Author: Victor Porton

Bible about evolution

In childhood I was an atheist. I was taught evolution theory as an unquestionable truth.

Some time passed and I became a Christian. Yet I kept to believe in evolution theory. I was in a Baptist church and (with no reason, just to speak about something) said to a preacher from an other city: “It is great how evolution is described in the book of Genesis.” He said me back some standard creationists’ arguments (probably it was that “days” are literal days and that the plants could not be able to grow if they would wait yet millions years for appearance of light, as grass was created on the third day but the lights (including Sun) in expanse of the sky appeared only at the fourth day, and that death entered the world only after the sin of Adam whilst evolution is impossible without death).

After hearing these arguments I momentarily converted into a creationist. I’ve said like this: If Bible says it it is true, not matter what science teaches.

I keep to think this way: Bible is more authoritative than science for me. I believe Bible says truth and truth only not only on morality issues but on all kinds of topics, including science and history.

Thus I should be a creationist, yep? My further study of Bible has shown that in Bible there are probably more arguments pro evolution rather than counter evolution.

By and large, creationists have only one serious argument: the “days” in Genesis are literal days. But it can be for example about so to say “galactic days”: more stars near the Earth is day, less stars is night. Such days may long hundreds of millions of years and this apparently conform to the classic scientific theory. That God created the life on the Earth can be understood as the thing that God used evolution to create.

New interpretation of the Bible

I reveal you a secret: Initially Old Testament was written without vowels. The vowels were inserted later by Jewish scholars. We can insert other vowels and get an other meaning of the text. And that other meanings may be equally credible as the usual translation of Bible. Again: The meaning of Bible was restricted by Jewish tradition, and there are more meanings of the text. You can study Old Testament without vowels at this wiki site. (Don’t only read but also add your own translations! At that site it is explained how to interpret Hebrew text without vowels and you don’t need to become an expert linguist for that. The grammar of Hebrew without vowels is quite easy to learn.)

I have explored first few chapters of Genesis. And I was surprised that it witnesses pro evolution. I’ve setup a wiki page where anyone can read others and add his own arguments pro or counter evolution.

Next it follows my current opinion on evolution from literal biblical positions.

Pro evolution arguments

Here are some quotes from my alternative (that is without vowels) translation of Bible, which seem to support evolution:

(Gen. 1:11) “Earth will sprout green plants producing descendant, fruit tree making fruit for its kind making progress of his offspring in it on the Earth”.
(Gen. 1:25) “God has made relatives on the Earth by their kind” (if it is translated correctly, different kind of species are called relatives by Bible).
(Gen. 1:29) “grass offspring bearing seed making progress on the surface of the entire Earth, and all trees making progress in their seed of the tree, offspring bearing seed”.
(Gen. 1:31) “God saw his deal all (time) making advance” (becoming better).
(Gen. 2:4) says about “generations” during God’s creation what may imply existence of death and thus evolution.

Gen. 1:11 is especially strong: It says that trees are descendants of grass. It is what is commonly called macro-evolution.

It is also difficult for creationists to explain, how predators and parasites have appeared.

I maybe convinced or not convinced you that Bible teaches that there was the evolution. But you anyway should accept as I show below that Bible teaches that we should resist against the death.

What does acceptance of the evolution theory changes in the practices of Christian life? If the theory of evolution is true, then the creation is not finished yet. And this means that we should use science to fight with imperfection of the creation: cancer, death, ecological problems, etc.

People and monkeys

Are people descendants of monkeys?

At first it could seem “NO!” for a believing reader of Bible:

(Gen. 2:7) “God Yahweh has formed Adam pulverized from soil and breath into his nose living spirit, and Adam became a living soul.”

Reading it looks like a case of direct (non-evolutionary) creation.

However I see no reason to assume that Gen. 2:7 describes a quick event. May the event described in Gen. 2:7 longs for millions years? Why not? If the evolution theory is true, humans were created from atoms of the soil breathing oxygen, exactly as described in Bible.

So, does anything in Bible contradict to the theory that people are monkeys’ descendants?

However, it is quite likely that some biotechnology of God (or an advanced civilization used by God) was used to transform monkeys into people. Why has God used a biotechnology, not direct creation? We do not know.

