A call to proponents of intelligent design to stick to the important questions worthy of examination by intelligent creatures made in the image of their designer.

Listening to the “debate” concerning creationism vs. evolution—Intelligent Design vs. Darwinism—is distressing to say the least. Those debating usually know very little about what their opponent believes, which leads to various wild goose chases, devouring much of the available time allotted to discuss the important issues and evidences associated with each opposing view. Lately, these jousting Knights of Theory don’t seem to know much about their own positions, either.

On the CNN program Faith and Politics, which aired again Friday evening, Soledad Obrien poses the weighty question to presidential candidate John Edwards: “Do you believe that man evolved or that he was created as the Bible says from Adam’s rib?” He wants everyone with a vote to believe he subscribes to their theory of origins and answers accordingly, completely ignoring the fallacy of the question: The Bible doesn’t state that mankind was created from Adam’s rib. It may seem like a small, insignificant matter to most, but it became the proverbial straw that broke the camels back with me.

I have come to the conclusion that very few evolutionists, and only slightly more creationists, know what the Bible states about creation. In search of a smoking gun to disprove the tenants of intelligent design, evolutionists ask the big questions: Where did Cane find a wife? How did Noah get all those animals on one boat? These remote challenges to the theory of intelligence behind the existence of the universe never seem trifle to the evolutionist backed into a corner while discussing scientific fact. While the Bible allows for answers to such questions, better given in a Sunday school class, the creationists are distracted by such mental gymnastics from the huge question before us: Did man suddenly emerge from nothing by the design of a creator or did he gradually emerge from nothing completely by accident?

Framing the argument is a tool of debate that the evolutionists demonstrate with superior skill. In fact, they need little help as many creationists undermine their own arguments by misstating Biblical truths concerning creation. The most effective argument bandied about these days is that intelligent design is false because the Bible states that the earth is six thousand years old. The newly opened Creation Museum, founded by Ken Ham of the nonprofit ministry Answers in Genesis that built the $27 million facility in Petersburg, Kentucky, is well-meaning but erroneous. The Bible does not state that the earth is six thousand years old or that dinosaurs co-existed with humans. The Bible clearly states in Genesis 1:1 that the earth has been here since the beginning. Verse 2 tells us that it was formless and void and that water covered the face of the earth. The Bible allows for speculation that the earth had been destroyed by water, as it would later again be destroyed during Noah’s era. The six days of creation beginning in Genesis 1:3 mark the history of the current dispensation of the earth: How God reshaped and reformed it to accommodate His current purposes with man as the jewel of His creation. The earth predates the six days of creation, allowing for the concept of an old earth which could have accommodated any other civilizations, creatures, or events God desired over eons of time. In fact, I would argue, if anything, that, according to the Bible, the earth is older than what scientists claim.

Creationists standing and fighting for such “non-truths” is symptomatic of the lack of understanding about both scientific discovery and the Biblical account. Such ignorance fuels the argument by evolutionists that science is on their side when, in fact, the opposite is true : Science offers very little evidence to support the concept that man evolved from lower forms into his present condition. Why chase red herrings when the facts are on our side? If God created the heavens and the earth, science will discover bits and pieces along the way to support that theory. The fossil record, almost ignored in most discussions of evolution today, supports the idea that most of the earth’s current residents suddenly appeared on the planet in their complex state. In this debate, answer the important questions worthy of examination by intelligent creatures made in the image of their designer.