Since history is something that is in the past, standard scientific procedures cannot be used. For example, we cannot re-create the “Big Bang”. We also do not know if all the current processes on earth or in the universe happened in the same way in history or if they change over time. The “science” that can be used is called “forensic science”. With this branch of science, we look at the clues that have been left by the events and come up with the most probable theory of the original event. Standard scientific methods and knowledge help to come up with this theory. Everyone that looks at the data will interpret it based on their own presuppositions and world view, which will lead to some very different hypothesis and conclusions. Some examples here:
We know that everything that happens has a cause. This is why we even engage in scientific studies. Science has determined tha
t the universe had a beginning, since it is known that the universe is expanding. When you look back, you will at some point come to its beginning. Since time, space, material and energy all started at this point from nothing, something had to cause it to come into being. Since we know from science and the laws of Thermodynamics that matter and energy cannot have existed eternally, because at some point in the past, it would have run out of useable energy. The law of the conservation of matter and energy do not allow everything in the universe to come from nothing. Whatever the “cause” was for the universe cannot be a part of the “natural” world and be subject to its natural laws. It should also be mentioned here that God created a mature creation, so while looking at the expanding universe and trying to determine the starting point may seem like a logical step, it will not be accurate. God told us when He created the universe in His Word.
Scientist have tried to create life from chemicals and have failed. (Article on the failure of scientists able to produce life from chemicals) Even if they could create a chemical form of life; it would still lack the operating system to make it work. Not only that, it would also demonstrate that it takes intelligent design and intervention to produce life. The information law states that information always comes from information. Matter cannot produce information. The other problem that has been discovered by science is that it is extremely unlikely that the required atmosphere and condition for this “first” life to “happen” by chance ever existed on the early earth. Also, just because something "could" have happened, it in no way means that it "did" happen.
It is important to always think of the process for anything to occur. For example, how could an eye develop over the amount of time required by the evolutionary theory? How does the creature live, procreate and die without being able to see? How does chance produce the eye socket, eyeball with its complex structure and the communication system with the brain? Not only that, you need to have the brain develop the process for handling the information coming from the eye and then interpret it into something meaningful. The same can be said for pretty much everything else in the body. How does a creature move and live with just the stub of one leg started, never mind having two? It could not live, therefore, no reproduction, therefore no more creature.
Reproduction is the next hurdle to cross. If you have a living being to start with, it needs both the physical ability to reproduce and the operating system to make it work. Now, let’s look at the process that would be required to have bisexual reproduction where both a male and a female are required for procreation. The first thing that would have to happen is an increasing complexity of the first simple, single living cell. Remember to always think of the process that would be involved. Every change happens, at the most, once every generation. So, the process for an organism to develop into a form that requires both male and female for reproduction to occur would be very interesting (i.e. impossible).
It would require that first of all, one strain of an organism that reproduces by itself, starts to develop the male parts for procreation, all the while still reproducing by itself. Secondly, another strain would have to start producing compatible female parts, all the while still reproducing by itself. Next, these strains would need to be in the same place, at the same time and have a mechanism for them to actually come together to perform the sexual act. Once you have accomplished this, the offspring has to be taken care of until it can do so on its own. All this for just one species, just think of the process that would be required to produce all of the various life form that we have today. Natural selection cannot work if there is nothing to select from. Also think of the delicate ecological balance of our world.
As we look at the Grand Canyon, for example, there are a number of issues if the secular approach is taken. First of all, when a river starts to cut a channel, it just keeps going down, it is not able to create a scene as we see here. The canyon is up to 18 miles wide, so the way that you get a canyon like this is with a lot of water and a little bit of time. A similar situation occurred when Mount St Helens erupted and allowed us to witness how a canyon is formed and the amount of time required to do so. The next issue is that the headwaters of the Colorado river, which was supposed to have cut the canyon, are actually lower than the top of the canyon.
The “Cambrian explosion” has also revealed that when life forms first appear, we see a great variety and complexity, exactly the opposite of what we should see if the evolutionary theory were true. Not only that, but the life forms that we see in the fossil record appear complete and essentially do not change. We also do not see the record of the transitions that would be required between species nor all the failed mutations.
There are many other scientific proofs and arguments that show that our universe was created and that the evolutionary theory is not logically or scientifically correct. Some of these get to be very technical, and much has been written on the subject, so I have limited this discussion to the very basics. The Links & Resources page links to several organizations that have videos and articles dealing with the subject.
To sum up, science has shown us that the universe has a beginning that cannot be explained in natural ways, it had to be created. Life could not have started on its own and could not have developed into male and female life forms. The fossil record shows us that life forms started complete and did not change in any significant way over time. There is an incredible interdependence of everything on this earth that really cannot be explained in a naturalistic way.
The obvious rational, logical and scientific conclusion has to be that the universe and all life was created intelligently and purposefully by an incredibly powerful being that is not a part of this “natural” world. This being is normally described as, and is called, God.
It is exciting to see how science has, and continues to reveal to us the incredible complexities of the universe and all that is in it and the total impossibility of it all happening by “random chance” from nothing.
When you look at all this, it becomes obvious that magic (the universe from nothing, life from chemical soup), random chance, time and natural selection are the gods of the atheist, so to be an atheist requires and incredible amount of blind faith.
God is not going to force anyone into heaven, everyone can make up their own mind and determine where they want to be for all eternity. As Christians, out of love and concern, we present the truth of the Gospel and allow people to make their own choice.
As the apostle Paul discusses this, he makes it clear that it is not an issue of evidence, but rather an issue of the heart.