How presuppositions for and against the Bible direct the evolution and creation debate through facts, evidence, interpretation, and worldview.
First things first – we all have the same data.
We are all surrounded by things we can observe. Christians, non-Christians, evolutionists, and creationists all have the same facts. We live in the same universe, see the same stars, and experience the same weather, on the same earth, with all its rock layers and other geology, elements, minerals, fossils, animals, plants, etc. Our facts, data, and observations are all the same.
So why don’t we all agree about what we see?
Excellent question—we’re so glad you asked! Two people can look at the same evidence and come to two different conclusions because of how they interpret the data. For example, two fossils are found in a position that looks like they died while fighting each other.
Both people see that one is the skeleton of a dinosaur and the other has a skeleton similar to a honey badger. The evolutionist remarks, “Wow, millions of years ago there was a mammal similar to our modern badger!” and on the other side, the creationist says, “Wow, they must have been preserved together like this a few thousand years ago during the global flood during Noah’s time.”
Truth is, if you find a bone in the dirt then the only thing both persons could agree on is, that this animal or being is dead. No more nor less.
But how can we come to different conclusions if we see the same thing?
Another excellent question! Before we even see the data, we have different presuppositions. Things that we believe or assume are true, even if we can’t prove it personally. These presuppositions affect the methods we choose to analyse the data and ultimately influence our interpretation of the data. All reasoning is based on one’s presuppositions, which are also known as axioms. These are the building blocks our worldviews are built upon.
Even if you can’t accept this idea, at least understand this—we all live in the present and the things we observe, the facts and data, all exist in the present. But the moment we try to figure out how the physical “data” arose or came into being, we are trying to connect the present to the past. We are trying to determine the history or origin of things we observe and use the present data as evidence for our theory.
Can you elaborate on this idea of presuppositions?
We’ll contrast those of Christians and Atheistic evolutionists to show you what we mean.
Christians have an ancient book—the Bible—which they believe is the true inspired Word of God. From the Bible, they know the history of the world going back to before the Garden of Eden when God created everything in the universe and culminated with Adam and Eve. Based on the events recorded in the Bible, like the Creation account, the Fall, the Flood, etc., Christians have built their way of thinking on their presupposition that the Bible is accurate and God is real. It is from this viewpoint that they interpret the data that exists now. For instance, young-earth creationists believe that the rock layers seen globally today were laid down over a short period due to the global flood God sent which only Noah, his family, and a huge ark full of animals survived.
Atheistic evolutionists have beliefs based on their presupposition that there is no God or “designer”, and therefore must, by default, have a naturalistic-origins explanation for the presence of all living things today. For something to evolve from chemicals to a single-celled organism into humans, for instance, requires millions, if not billions, of years. Therefore, when evolutionists see the same rock layers as everyone else, they believe they were laid on top of each other over billions of years.
Conclusion:
The same data (layers of rock) are interpreted differently (young; old) due to different prepositions (Creator God; no Creator). So, when Christians, non-Christians, evolutionists, and creationists argue about the facts, they are actually arguing about their interpretations based on their presuppositions. We should all ask ourselves about our own presuppositions and the foundational reasons for having them. Why do we believe what we believe, and is it possible that our presuppositions are false? Can you be honest with yourself? Digging deeper could be the most exciting journey you’ve ever been on.
Source:
What’s the Best “Proof” of Creation? by Ken Ham on March 18, 2010, https://answersingenesis.org/evidence-for-creation/whats-the-best-proof-of-creation/
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