Bible disagrees with modern science about the time period (as investigated by radiocarbon dating) of existence of man. But this can be easily explained by the fact that before the Flood the atmosphere of the Earth was different (so producing different quantities of carbon isotopes) and thus radiocarbon dating produces wrong results when analyzing events before the Flood. (Yes, I believe in the Flood over the entire Earth. It is described in errorless Bible and can’t be false.)

You may ask: what’s about the first man, Adam? But first, why is it assumed that he was the very first man? And the second, it is necessary to consider someone from the people as the first full rights person.

Anti-ageing remedy

(Deut. 30:19-20) “19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live: 20 That you may love the LORD your God, and that you may obey his voice, and that you may hold to him: for he is your life, and the length of your days: that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Did God say choose death? He said: choose life.

(Heb. 2:14-15) “14 For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Who has the power of the death? The devil! We must rebel against the devil and not submit to him.

So, I myself intend to take the remedy for old age, as soon as I have the opportunity. By the way, as I understand it, you need to take it only once and it will act all your life, because it changes a person’s genetics.

And do not be afraid on this about “mark of the beast”. Obviously, the mark of the beast is a microchip, not a pill.

Devil and the evolution

The devil created snakes and scorpions: (Luk. 10:18-19) “18 And he said to them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, I give to you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Somebody may ask: what’s about the fact that snakes play an important role in the ecosystem? does the devil do good? This is the devil’s favorite way of work: embed your evil element into the system so that it is very difficult to extract without destroying the system.

So the devil created the death from old age, a very important mechanism of evolution. How the evolution can continue without the death? Be sure, God has other variants, such as exchange of genes on the cellular level or even evolution under human control. After all, the evolution of single-celled creatures occurred without death from old age.

The big brain arose as an evolutionary means of fighting the temptations of the devil. To simply control the body, the big brain is not very necessary, it is needed to combat temptations. Even trees have intelligence and can communicate with each other (probably, chemically):

(Judg. 9:8-15) “8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive tree, Reign you over us. 9 But the olive tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, with which by me they honor God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? 10 And the trees said to the fig tree, Come you, and reign over us. 11 But the fig tree said to them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? 12 Then said the trees to the vine, Come you, and reign over us. 13 And the vine said to them, Should I leave my wine, which cheers God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? 14 Then said all the trees to the bramble, Come you, and reign over us. 15 And the bramble said to the trees, If in truth you anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.”

Not with the simple ancient people communicated with the trees and asked for forgiveness when they were cut. However, this may take on perverted forms: (Jer. 3:6) “The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king, Have you seen that which backsliding Israel has done? she is gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there has played the harlot.”

It’s written, that the creation felt into bondage of corruption: (Rom. 8:16-23) “16 The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waits for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” And this means that the creation (animals, trees, etc.) not always were submit to corruption that is missing sense and mind. When there is no temptations, even animals with smaller brain would be able to be very smart. They wait when their mind will be free from corruption and they will become free again.

More on transhumanism

Obviously, I am against the attempts of transhumanists to interbreed the human and animals, for example to give us infrared vision from the snakes, because the Bible says (Lev. 19:19) “You shall not let your cattle engender with a diverse kind: you shall not sow your field with mingled seed.” I don’t know why this is disallowed by the Bible; maybe not to upset the balance of the ecosystem.

If people will succeed to build an artificial intelligence comparable at least with our fallen human mind, how may this end? Most likely, it also will fall into temptation and become stupid like as people and animals became stupid. Hackers call this DoS attack, when they are seeking that a computer would be overloaded and become so to say “stupid”. The devil wants that everybody could be stupid.

I will first before the sermon tell a little about myself.

I am a programmer and mathematician. It happened that I haven’t finished the higher education, but I do serious scientific research as a volunteer.

Once I saw in a night dream that I am the principal pastor of a church having 10 identical buildings, each for 20000 seats, in one city and that I in one day tell 10 different sermons in these ten buildings. I am not able to do 10 sermons in one day, I don’t know whether this dream will be accomplished, but I suppose that God through this dream calls me to the preaching ministry.

