A notable idol of the evolutionists has been demolished; one supposed evidence of man's ape ancestry called the "Piltdown Man" has been exposed as a "most elaborate and carefully prepared hoax." The fraud was revealed by Dr. K. P. Oakley, of the British Museum, and two Oxford University professors, Dr. J. E. Weiner and Dr. W. E. Le Gros Clark.
Inasmuch as our children in schools and colleges are still being taught that man is not a creature direct from the hand of God, but is merely a product of evolution that has worked its way up from the brute beast, we shall consider the subject of evolution briefly.
Evolution is not new or modern. It is one of the oldest fallacies of fallen man. The late Sir William Dawson of McGill University said, "This evolutionist doctrine is in itself one of the strangest phenomena of humanity. It existed, and most naturally, in the oldest philosophy and poetry in connection with the crudest and most uncritical attempts of the human mind to grasp the system of nature." It was in the world long before Christianity and then was forgotten for a long time. It was resurrected about 100 years ago and offered to the unsuspecting in a new garb as being something modern and scientific.
Some people have tried to reconcile evolution and the Bible, but they are irreconcilable; they are diametrically opposed, the one to the other. Evolution has its roots in atheism and, at the same time, evolution itself is the fertile soil in which atheism, infidelity, modernism, liberalism, materialism, fascism, a n d Marxism have grown and flourished.
In spite of the fact that evolution is accepted without question or debate in many educational and pseudo Christian circles, it rests on pillars of sand. Though it is often taught as a "fact," it is not a fact but a mere hypothesis- a mere human guess-nevertheless, it has been sought after and welcomed as the most plausible alternative to the Biblical account of the creation, the origin of living beings, and of man in particular. Let us take note of what Prof. D. M. S. Watson of the University of London said when addressing the British Association for the Advancement of Science: "Evolution itself is accepted by zoologists not because it has been observed to occur or... can be proved by logical coherent evidence to be true, but because the only alternative, special creation, is clearly incredible." Incredible! Think of it! To whom is it incredible? Not to the Christian. Is it not the fool that says in his heart, "There is no God"? (Psa. 14:1; 53:11<<To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.>> The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. (Psalm 14:1)
1<<To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David.>> The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. (Psalm 53:1)).
Charles Darwin, the man who helped exhume the old evolutionary mythology and give it impetus, spent three years at Cambridge studying for the ministry (he was then orthodox in his views, but orthodoxy alone is not faith), but later wrote, "I do not believe that there ever has been any revelation." Orthodoxy and his evolutionary views were clearly incompatible, so he abandoned the former, and since his day the orthodox nominal beliefs of millions have been shipwrecked on the Lorelei rock of evolution.
The hypothesis of evolution is based on five considerations, all of which are subject to scientific contradiction, but when once men have rejected the sublime statement, "God created," as being "incredible" they will not suffer any refutation of their pet theory. It more severely taxes credulity to believe in an unproved idea of the origin of life and of the various species than to believe that an all-wise and all-powerful Creator brought them into being; but to admit the latter is to accept the premise that man is therefore responsible to that Creator and must give account of himself and all he does. This is what is unacceptable. Then too, those who unquestioningly accept in faith the evolutionist doctrine, rest themselves in the word of MEN, while the true Christian rests in the word of GOD.
It is not our purpose to refute all the claims of evolution, but merely to point out that it is easily assailable, and to call attention to its origin in the evil heart of unbelief in men. We might, however, mention briefly some of the five propositions on which it rests. First, there is the similarity of the anatomy of various creatures, but what does that prove? Certainly the anatomy of each creature is ideally suited to itself, and any similarity of design is but evidence of the handiwork of the same wise Creator. Even structures built by men bear the marks of their designers, though men are great copyists, yet no one supposes for a moment that similarity in the works of men proves that one structure evolved by itself from another one.
There are scientists who have struck deadly blows at this first proposition as well as at the other four; namely, embryonic recapitulation, geological record, blood precipitation, and so-called vestigial organs. This last supposes that creatures in their evolution upward have some leftover organs from their old condition, and that they are no longer needed. Evolutionists at one time had a list of 180 such organs, but as man's knowledge of their uses increased, the list has been constantly revised downward until today it only has about six on it. And who shall say that any organ of the body is vestigial? Those who have done so have but displayed their ignorance.
