Some of our readers have requested us to review a series of articles entitled, "The Epic of Man," published in LIFE magazine. Copies have been furnished to us for this purpose. If it were not for the fact that some of our dear young people may be forced to take notice of this series in school or college we would not have defiled ourselves with it. (It is written, "I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil." Rom. 16:1919For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. (Romans 16:19).) In the hope that we may be able to point out to them the dangers inherent in this type of article lest their feet be entangled in the morass of infidelity, we ventured into the unpleasant task. Now we shall speak of Part 1, "Man Inherits the Earth."
There is really nothing new in it except the very clever way in which it is gotten up. The artists have worked masterfully to give fiction and fantasy the appearance of reality. They strive to present as scientific fact that which is not so, and thus entrap the unwary. This increases our concern for our children and young people, many of whom are inclined to believe whatever they see in print. They have not yet learned to mistrust the world, and these articles with their elaborate pictures are apt to make a lasting impression on their plastic minds.
Briefly stated, "Man Inherits the Earth" is the old hypothesis of evolution retold in dramatic style. It is man, ignorant of the Scriptures and the power of God, trying to account for the earth and man's presence on it in such a manner as to preclude God. In substance, it is a flat denial of the Holy Scriptures—it is infidelity in academic garb. Science as such (not all scientific men, for some have been truehearted believers) knows not God. Science knows nothing and can know nothing of the power that originated, it ignores the First Cause, and shirks ordinarily even the final causes which might summon heed to a first cause.
The daring article says that man "is haunted by the disquieting recognition of his unmistakable kinship with the lower orders of vertebrates, mammals and primates with which he shares the crowded habitats of earth." Perhaps the authors and editors speak for themselves, but we wonder if they would not find it much more disquieting to believe that a holy and all-wise God created them and that to Him they must give account of their thoughts, words, and deeds. The true Christian knows that he is not related to any lower orders, but that man was God's crowning creation for this scene, and that while man has fallen and degraded himself, yet the second Man, the Lord from heaven, is going to clear this world by judgment (then where shall the ungodly and scoffers appear?) and reign to God's glory. Man is not a highly developed ape or any other evolutionary product; he was created in the image and likeness of God. The Scriptures speak of man, and Immanuel—the first man who fell, and the second Man who will right everything.
Perhaps the article tells the abject truth when it says, that "Philosophers and theologians... accept the fact of man's relationship to animals and his physical evolution from them, finding no point of conflict with the religious concepts of divinity and immortality. 'Today,' observed the famous Baptist minister, the Revelation Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, 'the general idea of evolution is taken for granted as gravitation is.' " Of philosophers we have not much to say; the philosophy of the world has undergone continual change and revision, and much of it died before its inventors did. Some of it would not be printable. Philosophy knows not God, and many of its devotees are of the class who say, "There is no God." We can dismiss this class with pity and the plaintive wish: "O that they were wise, that they understood this." Deut. 32:2929O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end! (Deuteronomy 32:29).
But apostasy that reaches into the pulpit and shamelessly seeks to overthrow the Word of God can only be classed with the kiss of Judas. Men who have made their livelihood as "ministers of the gospel" dare to undermine the very faith that they profess to uphold. This is not confined to one man; their number is legion. Well did the Lord say to a ministerial class who in His day rejected Him and His word, "Woe unto you" for "ye shall receive the greater damnation." Matt. 23:1414Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. (Matthew 23:14). Titles and degrees will not shield one from the wrath to come, for there is no respect of persons with God (Rom. 2:1111For there is no respect of persons with God. (Romans 2:11)). These men profess to have greater light than the masses, and they shall be judged by their profession. "That servant, which knew his lord's will,... neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes." Luke 12:4747And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. (Luke 12:47).
The seeking to bolster the evolutionary doctrine by giving imposing lists of doctors of one kind and another as its endorsers will avail nothing against the plain Word of God. It is simply man's word against God's. Well may we say with the Apostle, "Nay but, 0 man, who art thou that repliest against God?" Rom. 9:2020Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? (Romans 9:20). People may have God's Word with its perfect assurance about things past, present, and future, or have man's theories of evolution with his conjectures of the past, "disquieting" thoughts in the present, and nothing but dismal forebodings about the future. We cannot have God's Word and evolution; they are not compatible.
Furthermore, you cannot have the Bible minus the book of Genesis, and thus escape the grand foundation of God's creatorial work and the consequent responsibility of man, because the statements of Genesis are reiterated over and over, or are tacitly acknowledged, in one book after another of both the Old and the New Testaments. Cut off Genesis and you must necessarily reject the Old Testament in toto. Then how about the New Testament? The same rule applies to it. In Luke's Gospel the genealogy is traced back to Adam as the first man; in Matt. 19:44And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, (Matthew 19:4) the Lord Jesus reminds the Pharisees that "He which made them at the beginning made them male and female"; the Apostle Paul in Rom. 5:1212Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12) says, "As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.... Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses"; and in 1 Cor. 15:4545And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. (1 Corinthians 15:45), "The first man Adam was made a living soul"; and again in 1 Tim. 2:1313For Adam was first formed, then Eve. (1 Timothy 2:13), "For Adam was first formed, then Eve." We could go on multiplying scriptures, but sufficient have been quoted to prove that the whole Word of God stands or falls together, You simply cannot have the evolution of man in any degree or manner and keep the Word of God. All attempts to reconcile the two are utterly futile and demonstrate that they are but the offspring of the wicked heart of unbelief.
The apologists who meekly try to explain that Scripture is not to be taken literally when "science falsely so-called" opposes it, and that it is only a record of something that was generally believed in the day in which it was written, are scarcely better than the avowed infidels who attack it frontally. We say it with emphasis, The Bible is the inspired Word of God and is entirely worthy of Him who gave it. To impute any error to it on the ground that its writings were influenced by the fallacies of other days is truly reprehensible. Those who follow such reasoning must of necessity state that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and His called apostles, knowingly perpetuated false notions, or else were ignorant of that whereof they spoke. What will God do to one who thus insults His beloved Son and His own Word? "Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar." Rom. 3:44God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. (Romans 3:4).
Remember too that the Word of God does not need the defense of men. To attempt to defend it is more folly than to seek to defend a lion among lambs. It has stood for generations in spite of all the assaults of men lacking in faith. Another has said that "it is an anvil which has worn out many a hammer." It needs no light from men any more than the sun requires the light of a candle. To speak of science being needed to confirm it is crass folly. The Word of God is truth, and if science agrees with it, then so much the better for science; otherwise, science is unqualifiedly wrong.
The Bible is not a scientific textbook; it is the book given by God to tell man his origin, his fall, his ruined state, the judgment to come, of the Lord Jesus who came into this world to save sinners, and of the only way of escape from judgment, which is through faith in Him and His atoning death on the cross of Calvary. Nevertheless, whenever the Bible crosses any scientific path, it is truth, and nothing less, on the points it touches. It is "impossible for God to lie." Heb. 6:1818That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: (Hebrews 6:18).
"Man Inherits the Earth" speaks of various and sundry "prehistoric humans." Their list does not include the "Piltdown Man" which was usually included a few years ago, and which many anthropologists believed a genuine find, but he has been proved to be a hoax. (See tract, "The Piltdown Man," obtainable from the publishers.) It is interesting to follow some of the amazing claims made regarding the finds of these "prehistoric men." The magazine article refers to the "Neanderthal Man" as "the best known and most ubiquitous of prehistoric humans," yet Henry M. Morris, Ph. D., Head of Civil Engineering, Southwestern Louisiana Institute, Lafayette, Louisiana, says, "The original Neanderthal Man consisted of a skull-cap, which was attested by various experts to be that of an ape-man, a negro, an idiot, a modern Cossack, an early German, and several other things." All the anthropologist needs is a few fragments of bones scattered over a wide area, plus a fertile brain and vivid imagination, and he can construct his man. But "the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." 1 Cor. 3:1919For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. (1 Corinthians 3:19). "Vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt." Job 11:1212For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt. (Job 11:12).
One of the "prehistoric" subhuman creatures that science has "discovered," and which "Man Inherits the Earth" refers to, is Pithecanthropus. Let us refer to Dr. Henry M. Morris again. He says: "The most notorious of all is the famous Pithecanthropus Erectus, found in Java in 1891 and 1892. This find consisted of a part of a skull-cap, a fragment of a left thigh-bone, and three molar teeth. These parts were not found together but within a range of some fifty feet. They were not found at the same time but within the space of a year apart. They were found in an old river bed, far below high water mark, mingled with much debris and many bones of extinct animals. The skull-cap was pronounced by most paleontologists who examined it to be distinctly that of a large ape or gibbon. The teeth and thighbone were uncertain; some said ape, some said human, some said ape-man. In recent years, the Dutch scientist who discovered it, Dr. Dubois, has reversed his former opinion as to the missing link character of his find and now believes it to be the remains of some form of gibbon. Yet this is universally acclaimed by evolutionists as one of the outstanding proofs of man's evolution, if not the outstanding proof." Is it not apparent to any open-minded person that the hypothesis of evolution is built on a foundation of quicksand? The true believer in the Lord Jesus and in the sure Word of God is not credulous enough to believe these vain imaginings which grow in the fertile soil of an evil heart of unbelief.
