Feedback: Saved By Grace…And Evolution?
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, August 11, 2025 (Donate)
I am responding to a letter that staunchly opposes the creation view and hold that God used evolution. The writer goes so far as to say that holding to a creation view is based on one giant sin. Here is the letter, and my response.
Creationwise by Dan Lietha; Image from Presentation Library
Letter,
unedited:
I am a Christian, and
so I do not mislead you I disagree scientifically with your beliefs. However, I
don't care if you think the earth is a few thousand years old. I don't care if
you reject evolution. We are both saved by the grace of God. However, I cannot
help but feel that this movement is based on one giant sin. It is clear, very
clear, especially in Paul's epistles, that the entire purpose of the Church is
to spread the word, to bring people to God, to give Him glory. First, who gets
glory out of this grand theory? Not God. No, rejecting evolution does not give
glory to God, because evolution IS COMPATIBLE with God, even if you believe it
to be wrong. Secondly, I am witnessing to people in pain, people who NEED
Christ, but these people are thinkers, and they have been presented the face of
Christianity that YOU PRESENT. They are disgusted! Why should we be hindering
the spread of the Gospel over a LESS THAN FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH? Teach God's love,
the cross, mercy- those are TRUE
K.N., U.S.
Response:
I am a
Christian, and so I do not mislead you I disagree scientifically with your
beliefs.
Thanks for
being up front about your belief system (i.e., theistic evolution as can be
determined in your email). Please see my comments done by point-by-point style
below. I pray this response will help you realize the importance of accepting all of God’s Word—including the book of
Genesis. My comments are said with sincerity.
However,
I don't care if you think the earth is a few thousand years old. I don't care
if you reject evolution.
Then
why send the email if you don’t care?
We are
both saved by the grace of God.
Of course we
are both saved if we’ve called upon Christ in the Bible to be our Savior.
But what are you saved from? I assume you would say “sin.” But what is sin? The
book of Genesis provides the definition: disobedience to God’s commands. A
literal man (Adam) disobeyed a literal command of God (Genesis 2:15–17) and
suffered the consequences (Genesis
3). And we all sin too because we all sinned in Adam and continue
to sin.
Within the evolutionary,
millions-of-years evolutionary paradigm, there is no Adam and thus no first sin. Furthermore, in this view, death is
not the punishment for sin (contrary to Genesis
3:19), but has existed for millions of years. In this scenario,
why do you need Christ to save you from sin and death as that would be a
natural part of creation? Such a position undermines the gospel. Even atheists
understand this point:
“Christianity has fought, still fights, and
will continue to fight science to the desperate end over evolution, because
evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus’ earthly life was
supposedly made necessary. Destroy Adam and Eve and the original sin, and in
the rubble you will find the sorry remains of the Son of God. If Jesus was not
the redeemer who died for our sins, and this is what evolution means, then
Christianity is nothing.”
However,
I cannot help but feel that this movement is based on one giant sin.
Feelings are
not the measure of truth or the standard that determines what sin is. God’s
Word is.
It is
clear, very clear, especially in Paul's epistles, that the entire purpose of
the Church
But these
three purposes mentioned below do not comprise the entire purpose of the
Church. I suggest a search for the word “church” in the Bible to give you an
idea of a few other important roles. For example, the church is to pray (Acts 12:5), settle
disputes (Matthew 18:17,
1 Corinthians 6:4),
and so on.
is to
spread the word,
Why spread the
Word if you don't even believe it in the first place (e.g., Genesis)?
Since you
brought up Paul, then consider that he used a creation-evangelism message when
he preached on Mars Hill (Acts
17:22–31). The concept isn’t original to us: we follow his
example and spread God’s Word and the good news of Jesus Christ beginning in
Genesis. Christ first (the Creator—Colossians 1:16); Christ
last and throughout (Savior, Ruler and Sustainer of His creation).
Exhibit of Paul writing in an old Creation Museum display; Picture by Bodie Hodge
A theistic
evolutionist has no choice but to reject the plain teachings in Genesis 1–11,
as these chapters clearly stand opposed to molecules-to-man evolution. When
Genesis 1–11 is deemed myth or allegorized, what happens? In addition to there
being no basis for the gospel, there is also no basis for clothing (Genesis 3), for death
being an enemy (Genesis 3, 1 Corinthians 15:26), for marriage (Genesis 1-2,
Matthew 19:4-5), and so on.
If we are
being chastised for preaching the Word in Genesis and not going along with the
world, when it rejects Genesis, well, then, thanks for the compliment! We would
rather trust what God said He did and encourage others to do the same.
to bring
people to God,
One thing
should be noted—we don’t bring people to the Lord. In fact, no human does. We
provide witness, testimonies, and answers, but only the Spirit can convict and
regenerate the sinner (1 Corinthians 12:3, Romans 10:17). We are working to
help people come to know the Lord, but it is the work of Lord that really
saves.
So there is a
difference, we can’t force people into believing (John 6:44). The gospel is the primary reason
for why we minister as we do. And we have seen many people come to Christ
because they discover that the Bible can be trusted from the very first verse.
to give
Him glory.
