Torch, Fall/Winter 2009

Fall–Winter 2009 | TORCH 19 intermediate between the two. Marvin Lubenow explains more about this in his book Bones of Contention . Antibiotic-resistant bacteria demonstrate Darwinism in action. In this classic example, evolutionists confuse adaptation, or microevolution, with macroevolution. It is essentially the same myth as a former one claiming that changes in finches’ beaks due to habitat demonstrate macroevolution. However, in both examples, we merely see life forms adapting to their conditions due to natural selection. The genetic codes for antibiotic resistance and different beak shapes were present from the beginning, created by God. And the environment allows the organisms with these particular traits to thrive and multiply. Therefore, natural selection, in a nutshell, remains entirely consistent with a creationist view of origins. Still, that doesn’t mean new genetic information has been created. Creationists do not believe God directly created every species that exists today. Rather, they believe God created living things after their kind. The term “species” is a human classification distinct from the “kinds” of Genesis. Rather than proving evolution, bacteria give us a picture of what natural selection can and cannot accomplish. Theses organisms are some of the fastest reproducing creatures on earth, but in all of the many generations we have observed, natural selection has only led to different varieties of bacteria. We have yet to observe a bacterium evolve into an amoeba. Radioactive dating proves the earth is billions of years old. The series of techniques known as radioactive dating determine the age of a rock based on the amount of radioactive decay certain elements within the rock have undergone. But some of these techniques are based on questionable assumptions. Still others seem theoretically sound but give wildly inconsistent results. Even the best procedures have indicated dates of hundreds of millions of years for rocks known with certainty to be less than a century old. Furthermore, all radioactive dating methods are based on the assumption that nuclear decay rates have been constant throughout history. Recent creationist research has raised questions about the accuracy of that assumption, thereby calling into question the methods at large. For more information on this topic, consider Dr. Don DeYoung’s book Thousands, Not Billions . As believers, we should not be surprised at the spread of untruths regarding the doctrine of Creation. Like 2 Peter 3 predicts, scoffers will come — men who “deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed.” But we need not be shaken by these scoffers. When examined thoroughly, their claims inevitably prove to be incorrect. Man’s words may fail, but the Word of God will abide forever. T Dr. Aaron Hutchison serves as professor of chemistry at Cedarville University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky and has taught at Cedarville since 2003. FROM LEFTTO RIGHT: EILEEN HART / ISTOCKPHOTO; LISA F.YOUNG / ISTOCKPHOTO; BRIAN MCCLISTER / ISTOCKPHOTO