On one page of the reviewed article we read: "Man has not only ceased to evolve in any major way, he has persisted in his ancient form.... Modern man remains a member of one single, durable, flourishing species." We are glad to see the article admitted that man is not evolving today, but what else could they do on this point? They would be asked for evidence of evolution's being at work and they could not produce it; but when they talk in hundreds of thousands, and even millions, of years, they can say what they like, for they know that none of us were there to disprove their sayings. But they overlook the reckoning they will have to give to Him who was there.
If the unfounded and unproved theory of evolution is to be forthwith rejected, is the staunch Christian left to the alternative of believing something that will not stand scrutiny in the light of true scientific facts? No, not by any means. We can stand on "Thy word is true from the beginning." Psalm 119:160160Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. (Psalm 119:160). There is no conflict between the Word of God and any fact known or unknown to science; but when it comes to explaining the origin of life and species, science should stop and confess ignorance, for that is beyond its domain. The Bible proclaims the truth from God. In a remarkable manner the Scriptures steer clear of all error and are thoroughly consistent with all established scientific facts, although they do not leave their own spiritual ground to occupy the reader with physics. They are not given to teach science and are independent of philosophy for their intelligence, but they are only rightly understood through the Holy Spirit, who also communicated them. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 -Cor. 2:14.
Gen. 1 needs to be better understood by Christians. In verse 1 it is plainly and unequivocally stated that "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." This He did by divine fiat, and we, who believe that He brought it into being from things which do not appear, understand "that the worlds were framed by the word of God" (Heb. 11:33Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Hebrews 11:3)). When this was, we are not told; suffice it to say, "In the beginning." There was a beginning of this creation.
The second verse of Gen. 1 states a fact relating to a condition in which it was found at the time that God began to prepare it for the habitation of man: "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep." He did not create it in this condition. Isa. 45 tells us that "He created it not in vain," and that word is the same in the original text as the void of Gen. 1:2. Scripture lets us know that God did not create it a void with waters covering it. How long this condition lasted we do not know, nor would it have any bearing on our relationship with God if we did. But between the first verse of Gen. 1 and the beginning of the second verse, the geologists can put all the conjectured and known time of the geological ages.
The Scriptures do not teach that there were not certain geological ages, and leave a place into which to put them, although they are not the object before the Spirit of God who would occupy us with the fact of God's creatorial work in the universe, and in man, so as to show man his responsible relationship to his Creator. There are certain facts which point to great changes in earth and sea, and these repeatedly varied. There have been conditions on this earth with which nothing can now compare. There were great differences in climate, and various stages had their respective flora and fauna—that too exactly suited to the then conditions. There were whole groups of organisms on this earth prior to man's being put on it, which evidently came to an end, while others, quite distinct, succeeded them and were extinguished in turn. Great upheavals rent the earth, and gigantic changes took place, compared with which the changes since man was placed on earth have been small indeed.
Why God allowed the various phases of the earth, we are not told; but will anyone dare to say that God could not and did not create the various forms of animal and vegetable life which are today found fossilized and imbedded in the rocks? And could He not have created some animals and vegetation which were the same or closely resembled those of the preceding condition of the earth? Surely He could! And what if some lower rocks show a lower order of life than a higher strata, does that thereby prove evolution? Certainly not. God gave each the form of life suited to the condition in which the earth was.
But absolutely nowhere is there evidence that man was here on earth in the preceding ages, all the claims and counterclaims of scientists notwithstanding. Gen. 1 goes on to describe the preparing of the chaotic earth for man's residence. This was accomplished in six days of 24 hours each. The chaos described in verse 2 was evidently the last condition of the pre-Adamic earth.
God, doubtless, had man in view in the past ages, such as the carboniferous era when the vast: coal beds were laid down so that man would have the fuel so necessary for warmth for himself, and other uses. Then think of the storehouse of minerals and chemicals which the earth is, and these too placed within the reach of man. Instead of having the thoughts of blind unbelief and atheism, let us praise God and say, "O Lord how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all. The earth is full of Thy riches." Psalm 104:2424O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. (Psalm 104:24).
But again we affirm that man was not here in the past ages which can be placed between the first and second verses of Gen. 1 The earth was then readied for man, and he was created to rule it—alas, he sinned and brought in misery, ruin, and death, but God rose above all his sin and gave His beloved Son to take the sinner's place and suffer in his stead, that everyone who believes in Him might have a new form of life, eternal life, in His Son.
"For man, O miracle of grace,
For man the Savior bled."
We must leave part of our review for another issue, but trust that what we have written will strengthen faith and encourage the saints of God to peruse their Bibles more. Scripture abides while science changes and corrects itself from generation to generation.