When Prof. W. E. Le Gros Clark of Oxford University (already mentioned as one of the exposers of the Piltdown fraud) was speaking about the human appendix (often considered vestigial), he said, "The significance of the vermiform appendix is still obscure, but in view of its rich blood supply it is most certainly correct to regard it as a specialized and not a degenerate organ." Further testimony is given by Prof. William L. Straus, Jr., of Johns Hopkins University, in the following words: "There is no longer any justification for regarding the vermiform appendix as a vestigial structure."
Not long ago human tonsils were regarded as useless, but they are now considered very important in performing protective functions against bacterial infection in early childhood. Another man of note, the late Prof. E. S. Goodrich of Oxford University, stated that, "He would be a rash man indeed who would now assert that any part of the human body is useless."
It is difficult for us to see how evolution can even be considered with the sciences, for science is the study and classification of observed facts and rules; whereas the proponents of evolution start with the foregone conclusion that the Biblical occount of the creation of life and species by God is incredible, if not impossible. Hence, instead of starting with some known fact, they begin with a preconceived idea, and work desperately to find some proof of their infidel theory. Surely it is an unscientific approach to the problem of life itself. They have often sought to find a trail where one never existed, and then lead their followers into a blind alley, for when they conjecture on the various forms of life on back and down, lower and lower, they finally come up against the same problem with which they started; namely, where did that life come from? Truly, "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).
Another phase in the evolutionist's indefatigable search for proof of his own theory is found in the straining after evidences in the animal and vegetable kingdoms by developing new varieties. Here again reputable scientists have exposed the fallacy of much that is claimed. What constitutes a species is a great question which often goes unanswered, and such changes as are forced by X ray and other drastic means (called mutations), are said by some men of note to be always bad, and down, not up.
Perhaps the best known of the supposed "evidences" of evolution are the often publicized findings of anthropology. Many fantastic claims have been made of finding fossilized skeletons which show a transitional stage between the lower anthropoids and man, but not a single "missing link" has ever been unearthed.
About the time that Darwin propounded his theory (1859), naturalists and geologists conveniently began finding certain parts of human and simian skeletons. With great ingenuity and dexterity they set about placing bones together and making amazing calculations. Then with the air of official authority these leaders in the race to prove that man is but a self-improved beast gave imposing names to their relics. But for all that, many prominent men have given utterances of their own skepticism. Prof. William L. Straus, Jr., in the Quarterly Review of Biology (Sept. 1949), said, "It is noteworthy, moreover, that forms intermediate between the human and any of the other primate groups, forms popularly termed 'missing links,' are as conspicuous by their absence as they were in Darwin's day." And this after almost a century of effort! We can only conclude that the only reason they did not find any such fossils is that there are none. Prof. Rendle Short said that "the further back we look for early man, the more like ourselves he appears to be."
Yes, Christian reader, Adam was the first man, and God created him. If he could stand today beside the human race as we know it, we would only see that man's sin and departure from God have taken a dreadful toll, and that what change there has been has been downward, and not upward.
No Christian should ever waver the slightest in his allegiance to the unerring and infallible Word of God, in spite of such claims of convincing "finds" called by such imposing names as "Pithecanthropus Erectus," or "Java Man." This supposed prehistoric man was constructed from a part of a skull cap, a fragment of a left thigh bone, and three molar teeth! These few fragments of bone were found in 1891 and 1892 in an old river bed over a considerable area, and were mingled with much debris. It would take a lot of credulity to believe that these few bones came from the same creature, or that from them anyone could reconstruct a whole skeleton, much less cover it with an imitation of flesh.
The famous "Neanderthal Man" was but a skull cap, perhaps of an odd shape and size. The same men that because of any peculiarity of that piece of skull judge it to be a pre- human piece of evidence would not have much trouble finding all sorts of odd-shaped skulls on living human beings, but of course that would not help the cause of evolution.
The "Piltdown Man" found in a gravel pit in Sussex, England, in 1911 and later, has now been proved to be a deliberate and carefully prepared hoax. All they had of this "man" was a substantial part of the left half of a mineralized skull, a part of the right half, and the right half of the lower jaw, and two teeth. The Encyclopedia Brittanica called the "Piltdown Man" second in importance only to that of Pithecanthropus Erectus (Java Man), but alas, this great "find" was a fraud. The jawbone was that of an ape that died only 50 years ago, and as no apes live in England, it must have been imported and planted. The teeth were canine, and had been pared down to disguise their original shape. Both the teeth and piece of jawbone had been artificially colored with bichromate of potash. Even the tools which that odd fellow was supposed to have used were fakes.
