By Simon Ambit
Do I believe in evolution? This is a question that has been posed to me on a number of occasions, including recently. My answer is “Well, kind of.” The definition of the word means to develop gradually, especially from a simple to a more complex form. If you’re asking if I believe that my ancestors from many many generations back were different than me and my generation are now, proposing that we have evolved beyond the point that they had? Yes, look at the world around us and all that had developed in the past 50 years or less!
In the not so distant past, people had to get around by foot or horseback and now we fly through the air in passenger airplanes at hundreds of miles per hour while we watch movies and eat lunch. So many things around our daily lives have evolved; music, cars, clothing and the Internet. Think about the advances in science, space exploration, computers or the medical field! My grandparents had to go outside and walk across the yard to an outhouse to utilize the restroom. Now, most homes have more than one built right in!
The ancient inhabitants of this area hunted with spear and bow. I now traverse those some mountains today with a high powered rifle and a scope. Today’s athletes are amazing! Just to share one stat; the men’s one-mile run had a world record speed of just over four minutes in 1945. The record now sits at three minutes and 43 seconds. That’s nearly 20% faster!
So, yes we are evolving in the sense that we are improving and becoming more advanced and more intelligent. But if you’re asking me if I believe in evolution based on the idea that my great grandfather caveman had a great grandfather who one day crawled out of the pond and began to live off the land and created offspring that now drive electric cars and take selfies using computers carried around in their pockets? Then no, I don’t believe in that theory of evolution.
I believe it started with Adam and Eve through a well laid plan of our loving Heavenly Father. I believe that every person has divine value and eternal potential that is likely not fully understood by any of us. It matters not who you are or where you come from, what you have or have not done; you are unique and exceptional in ways that you may not even understand. And I don’t believe that all of this greatness, nor the complex delicacy of our lives, could have been brought to pass by any number of big bangs, large explosions, nor random alignments of star and planet.
I believe that you and I are here meaningfully and specifically with a purpose. Life is good, find and share joy daily.