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June 15, 2003, Vol.2, No.12. Of Rocks and Bones PART 1 A. E. Proctor via Preceptor magazine, September, 1988 The science of Paleontology deals with the study of fossil deposits found in the earth’s strata. It is the companion of Historical Geology, for the main concern of the paleontologist is the study of the fossils preserved in the geologic column. The paleontologist attempts to relate the various fossils into a pattern of evolution so that the line of descent or succession from simple animals to more complex can be charted. To do this, the so called "Law of Faunal Succession" is used. Simply put, this "law" states that an animal with a skeleton structure similar to another, evolved from the less complex creature (the parent) to the more complex organism (the child). It is assumed that the child will have improvements in its structure compared to the parent, and that these improvements were caused by an evolutionary response to a change in the world (or environment) In which the parent lived. (I want to note that this "law" is in direct conflict with the second law of thermodynamics which states that all things gradually decay and die. Without an external source of organization and energy, complex structures tend to decay to less complex structures.) Once the line of descent has been charted, the paleontologist determines the age of the various fossils by conferring with the historical geologist as to the age of the strata where the fossils were found. The geologist, in turn, uses the index fossils in similar strata to determine the ages of the rock. (The age of the index fossils have been specified for the geologist by other paleontologists in earlier times.) The circular reasoning used by these men in an attempt to specify ages of millions of years for the earth is well known to Bible scholars. Unfortunately, the student in the classroom is not informed of this, and the assumed nature of the ages of fossils are presented as fact with no possibility of error. In fact, there is much error in these assumptions. The "law" of faunal succession is no law, but a theory that the similarity of structure of life forms is a result of evolution and evolution alone. An equally valid theory to account for the similarity is that the Creator used the similar design of body suitable for the environment in which similar creatures live. The historical geologist and the paleontologist insist on evolution as the only possibility, for without it, they must admit the existence of God, the Creator. Let’s consider the consequences of the teaching of the paleontologist: His world is a world in which death, killing and fighting for survival are not only normal but required for the improvement of life. A pattern of violence which has existed for millions of years and will continue for millions of years into the future. A world of no hope, no joy, no love, but merely killing or being killed. Make things better for your children by swift disposal of anything or any one who might hinder their struggle to grow and survive. No matter how secular humanism might try to change the image of this philosophy, this is its core. This is what "survival of the fittest" is all about. It is, of course, a world where there is no sin, for the things Jesus defined as sinful are the desirable and proper works for the creatures of the world of the paleontologist. In this world, what is wrong is merely that which the strongest man or group of men have defined as wrong; and it's wrong only as long as they are able to enforce the law they have conceived. (By definition, if you do something "wrong" and don't get caught it is acceptable.) The Christian knows that the Bible teaches that such violence is not what God created in the world. In the beginning God created the world and all the creatures in it. After the creation, God pronounced it "good" and gave it to man for his use. There was no death, for plants and herbs were given to man and all animals for food (Genesis 1:30). Consider the weight of that teaching: in the beginning the lion, tiger, and all other animals we know to be meat-eating ate only the plants and herbs. Why do they now behave differently? Let me suggest a possibility. All animals were under the control of man, for God gave him dominion over them (Genesis 1:28). In the world we know today, the teaching of this testimony may not be understood. The best of animal trainers may have partial dominion over a tiger or lion or other creature, but the control is never complete. If the trainer fails to approach such an animal with caution, he is in danger of injury or death. The dominion Adam and his sons had was complete. They never faced any danger from any beast from the largest to the smallest, and all animals would do anything that man could teach them to do. When man was tempted, and fell into sin, death came into this perfect world, and man died spiritually, and began to die physically. The physical decline of Adam and the death of his body was to take 800 years, a very long time for us today. (In terms of our time, he would have been "born" shortly after the signing of the Magna Carta, some 423 years before the King James Bible was first published.) His sons had equal and even longer life spans. The first physical death among animals occurred when God took their skins to make clothing for Adam and Eve. The first physical death of man happened when Cain killed his brother Abel. We are told that Jabal, a descendant of Cain, was the first to dwell in tents and have cattle (Genesis 4:20). This, in itself, is not remarkable, for Abel had flocks which he used for sacrifice, clothing and milk. But God had not relaxed his requirement that man eat a vegetarian diet but had commanded him to grow his food as a farmer. What Jabal did was to create a lifestyle that used the flesh of animals for food, in complete rebellion to God’s command. Man, blessed with long life, and able to use animals under his dominion for food, was free from the hard labor of farming. Under these conditions, it is reasonable to surmise that some men would experiment with training and breeding of animals for the purpose of hunting and killing game, as they had both the leisure and many animals to use for raw material. Those animals which God had created with tooth and claw were very likely trained and bred to kill, furnishing meat to their masters and for themselves. Thus, the final product of sin created a world where all flesh had corrupted itself, and filled the earth with violence (Genesis 6:12,13). After God destroyed the good world He had created by the flood, he gave Noah and his sons permission to use the flesh of animals for food. To make sure that man would not escape his labor, he also put the fear of man in all animals, and gave some the ability to kill man and continue to kill and eat other animals for food. (Genesis 9:1ff). God also placed in his law a command for man not to use the blood of an animal or to kill another man. The world of violence that we see, full of "kill and be killed" did not come about as a result of some fictitious evolutionary "force" but came from the sinful conduct of mankind . In the sermon on the mount, Christ taught the proper conduct of man was to love and obey God, and give of himself and his possessions in sacrifice for others. All was to be done out of the motive of love for God and man, that God might have the glory.
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