And yet, with only these few fragments of a human skull, a part of an ape's jawbone, and two canine teeth, scientists (?) reconstructed the head and neck of this weird individual, giving it shape, size, eyes, expression, appearance of skin, hair, and all. (That would be impossible to do with any correctness to a whole skeleton of one who died a few years ago.) It is estimated that there are 300 replicas of this "Piltdown Man" in museums and other places around the world. Surely most people want to be fooled, and others prey on their gullibility.
Many other "evidences" of evolution have been made out of a very little material, an unbridled imagination, and a will opposed to God and His revelation. In 1922 The late Prof. H. F. Osborn of the American Museum of Natural History announced the discovery of a molar tooth in the State of Nebraska. The discovery was heralded as the first evidence of prehistoric man in the new world, and the lone tooth soon received the imposing name of "Hesperopithecus." Then Sir Grafton Elliott Smith induced the editor of the Illustrated London News to publish an article on this ancestor of the human race, illustrated by drawings of Hesperopithecus, both male and female. Think of it-two primitive people—male and female-made out of a single tooth! And yet these people who do these things scoff at the faith of a Christian who believes the divine record which cannot lie. Subsequently, Dr. Osborn came to the conclusion that the tooth was that of an extinct pig. Is there any folly too great when the will is set against God? (Rom. 1:2222Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, (Romans 1:22)).
Many museums of natural history contain numerous exhibits that are made out of little or nothing, but which the unsuspecting receive as authentic, and are deceived thereby. It is even inferred in many quarters that to disbelieve in evolution is to show signs of being an ignoramus, but "let God be true and every man a liar." It is sad that young people in schools and colleges generally are given only one side of the story and do not learn that evolution has never been proved, that it is but an unscientific guess begotten by pseudo science and atheistic philosophy.
Perhaps the most lamentable feature in all the present- day delusion is that Christendom in general has accepted it, and that many institutions which were once dedicated to the service of God have revised their theology to conform to this atheistic and unsupported hypothesis. Truly men are already being given over to believe a lie because they will not have the truth (2 Thess. 2:11, 1211And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:11‑12)).
In all probability the teaching of evolution has been a major underlying factor in precipitating the two great world wars, and also in producing the present world tension over communism, with the attendant increasing lawlessness in all countries.
Prof. Will Durant of the University of California said that "Nietzsche was the child of Darwin." Darwin's famous treatise, "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, and the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life," laid the groundwork for the atheist Nietzsche's teaching of the need of war, and the survival of a super race of men. It was this that gave strength to German militarism and led to two world wars. Mussolini was also a disciple of the German Nietzsche.
Nietzsche and Karl Marx were both contemporary with Darwin, and both were influenced by him. The atheist Marx gave the world communism and anarchism which so plagues it today. An appalling crop is being reaped from the seeds sown a century ago, and more are being sown, with more reaping to come. The universal breakdown of law, order, and morality is largely attributable to this same source.
Evolution denies the fall of man and makes his sins virtues. Anything that is bad is charged up to his brute ancestors, and so man is absolved of responsibility. Then too, if man is not the direct creature of God, human responsibility to God disappears; hence the atheistic evolutionary theory encourages a man to feel that he may do as he likes in this world, for there is no fear of judgment to come. But "God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing." Eccles. 12:1414For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:14). The schools, colleges, and many churches, and the Freudian school of psychology are preparing the way for an era of godless disregard for everything stable and right, and a time of terror for the earth. "GOD IS NOT MOCKED." Gal. 6:77Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6:7).
It is not surprising that evolutionists are already rallying to support their theory by disclaiming any real importance of the "Piltdovvn Man." They may be expected to come forward now with more relics and more proofs, but before long the judgment of God will overtake them as the flood did in the days of Noah, and the fire in the days of Lot, "and they shall not escape."
Fellow-Christian, let us remember that God's Word is forever settled in heaven, and soon His will shall be shown on earth when He visits it in judgment.
"Underlying Biological Principles As They Appear To The Paleontologist"
"It follows from the above brief summary that paleontology affords a distinct and highly suggestive field of purely biological research; that is, of the causes of evolution underlying the observable modes which we have been describing. The net result of observation is not favorable to the essentially Darwinian view that the adaptive arises out of the fortuitous by selection, but is favorable to the hypothesis of the existence of some quite unknown law of life which we are at present totally unable to comprehend or even conceive. We have shown that the direct observation of the origin of new characters in paleontology brings them within that domain of natural law and order to which the evolution of the physical universe conforms. The nature of this law, which upon the whole, appears to be purposive or teleological in its operations, is altogether a mystery which may or may not be illumined by further research." -Encyclopedia Britannica, 11Th edition.
Italics are ours.