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Why I Choose to Believe in Creation

Whenever somebody asks me what I am majoring in at Andrews University, I always feel a little dread because of the typical answer I have to give: “Biology.” Most people who ask just laugh and comment on how they should have known, since so many other Koreans are studying the same thing. Nonetheless, I find biology to be fascinating and do not regret choosing such “unoriginal” subject matter. My experience studying at Andrews is a little different because when I am taught theories that are challenging to reconcile with my Christian faith, such as the evolutionary theory, it is always in a context that helps me deal with the issues that inevitably arise. Let me tell you right now that I am not going to try to convince you of why evolution is wrong, or give you reasons why the Bible trumps science. I have learned to accept that there are discrepancies that are difficult to reconcile between what I know through science and faith, yet I still choose to believe that God is Creator because of reasons that surpass the surface evidence.

I was exposed to the evolutionary theory in late middle and high school, since I did not attend an Adventist school; however, I did not necessarily find what I learned to be a strong challenge to my faith, particularly because I was very aware of the fact that my teachers were not Christian. Knowing I was in “enemy territory” allowed me to easily dismiss certain ideas about macroevolution because I assumed there were alternative explanations that could be found in the Bible or otherwise. To non-Christians like my teachers, the evolutionary theory makes a lot of sense in explaining how life on Earth began and developed, but I trusted that phenomena could just as easily be explained by Christian beliefs as the evolutionary theory. Coming to Andrews, I expected that the learning experience would differ in that the natural processes learned about in science classes would be supplemented by commentary on how they correlate with Biblical writings. I was correct in my prediction, for the most part. Because of this, I was caught off guard when one of my professors began presenting evidences for evolution that did not have an easy Biblical solution. It was unnerving to hear an Adventist professor and paleontologist admit that he has trouble with reconciling certain scientific evidences with his Christian worldview, since he must have really struggled to figure out a fitting interpretation and could not. I then wondered what made him and the other Biology professors continue following the Christian faith so zealously when there is clear evidence for both arguments of Creation and evolution. Besides the promise of salvation, what does Creation offer that the theory of evolution does not?

I have always liked science more than the other subjects because I enjoy learning how natural phenomena work and relate to each other. One of the joys – as well as the horrors – of science is that there is an endless amount of material to learn; even as we continue understanding more about the natural world, there is always more to be studied. This is much like learning about God since He is infinite and there is always more to learn about Him; yet, knowledge of the natural world can never be a replacement for understanding of God. Without God as Creator, science has no meaning. Because a rational Designer created us with minds that are able to comprehend the world, we can think about and come to understand the physical laws of nature. If life were created by random chances that happened to build on each other, we could not expect one day to follow the same cause and effect pattern as the previous. Life would be so meaningless for me if I believed I only happened to come into existence, live a life filled with both joy and pain, then die in a relatively miniscule amount of time, all out of pure chance. I choose to believe in Creation. I choose to believe that a God who loves me created me with a purpose on this earth, a purpose that reaches far beyond just my life, but into the future of the universe itself. Otherwise, what purpose is there to live for? Why should I or anybody else in the world struggle with the pains that the world bombards us with? What is the point of attempting to understand natural phenomena when they can be just as easily destroyed as they were created, in chance events?

Yes, there are some discrepancies between what science finds to be true and what we know through the Bible. I am not saying it is easy to reconcile what I learn from these two avenues of knowledge; I am saying, however, that the evidence is not going to make me give up my faith. I choose to believe in a Creator not because of physical evidence of His existence, but because He gives my life the meaning and purpose that the world cannot otherwise provide me with. The question now is what am I going to do with the life I have been bestowed? Live it just for myself and my pursuit for temporary amusement, or for a greater plan that an all-knowing God has orchestrated for the salvation of mankind? Personally, I find the latter more fulfilling for my life as a whole.

Originally from Georgia, Jamie Kim is in her junior year at Andrews University. She is a biology major with an emphasis in neuroscience.