Our hope is to
always give glory to God in all that we do. We would not do what we do if that
weren't our goal. But what about the other goals of the church and there are
too many to list but one is teach people to believe what is set forth in the
Bible…every thought included (Matthew 28:20, 2 Corinthians 10:5).
First,
who gets glory out of this grand theory? Not God.
I take it that
this “grand theory” that you are referring to is biblical creation (God created
supernaturally, made man from dust, made woman from man, made a “very good”
world without death or suffering; man sins, and death and suffering enter the
creation [hence we need a Savior]; a worldwide Flood destroys the wicked, and
Noah, his wife, and his three sons and their wives were saved on an Ark to
repopulate the earth, etc.).
Such teachings simply come from Genesis, God’s
Word. This is not a theory; this is what God said happened, an eyewitness
account. Who is anyone to question what God said and put our trust in imperfect
human speculations about the past?
Certainly
there are creationist models that we base on the biblical account, such
as catastrophic plate tectonics, but you'll notice that we don't take a firm
stance on any model—even creationist ones. The only thing we stand on is the account
(not theory) of Genesis 1–11, and the authority of Scripture as a whole. How
can teaching others to trust God’s Word not be honoring to Him and bring
Him glory?
No,
rejecting evolution does not give glory to God,
Perhaps I
don’t follow your logic: telling people that God was wrong in Genesis somehow
gives God glory but telling people that God is correct in Genesis doesn’t give
Him glory? This is illogical. David presented this psalm:
Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all
peoples (1 Chronicles 16:24, NKJV).
Declaring
God’s glory and His marvelous deeds doesn’t entail pretending God did something
other than what He recorded in Genesis. God is correct in all things that He
speaks, including origins. In fact, throughout the psalms David worshipped God
and gave Him glory specifically because of His deeds of creation (as Job did).
because
evolution IS COMPATIBLE with God,
Which “god”
are you referring to here? The God of the Bible, who says what He did in
Genesis, openly disagrees with molecules-to-man evolution. A god of a
millions-of-years-old earth is a god of death, not the God of life and God of
love that Scripture teaches.
Applying attributes of such a false god to the God
of the Bible demeans the character and nature of God. It would also mean that
an all-good, all-powerful, truthful God deceived Israelites and Christians, who
loved and trusted Him for thousands of years, all the while waiting for atheists to “interpret”
Genesis properly for us? It is better to trust God than men (Psalm 118:8).
I understand
that you, like most of us who work in ministry have been taught evolution,
whether in public schools, government influence, or the media. But holding it in such high regard over
the Word of God is not good theology. The false belief system of evolution that
has been promoted for 150 years has subtly crept into many Christians’
thinking, and it is time to get back to God’s Word and not be deceived. God's
Word is sufficient.
In these past
150 years, many once-Christian universities become atheistic upon the
acceptance of evolution; public schools have become atheistic upon acceptance
of evolution with prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Bible removed from the
classroom; nations that were largely Christian have become largely atheistic
upon acceptance of evolution (England for example); evolution was a driving force in the actions of Hitler, Stalin, and other mass murderers. After such a
history, what would possibly make someone think that evolution provides a
foundation to lead people to Christ?
even if
you believe it to be wrong.
It is not a
matter of what I believe, but a matter of what God says.
Secondly,
I am witnessing to people in pain, people who NEED Christ,
As do I. And I point to many resources on the subject to give people answers. In an
evolutionary perspective, death, pain, and suffering existed long before man, was a tool God used, and was something God would have called “very good” (if
one allegorizes Genesis): so God would be responsible for it or perhaps
powerless to do anything about it in an atheistic evolutionary view. So why are
you spending time dealing with people in pain if pain, suffering and death is
good in the atheistic perspective?
However, in Genesis 3, we find that
man’s sin is responsible for death entering the creation (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12). God is not
to blame but man’s actions are. Death (and all that accompanies it—pain,
suffering, disease, sickness, cancer, tears, heartbreak) is an intrusion
into God’s creation; death is described as an enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26) that
will be removed (Revelation
21:4).
This is all
the more reason to realize that Jesus came to save us from the problem we, as
mankind, caused in the first place. The beautiful hope is that through
receiving the free gift of eternal life provided for by the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ (our Creator!), we can look forward to a time when
the curse God placed on His creation (Genesis
3; Romans
8:18–21) is no more. To a time when there will be no more pain,
tears, heartbreak, death (Revelation
21:1–5, 22:3), as it was in the beginning.
If Genesis
isn’t true, then what answers can one really give sinners for their pain? “That's the way
God created things”? “Pain is a part of the process that God used to bring
about His creation”? “Death is a very natural and good part of God’s creation”?
“Tears are part of the evolutionary process as we struggle to survive in this
dog-eat-dog world that God created”? If a professing Christian is consistent with the “millions of
years” evolutionary mindset, this is what that person must say to those to which they are witnessing. How sad and hurtful.
but these
people are thinkers,
What do you
mean by “thinkers”? As opposed to creation scientists and those with advanced
degrees? Or general creationists, which, statistically speaking, run the gamut
of intellectual prowess, as any subset of society does?
