Avery Foley
The Gospel writer Matthew records Jesus’ final words as He finished His Sermon on the Mount,
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall (Matthew 7:24-27).”
With this metaphor, Jesus is encouraging His followers to listen to and do what He says. We need to build our thinking on His Word in every area because it’s His Word alone that is a rock solid foundation, “Thy Word is true from the beginning” (Psalm 119:160). It doesn’t change with every new finding or scientific hypothesis—it remains the same through the ages (Isaiah 40:8).
Those who believe in evolution are forced to build their homes on sandy soil. This soil changes every time the tide comes in and with every rainstorm (or every scientific study and news article). Here are just a small sampling of recent headlines that highlight the fluid and changing nature of evolutionary ideas:
“Tiny Bird Fossil Solves Big Mystery About Life After Dinosaurs.” This article reads, “A teeny-tiny fossilized bird skeleton is helping researchers understand the explosive rate at which birds diversified after the dinosaur age, new research shows.” What this new study supposedly showed was that birds “rapidly evolved” in only 3 to 4 million years, once dinosaurs were wiped out. This is “much faster than previously thought.” So now the supposed evolution of birds from dinosaurs must be rewritten—again—because they discovered a tiny fully formed and functioning bird in the fossil record (of course, God’s Word says that all bird were created this way from the beginning [Genesis 1:20-23]).
“Ancestor of all apes might not be what scientists expected, new fossil shows.” This partial skeleton, recovered from a landfill in Spain, allegedly “reveals that the common ancestor of humans, gorillas and gibbons may have looked more gibbon-like than previously thought.” So the history of ape evolution will likely change in light of this new fossil (Now, we know from Scripture that all the apes were created fully formed from the beginning [Genesis 1:24-25]).
“Tiny zircons suggest life on Earth started earlier than we thought, UCLA researchers say.” The study of these zircons suggests that Earth “had water, continents and even interconnected oceans” when it was only an alleged 40 million years old. This is a far cry from the molten rock and soaring temperatures that scientists have long assumed characterized the early Earth (but, ironically, matches perfectly with what the Bible says about the early Earth [Genesis 1:2, 9-10]…when you take away the billions of years!). But supposedly these zircons also provide “the first evidence that life may have existed 4.1 billion years ago. That’s 300 million years earlier than was previously thought.” One of the scientists involved in this study said, “every bit of evidence suggests [the early Earth] was much more like today than anyone imagined.” So the picture of early Earth is changing…again.
“Land life spared in Permian extinction, geologists argue.” A recent study by a group of geologists has interpreted rock layers and terrestrial animal fossils to suggest that the so-called Permian extinction, which supposedly almost wiped out life on our planet, did not effect land creatures—although it’s conventionally believed this extinction killed 75% of land creatures and 90% of sea creatures. Instead, “the new evidence raises doubts that a mass extinction on land even happened at all.” Although this study is being met with skepticism, one of the contributors to the study said, “We need to rethink the Permian crisis.” So, according to some evolutionists at least, one of the so-called greatest extinction events in Earth’s history needs to be completely re-thought.
What these headlines show is that evolutionary ideas are constantly changing. With every new fossil and every new study, evolutionary ideas change to fit the new evidence. Evolutionary scientists, because they have rejected God’s Word and the testimony of the Creator, Jesus Christ, stand on a foundation of sinking sand and their ideas simply cannot stand so they are forced to change with everything that comes along.
But biblical creationists stand on the rock. God’s Word doesn’t change with every new discovery. It remains firm and unchanging through the ages. The prophet Isaiah writes, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). We can use the unchanging history recorded in God’s Word as a lens through which to view the world and interpret the observational evidence of the past because God’s Word is a sure foundation.
Where will you build your house: one the rock solid foundation of God’s unchanging Word or on the fallible opinions of man that change with every new tide?
