When God created trees, did he create them with rings in it's trunk? In other words, if Adam had cut a tree down on his first day of existence, would he have been able to count the rings to determine the age of the tree? Or would there have been no rings at all since the tree had only existed for a matter of days? For just a moment, I'd like to explore the idea that God may have created the earth and at the same time created a history to this earth. Furthermore, the idea that perhaps God was the creator of Darwin's evolutionary theory and used it as a tool to bring the earth and all its living beings to the place it is today.
500 years ago mankind was convinced that the earth was flat and at the center of the solar system. The church believed this to be confirmed in the Bible, and to say otherwise was blasphemous. Obviously, views have changed and the church recognized at some point long ago that the Bible did not confirm any such thing. I believe we are perhaps at another turning point in history. This time around it is the standoff between secular scientists claiming that evolution, and not God, is the reason for us all being here on Earth. At the other end of the spectrum, the church claims that God is the reason for our existence and there is no possible way we evolved from amoebas. First off, I don't think anyone should claim this quarrel as a reason to shun Christianity or the Bible. Trying to reconcile faith and science will likely be an eternal quest and one that is not particularly necessary for a person's salvation. With that said, exploring such discrepancies can help us understand our surroundings and understand our purpose here on this planet. I'm not trying to claim to have an answer to this question, only raise a thought provoking point for anyone to consider. I'd like to believe that when God created the earth, there were fallen trees in the forests providing food to the life that grows on the ground. There were old and weak animals that predators could target just as they do today. Fossils were buried underneath the ground. In other words, God created a snapshot in time on this planet. There were billions of years of history put into place, and the pieces to the puzzle were aligning for mankind to take domain over this world. God created the science that made man's inventions possible from computers to satellites to skyscapers. Included in that science was evolution. There are two sides to evolution to explore. There are gene pools that make "survival of the fittest" possible, and then there is the theory of a family tree that all living creatures can trace their roots back to one common ancestor. I'll make a fairly safe assumption that Christian and secular scientists alike have no problem with genetic character traits of a given species being driven by the gene pool they are a part of. The common example I have always heard begins with a particular moth that can be born either brown or white. They are a common prey to a bird within the same habitat. The brown moths blend in well with the trunks of trees, while the white moths are easily spotted. This leads to a much higher percentage of the white moths being eaten while the brown moths survive. This circle of life begins to eliminate white as a possible color from the moth's gene pool, and therefore the moth evolves to only breed more brown moths as a defense against becoming prey. No groundbreakers to foundational beliefs here. That leaves us to investigate the theory that all species have evolved from the same ancestor. A theory that most, if not all, Christians have trouble grappling with due to their belief that God created the earth and all living creatures within. Mankind may or may not ever find rock solid proof that evolution has played a role on our planet, just the same that we are not too likely to turn over a rock and read "Made by God." But that is a little besides the point here. The point is that we should not be too quick to dismiss what science may be trying to tell us. The Bible spends only a few paragraphs letting us know that God created everything. It leaves a lot to the imagination as to how he accomplished that, and what it may have looked like to the angels sitting in the grandstands watching it all unfold. Perhaps God created evolution and guided life on this planet every step of the way to make sure it "evolved" into what he wanted it to be. Many people have a hard time believing in "intelligent design", but it would seem to be just as hard to believe this planet just happened upon its current state through trial and error over billions of years. This planet is just a little too perfect and beautiful to have happened by chance. In short, maybe there is a peaceful coexistence between creationism and evolution. The Bible didn't leave us a blue print on how to create a planet, and mankind's curiosity is always going to drive us to explore and learn about our past and the beginnings of our world. Maybe, just maybe, evolution shouldn't be ruled out as part of God's grand plan and vice versa.