The Bible says all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Christ (Colossians 2:2–3). Jesus quoted Genesis 1 and
Genesis 2 when explaining the basis of marriage (Mathew 19 and Mark 10). Jesus pointed out that marriage
between a male and female has been around since the beginning of creation. This is obviously in
contradiction with theistic evolution that doesn’t have man on the scene until
billions of years after “the beginning.” Have these “thinkers” thought through
that?
and they
have been presented the face of Christianity that YOU PRESENT.
So, they’ve
been presented with the biblical view that an all-good God made everything
“very good” (Genesis 1:3;
Deuteronomy 32:4)
and justly cursed His creation as He said He would because of man’s sin (Genesis 3), which caused
death and suffering to come into the world (Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22). And, that a loving
Savior stepped into history to save us from that sin, death, and suffering (John 3:16; Revelation 21:4)? Good.
This is the gospel.
They are
disgusted!
What face of
Christianity would they like, then? One that isn't real? One with a sadistic,
sloppy god who uses the process that kills the undesirables, helpless, old, and
feeble? And what of those who have been presented with theistic evolution who
have thereafter left the church? Compromising the Word of God to try to win the
unsaved is a dangerous way to go. They are being sold, not converted, by
tickling ears (2 Timothy 4:3).
Paul became all things to all people, but he did not give up his foundation, rooted
in the Old Testament.
Why would they
be disgusted with a perfect God who loves us enough to take the punishment we
deserve upon Himself and who offers a free gift of salvation? One reason they
are disgusted may be because the gospel doesn’t “fit” with their current
preconceived belief system. They are challenged. They would have to repent and
change their beliefs that they have been taught much of their life and possibly change their way of life.
Although they may believe
they would be committing intellectual suicide, that simply is not so. Paul
often encountered people who also didn’t like biblical teachings, but he didn’t
water down or change his message. For example, he didn’t tell the Greeks to
just add Christ to the multitudes of mythological gods they already worshipped. On the contrary, Paul said:
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. (2 Corinthians 10:5–6; ESV).
Why
should we be hindering the spread of the Gospel over a LESS THAN FUNDAMENTAL
TRUTH?
This is the wrong way around. If one is telling people that God is wrong in Genesis and
that God is a god of death with tumors, carnivory, thorns, pain, and suffering
in the fossil record, and then they try to tell people that God is love? This is
inconsistent within itself, and certainly with Scripture, and is, in fact,
hindering the gospel, since billions-of-years thinking is a stumbling block for
many.
It is illogical to completely
remove the foundation for the gospel and then expect people to believe it anyway. If a
builder came to me and tried to get me buy a house, and I asked, “What
foundation does the house have, brick or block?” How do you think I would react
if the builder said: “Neither, I’ll build it on sand on the beach for you.”
This is essentially the warning that Jesus gave in the parable of the man
building a house on shifting sand. If we don't put our trust in God's Word—all
of it—what basis do we have for our belief? Man's ideas about the past are
shifting sand. They have changed. God’s Word has not. And as the church has
moved with the shifting sand, it has lost its credibility. That is a face of
Christianity that is harmful.
The foundation
for the gospel is Genesis, not the evolutionary myth. The good news of Jesus Christ goes back to the bad
news in Genesis. This is why Paul, when discussing the gospel, relates Christ
as the Last Adam, comparing Him to the first Adam in Genesis:
And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a
living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45, NKJV).
This is why
Paul relates the doctrine of the sin-death relationship back to the first man
in Genesis:
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world,
and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12, NKJV).
Teach
God's love, the cross, mercy- those are TRUE
Yes, those
are. But the position taken in this letter is that other parts of God’s Word isn’t true or worthwhile. God is the truth (John 14:6),
and His Word is truth (John
17:17). If you really love God, then love His Word. When you love
His Word, then you have a basis for the cross and for mercy. God mercifully
offers us what we don’t deserve: salvation through His Son Jesus Christ, the
perfect sacrifice for sin, and the hope that our bodies will be glorified and
curse-free in the future.
What basis does one use for deciding which part is to be read as is and which part is to be
glossed over? If that is what you teach others, I would expect them to further
question the parts that you say are essential. For example, why believe
in the virginal conception? Or the sinless life of Christ? Or His resurrection?
After all, any “thinking” person knows these things can’t happen (of course, these aren't a problem for an all-knowing and all-powerful God!). And down the
slippery slope one could easily continue.
There is no
need to combine the false religion of evolution with God’s Word. Was Aaron
praised for making a calf that was intended to represent the true God? Did Paul
allow the early church to enforce the Hebrew practice of circumcision? Were the
Israelites praised for worshipping Baal rather than or even in addition to God?
I see the same relationship here.
It's time to give up holding on to the false religion of
our day (molecules-to-man evolution), and the disbelief about what God says in Genesis. It is time to return to the authority of
the Word of God:
Professing to be
wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an
image made like corruptible man—and birds and four–footed animals and creeping
things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts,
to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for
the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is
blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 1:22–25, NKJV)
In kindness in
Christ,
For more responses like this see Bodie Hodge's Confound the Critics book:
Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.
Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.
Originally at Answers in Genesis; Edited; Republished
by permission.
