claim that man is the end product of a process that began with lifeless chemicals in the ocean. A common description of this belief is the following, published in Science World:

“Some scientists believe that man evolved out of an ape-like creature sometime between two million and 10 million years ago. This ape-like creature probably evolved from a type of monkey millions of years earlier. The monkey evolved from a primitive primate resembling a modern tree shrew. Like all other mammals, the shrew evolved from an amphibian, and the amphibian evolved from a fish. . . . The first signs of life​—simple one-celled organisms—​developed in the ocean.

What does the Bible say? If you will read the first chapter of Genesis you will see that God is spoken of as separately creating different kinds of living things on earth, over a period of time. First was the vegetation, then the fish and flying creatures, then the land animals, and finally man.

But does the Bible say that every individual plant and animal was created directly by God? No, only basic kinds. Within each kind a great variety could develop over thousands of years. For example, many different types of cats could develop within the cat family, or different dogs in the dog family, or different humans within the human family.

However, Genesis chapter one says that each basic kind could produce offspring only “according to its kind.” So while the varieties within a kind could mate and produce offspring, that would not be true outside the kind. One kind could not mate and produce offspring with another kind. Nor could one kind ever change into another kind. That would be true no matter how long a time was involved. Thus, fish would forever stay fish, birds forever birds, land animals forever land animals, and humans forever humans.

What Evidence to Look For

If evolution is true, the evidence should support a gradual changing of one kind of living thing into another kind. There must be at least some evidence of this in living things, in the fossil record, and even in laboratory and field experiments.

But if the Bible is true, then we should not find any changing of one Genesis kind into another. There should be great variety within basic kinds, but unbridgeable gaps between basic kinds. This should be true in living things and in the fossil record. It should also be impossible for experiments to bridge these gaps between basic kinds.

If evolution is true, there should be evidence of the beginnings of new structures in living things. There should have been an abundance of developing arms, legs, wings, eyes, and other organs and bones. This should be true in the fossil record and even in some living things today. At the very least there should be some partially developed structures somewhere.

In addition, if evolution is true, there should be evidence that life can come into existence on its own, spontaneously, without any outside help. In fact, it should be much easier with outside help, such as in experiments of intelligent humans using complex equipment. But if the Bible is true, then, apart from creation or the divinely arranged processes of reproduction, it would be impossible for life, or living, reproducing creatures, to come into existence, whether by accident or with the help of man; the Bible says only with God is the source of life.​—Ps. 36:9.

Since evolution is said to have begun with lifeless chemicals changing into one-celled organisms, this would be a logical place to begin examining the evidence. After all the many decades of intensive experiments and gathering knowledge about the cell, what have the facts revealed?

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If the Bible is true, you should expect great variety within a Genesis “kind.” For example, the dog family has many different varieties, which can interbreed. But they cannot interbreed with another “kind,” such as the cat family