Compromising Christians Don’t Like “Evolution vs. God” Film

At the Answers in Genesis Mega Conference last month in Sevierville, Tennessee, Ray Comfort held the  public premiere of his  film, Evolution vs. God. At around the same time, many atheists spoke out against the film (as I reported in a previous blog post).

Atheist reviews included:

  “I can’t believe I watched the whole thing.” Professor PZ Myers

“Worst documentary ever.” Aaron Whitman

“Your movie was horrible … sad and pathetic.” April Brumett

“How about not including idiots in your video.” Philip Ware

The criticism from atheists was almost immediate, for Comfort’s well-publicized film powerfully challenged their entire worldview. But now we’re hearing from professing Christians about the film—and they don’t like how effectively Evolution vs. God challenges evolutionists and their ideas.

The first Christian organization I am aware of to speak out against Evolution vs. God was Reasons to Believe. Dr. Hugh Ross, a progressive creationist, is the president and founder of RTB. For years, Dr. Ross has been compromising the book of Genesis with millions of years and other evolutionary ideas. (Though he does not believe in biological evolution, Dr. Ross accepts cosmological evolution, like a very old universe, the big bang, etc.).  He has misled so many people in the church and he will one day have to give an account regarding his compromising stand on God’s Word.

One of his staff members wrote a review of Evolution vs. God, discouraging Christians from viewing the film. In his critique, he says he’s concerned that Comfort didn’t actually debunk evolutionary ideas—and that the film hurts evangelism:

Although the video contains some valid content, its questionable treatment of science and scientists—with an attack mindset and a goal to make scientists look stupid—causes me to advise extreme caution. Bluntly, I see this video as counter to our evangelistic mission. I cannot think of one biblical example where Jesus ridiculed nonbelievers who held erroneous views—although he harshly rebuked the religious leaders who were supposed to guide people toward Him. (www.reasons.org/articles/a-review-of-evolution-vs-god)

Now, I’ve viewed Evolution vs. God a few times, and I don’t remember Comfort “ridiculing” unbelievers. What he did was ask them question after question about evolutionary ideas and their own spiritual state—and he shared the gospel with each of them. How does encouraging critical thinking and sharing the gospel hurt evangelism?

During the interviews, Ray asked students and professors for evidence of one kind of creature changing into another (i.e., molecules-to-man evolution). The Reasons to Believe reviewer claims, “Comfort dismisses any reply that fails to meet his contrived criteria.” But the criteria Comfort relied on certainly weren’t “contrived”! The criteria came straight from the pages of Scripture. In Genesis 1, during Creation Week, God continually refers to the animals (on land, in the air, or in the sea) as being created “according to its kind.” And in Genesis 6:20, God refers to the representative land-dwelling animals and birds as having “kinds.”   In the film, students and professors  speak for themselves and give the same old examples of speciation/changes within the one kind—as supposed evidence for molecules-to-man evolution.

When Comfort asks for specific evidence of this type of molecules-to-man change necessary for evolution, none of the answers he’s given demonstrate a change from one kind to another—plain and simple. What’s surprising about Reasons to Believe’s position on this film is that progressive creationists typically deny the validity of biological evolutionary ideas—although they kind of accept the evolutionary progression biologically and say God created the different species, etc.  Personally, some of RTB’s views are not that much different from theistic evolution. They believe that over millions of years, God created life forms “progressively” that would die off, and then He would create more, and they would die off (and so on) until we arrive at present-day humans and animals. Of course, this idea relies just as much on long ages as evolution does—and it contradicts the Bible’s account of creation and human history.

Another organization to speak out against Evolution vs. God is BioLogos, headed by Dr. Deborah Haarsma (previously a professor at Calvin College). BioLogos, an evolution-promoting group, actually posted and promoted the Reasons to Believe review (biologos.org/blog/a-review-of-evolution-vs.-god-from-reasons-to-believe). The BioLogos writers noted, “at BioLogos we hold the position of evolutionary creation, that God acted to create all life using the process of biological evolution. Other Christian organizations disagree; they question the evidence for evolution or reject it completely, preferring views where God acts directly and miraculously to create life.” Actually, that last view is the one the Bible teaches—the creation of the universe was the first recorded miracle and happened just as God’s Word in Genesis records!

The BioLogos writer goes on to call Evolution vs. God “hostile” and indicates that it lacks humility and respect for others. These  bold claims, however, certainly aren’t reflected in Evolution vs. God. Watch this powerful new film for yourself and decide. It’s available through the AiG webstore. Furthermore, our current web campaign on AnswersInGenesis.org centers on the battle between evolutionary ideas and the Bible’s account of creation. I encourage you to read our feature article for more.

Congratulations to Ray Comfort of Living Waters for producing such a powerful movie.  The fact that compromising Christians and the atheists don't like it means it has really hit a nerve!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken