Why Evolution No Longer Matters to the Church

Evolution in biology is defined as “change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift.” At its core is the belief that mankind began in a primordial soup (a collection of chemicals found in the water (oceans) on the earth billions of years ago.) But given time, time, and more time, the primordial soup became cells, those cells became creatures, and those creatures became (evolved) into humans.

Creationists argue that the earth is 6,000 years old and that God is a God of order, structure, and…creation. A creationist (which I am, for full disclosure) claims that God created an “adult” earth that was fully functioning upon creation. They also hold that evolution is opposed to creation, on this, I agree. But, in an ironic twist, I suggest that “evolution” has…well evolved, and will soon be as irrelevant as the flat earth theory. It will soon be a has-been theory that has been filed away in the textbooks of history as “one the scientists got wrong.”

Why do I think this? Because it’s now completely unnecessary and stands in contrast to the culture’s newest version of creation: Technology.

Evolution became a competing theory to biblical creationism just after the Age of Enlightenment. The Age of Enlightenment highlighted the scientific debate and moved the world forward in many ways. Thus, we should expect a scientific theory to compete against biblical theory when science was the dominating idea of the day.

But science has now taken a backseat to technology. And with the rise of technology comes the rise of competing and dominating ideas of the culture. The metaverse, augmented reality, virtual reality, and now artificial intelligence have resulted in the rise of the simulation theory. And THIS is what evolution has evolved into…the simulation theory.

The simulation theory, in its simplest form, is the idea that someone has created our simulated world. Think of it like this: You are a video game character in someone else’s game. Someone created the game, and you just happen to be the main character in his or her game.

Maybe it sounds strange, but it shouldn’t. We’ve already been conditioned to accept this with movies like “Wreck it, Ralph,” “The Matrix” and “The Truman Show.” Furthermore, a massive majority of people working in the tech industry hold to the simulation theory, including people like Elon Musk. For more information about the Simulation Theory, click here.

The rise of the simulation theory makes evolution a worthless subject. And debating on worthless subjects is…worthless. So, the church would be wise to abandon the evolution debate and begin learning how to equip the current and next generation against the ideas of the simulation theory.

For what it’s worth, I’m committed to helping my son see that the world isn’t a simulation, there are no NPCs (non-playable characters) and the decisions we make are not the result of someone holding a controller. We grew up wondering if evolution was how “we got here.” He’ll have to grow up wondering if he’s in a simulated universe. With God’s help, he’ll see that the world is real, all people have value, and he serves at the pleasure of a sovereign God who has granted him the ability to make decisions.