Did God Create Biodiversity via Genetic Engineering and Climate Control?
James R. Aist
Then God said…–Genesis 1:11, 20-26
The theory of evolution is a materialistic concept to explain biological diversity. It is comprised of two basic components: 1) the enormous body of valid, scientific evidence related to how biodiversity may have came about; and 2) the assumption that this “evolution data set” can only be explained by random, natural forces and processes inherent in the material world. This assumption is based largely upon the initial assumption that a creator (God) does not exist. However, it is not sound, objective, scientific protocol to begin an investigation by eliminating one of two tenable and competing theories based on a mere assumption. That is what we call “junk science”, and it is not really science – the objective search for truth – at all. The so-called “science” of evolution is a prime example of how a body of valid scientific information – the evolution data set – can be misused to give the impression that a mere assumption (e.g., that a Creator God does not exist) is actually proven fact.
In this article, I explore alternate, viable scenarios that can explain the evolution data set by invoking the involvement of an “intelligent designer”, otherwise known as God. As you read further, please keep in mind that the God of the Bible is sovereign over all of creation, knowing the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-11) and, therefore, He knew from the beginning where He intended to take biological diversity, as well as all of the intermediate steps and processes He was going to use to take it there. For a fuller background on these proposed scenarios, click HERE.
The evolution data set and “divine genetic engineering”
The first intelligent design scenario I want to discuss begins with the acknowledgement that a valid evolution data set does exist and that the God of the Bible is no dummy. Don’t you suppose that when God set about creating biological diversity, He would be smart enough to not “reinvent the wheel”, so to speak, every time He wanted to create a new “kind” or a new “species?” Would He not start with a creature He had already made and genetically modify it to make the new one? So then, of course, at the morphological, anatomical, genetic and biochemical levels, the closely “related”, but different, newly created form would have considerable commonality with the form from which it was derived, having been “genetically engineered” by God Himself. And that’s exactly what the evolution data set may be showing us, minus any atheistic assumptions. What I’m saying here is that the same body of evidence that is used to support the materialistic theory of evolution can just as easily be seen to support the theory of “intelligent design” by way of “divine genetic engineering”, if one does not begin with the assumption that an intelligent designer does not exist. This scenario would involve intelligent design from start to finish, and it would look to us just like materialistic evolution.
Random mutations, natural selection, survival of the fittest, and “divine climate control”
In the previous section, I presented a “genetic engineering” scenario for the direct involvement of God in the creation of the spectacular biological diversity we see in the world around us. In this section, I will present a scenario for an intelligent designer working indirectly to guide or direct the evolutionary process. The materialistic theory of evolution involves, at its most fundamental level, random mutation (natural, molecular modification) of genes, a resultant sub-population of organisms carrying mutated genes that are beneficial, and selective survival of the organisms that are carrying the beneficial gene(s) because they are best adapted (most fit) for the existing or impending environmental conditions that develop naturally from time to time. Over millions of years, such a process, repeated over and over again, is believed to have produced new species and “kinds” (e.g., dogs, cats, horses, fish, reptiles, grass, trees, seaweed, etc.) of animals and plants. It is assumed that this process occurred “naturally”, without the influence of an intelligent designer. But wait a minute, who is it that controls the climatic conditions that drive natural selection and result in survival of the fittest? The God of the Bible is sovereign over all of His creation (Genesis 1:1-27; Isaiah 46:9-11; Revelation 19:6). It is He who placed the moon and the stars in the heavens and maintains them in their respective orbits (Genesis 1:14). He caused the earth to pause in it’s rotation for a full day, giving the impression that the sun had stood still (Joshua 10:12-13). He commands the wind and the waves, and they obey (Exodus 14:21; Mark 4:39), and He calls forth drought to scorch the land (Haggai 1:11), and it is dry. And, it is He who sends the rain as He pleases (Genesis 7:4, 11-12; Matthew 5:45). The relevant conclusion here is that the God of the Bible is sovereign over (i.e., in control of) the so-called “natural” climate changes that evolutionary theory credits with driving the “natural selection” process leading to the appearance of new species and kinds and the extinction of others through “survival of the fittest.” Thus, by exerting “divine climate control” again and again over millions of years, God could have steered what we refer to as “evolution” in any direction He desired, thus controlling and directing both the extinction of old species and kinds and the development of new species and kinds, using the very mechanisms of random mutations, “natural” selection and survival of the fittest that are so fundamental to the materialistic theory of evolution. This scenario also would involve intelligent design from start to finish, and it would look to us just like materialistic evolution. Thus, the same evolution data set used by evolutionists to support the popular theory of materialistic evolution, could just as well be seen as validating this “divine climate control” mechanism of evolution.
Conclusions
There are at least three alternate and viable scenarios for the involvement of intelligent design (God) in the development of the vast biodiversity present on planet earth. One scenario has God, by a process of “divine genetic engineering”, directly modifying genes in a previous creature to produce a closely related and similar new creature. Another scenario has God indirectly causing both the extinction of existing creatures and the proliferation of new creatures by exerting “divine climate control” to drive the evolutionary process by way of “natural selection” and “survival of the fittest.” A third scenario would be a combination of the first two scenarios, in which God “genetically engineers” the genome of a species or “kind” and then exercises “divine climate control” to give the new creature a competitive edge going forward. This may be the most likely scenario, because it would probably be a more effective and efficient way for God to satisfy and manifest His spectacular creative drive as recorded in Genesis 1:11, 20-26. All of these scenarios would involve intelligent design from start to finish, and they would look to us just like materialistic evolution. Many students of biodiversity reject the unnecessary, atheistic assumptions of the materialistic theory of evolution and believe that theistic mechanisms offer better, more objective, explanations of biodiversity than does the more popular materialistic mechanism.
Recommended reading
If you want to read further and deeper into these and related matters, I strongly recommend the following book: Geisler, N. and F. Turek. 2004. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. Crossway, Wheat, IL. 447 pp.
(To read more of my articles on biblical topics, click HERE)
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