Twelve of the Most Annoying Arguments Used Against Biblical Creation, Part 2

(Read Part 1.)

4. Arguing that “since scientists do not yet understand a natural phenomenon, God must have done it” is a fallacious “God of the gaps” argument.

Why It Sounds Good

This type of argument actually is a “God of the gaps” argument and sadly, in church history, many have used this approach.

Why It Is Annoying

There are two significant problems. First, creationists, as a whole, rarely argue this way any longer. Rather, creationists have increasingly been arguing for creation from what we do know about the universe. For example, in philosopher William Lane Craig’s¹ version of the Kalam Cosmological argument,² he states:

1. “Whatever begins to exist has a cause.” This certainly matches our experience and observations. There are no gaps here.
2. “The universe began to exist.” Craig uses the impossibility of an actual infinite, not simply a mathematical one, and the second law of thermodynamics, which demonstrates that the amount of useable energy in the universe is running down, to illustrate this. Again, this is arguing from what we do know. There are no gaps here either.
3. “Therefore, the universe has a cause.” If both of the previous premises are true, the conclusion follows.

There is no gap here. Further, Craig argues that this cause, in keeping with this formulation, must be “uncaused, eternal, changeless, timeless, and immaterial” (a direct attack on the “Well then, who created God?” question). If the cause created time, matter, and energy, then it is by definition timeless, immaterial, and powerful.

Another example is the idea that information, such as is found in the DNA code of life, only comes from intelligence. Philosophers and apologists Norman Geisler and Frank Turek have written, “When we conclude that intelligence created the first cell of the human brain, it’s not simply because we lack evidence of a natural explanation; it’s also because we have positive, empirically detectable evidence for an intelligent cause.”³ The issue at hand is that DNA is not just information, but it is usable information. It is not simply like pulling out B, A, T from a hat at random. It is doing so in a way that is usable and spells BAT to the person drawing the letters. DNA is coded information and that only comes from intelligence. Even if one can argue against these assertions, the fact remains that there is no “God of the gaps” thinking present.

Second, this type of argumentation is actually a two-edged sword that cuts both ways. In other words, evolutionists use the same strategy at times, only instead of saying, “We don’t know, so God did it,” they say, “We don’t know, so evolution did it.” For instance, when approaching the issue of how life can arise from non-life, there is no observable evidence to confirm evolutionary theory. But these scientists simply argue that they should be given more time. After all, even if we do not yet know how it happened, we are still here, so it must have. Evolutionists sometimes justify this practice under the heading of “making predictions,” but the fact remains that they are employing the same “gap” mentality they attack creationists for.

Why would evolutionists respond in this manner? Because the issue really is not evidence; it is the beliefs brought to the table. If a person is convinced a system is true, he or she will use it to interpret evidence that seems out of place, employing a “rescuing device” to justify the belief. The bottom line is discovering what worldview can rationally account for the ability to think logically about a uniform universe and to report findings ethically.

5. The majority of scientists hold to evolution.

Why It Sounds Good

It is, frankly, true. The majority of professional scientists do hold to evolutionary theory, or at least a theistic view of evolution. In a 2009 Pew Research Poll, 95% of scientists polled held to either unguided or guided evolution, while only 2% of scientists polled held to YEC.⁴

Why It Is Annoying

There is a reason that an appeal to the majority is labeled as a logical fallacy. The fact is that before the Darwinian era, the majority of scientists held to creation. Was Darwin then wrong for challenging it? The majority is often wrong. The point of science is to continually examine one’s thinking to align it with evidence and reality.

6. Intelligent Design isn’t science. It is simply veiled creationism.

Why It Sounds So Good

There is no denying that Intelligent Design (hereafter ID) holds implications for creation theory. If it is true that intelligence is required for building life as is seen around us, that means something for the realms of philosophy and theology.

Why It Is Annoying

This characterization misses the difference between implications and evidence. As Stephen Meyer, leading ID proponent, has pointed out, this mistake is made by those who “confuse the evidence for a theory with the implications of a theory.”⁵

Now, ID has its own problems to be sure. Since it moves from science to the Bible, it can be guilty of reinterpreting the Bible according to what modern science can prove. Thus, many ID proponents hold to an old earth and to common descent. So the case could really be made that ID isn’t theology at all, but is only science! Many creationists would disavow themselves of the methodology of such work,⁶ even if some of the arguments are of value.⁷

A second important issue is that one of the reasons evolutionists label ID as pseudoscience is that they claim it is not falsifiable. For something to be scientific, it needs to be shown that if x is true, then y will be true. This is called making predictions. But conversely, if y is not true, x is not either. This is falsifiablity. This principle is very useful because the claim that cannot be proven wrong has no way to prove its validity. It is claimed that ID does not make claims that can be tested as to their accuracy. But at the same time, others claim they have proved ID claims wrong. Either it isn’t falsifiable or it has been proven wrong. You cannot have it both ways.

7. God could have used evolution.

Why It Sounds Good

This type of argument seems very committed to the power of God. After all, if God is so powerful, He could do anything He wishes. This argument is often used to demonstrate that YECs limit God’s potential.

Why It Is Annoying

Imagine that you are on the stand for murder. When it is time to question you, the prosecuting attorney asks if you own a gun. When you respond in the affirmative, the attorney notes that the victim was killed with a gun and so he pleads with the jury to find you guilty because you could have done it. That would be a grave injustice. The issue is not whether or not you could have killed the individual; the issue is whether or not you did kill the individual. Of course creationists understand that God could have used evolution. But the issue is whether or not God did do so. Did God use a process to create man that was built on billions of years of suffering, the strive to survive, and death in stark contrast to the claim He makes in His Word that death came by sin and sin came by Adam (Romans 5)? Creationists argue that He did not.

8. Genesis 1 and 2 represent two different accounts of creation.

Why It Sounds Good

Doing so enables us to treat Genesis 1 as poetry while treating Genesis 2 as history. The usual evidences given are that in Genesis 1, the name “Elohim” is used for God and in Genesis 2, “Yahweh” is used, showing different authors. Further, Genesis 1 teaches that the animals came before Adam, whereas Genesis 2:19 teaches that the animals came after Adam, revealing a contradiction. Thus, either these two accounts were written by different people, or Genesis 1 is poetic, teaching theological truth, while Genesis 2 is historical, teaching what actually happened.

Why It Is Annoying

Genesis 1 uses “Elohim” because that is the generic word for “God.” This makes sense because in Genesis 1, God is the creator of all. In Genesis 2, the name “Yahweh” is used, which is God’s personal revealed name. This makes sense of the context because Genesis 2 describes God’s personal work with mankind.

Further, Genesis 2:19 does not say that God created the animals after Adam, but that He brought the animals to Adam at that time.

There is no good reason to think these ideas are contradictory. Rather, the passages blend much better when one views Genesis 1 as being an overview and Genesis 2 as being a focused look at the sixth day.