I already have a few short sermons in the Internet, but now I’ve gathered together stuff from a few my earlier sermons and articles to make a longer and, I hope, more understandable sermon.

Keep in mind, that this sermon will be difficult for understanding. But it main purpose is to make you believe that a human must go through sufferings to raise to a higher level. There is no other way. It is confirmed by a mathematician.

The New Testament calls us sons of God (Rom. 8:14). What does it mean to be a son? It means to grow and become like the Father. It means that we grow and become more and more similar to God. This means that as we grow, we learn to solve more and more complex problems.

God wants us to learn to solve any problems, problems of all levels of complexity.

Now we live in the flesh and reason think by the brain. What is soul? I think that the soul is a backup copy of the brain. This means that when we die, everything what was in our brain, remains in the soul. The soul saves the thoughts of the brain after the deadth.

People ask: What if I’ll have Alzheimer and I forget about God? Don’t worry: in the soul you won’t forgot whatever may happen with your brain.

If our brain is a computer created by God, then why we cannot calculate in mind like computers? It is written: (Gen. 1:31) “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” If God created everything good, our brains should be good computers. We should have to be able to calculate in mind.

The answer to this question: It all was broken by the Satan. Before the Fall to Sin we were good computers. Satan damaged our brains.

Some people think that Adam and Eve ate an apple. In the reality, Bible says that they ate the fruit of knowledge of good and evil or better to say of good and bad. In the Eden there were fruits of knowledge: Imagine one eats a fruit and after this instantly knows say quantum mechanics. The fruits of knowledge contained information. It is why they were called fruits of knowledge. The fruit of knowledge of the good and the evil contained an information about how the brain can break its own functionality, disturb itself to think. Particularly, this fruit which Bible calls the fruit of knowledge of good and bad contained the information about how the brain instead of solving some problem to concentrate on what a human considers good or bad. For example, instead of to eat to satisfy the appetite, to eat to enjoy the food. Do you feel the difference? It is instead of the process itself to think how ourselves will feel the process: as good or bad. It is a substitution of the thoughts about something by the thoughts about our own feelings on this. The sin exchanges good and evil in the acts of a human, so that the man starts to do evil instead to serve God.

There is the occupation “hacker”. Them are people which break computers in different ways. One of the ways (called DoS-attack) is to overload the computer by a too complex problem, causing lack of resources for normal functioning of the computer.

So: To overload a computer with a too complex problem or task is called DoS-attack.

This is what the devil did with our brains.

It’s written that Adam died in the day he ate the fruit: (Gen. 2:17) “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.” Adam didn’t die physically. But the operating system of his brain hanged. God calls it “death”.

Modern computers have so called Wi-Fi, that is a radio link between computers. For example, one computer may translate a video from its video camera to another computer. It was the same with Adam and Eve. They were able to see with each other’s eyes, because their brains were connected by a radio link. (Gen. 3:7) “And the eyes of them both were opened.” Before the Fall to Sin only one of them kept his eyes open, because his second half saw with his or her eyes and it was enough to keep open eyes only by one of them. After the Fall they were forced to both open the eyes.

So, people lose the paradise and were thrown away for sufferings.

What is sufferings? This is just an awfully complex problem which overloads our brain. Before the devil’s attack there were no sufferings. There could have been some small problem that angels could easily cope with.

Sufferings are distinct from a regular problem by the point that angels don’t know how to solve this problem (that is the sufferings).

So, why it is impossible on the way to God to avoid sufferings? This is because we must learn to solve problems of all levels of complexity. Very difficult for us problems are not an exception. We must learn to solve even very difficult problems, but very difficult problems are sufferings.

One more time: Sufferings is just an attempt of our brains to solve too complex for us problems. And this cannot be avoided, because at due time we must learn to solve problems of all levels of complexity. The devil overloaded us with too difficult for us problems, but it cannot be avoided because we must receive these problems. So the devil is necessary to set before angels and before us the problem of how to overcome sin. This problem needs to be solved to move to the next level.

It is difficult to live in prosperity, when where you live a war happens. It is very difficult. This is a difficult problem. A war is an example of sufferings. The God’s plan encompasses sufferings. This means that the wars were necessary, they could not be avoided.

The plan of the devil was to destroy our life. The plan of God is to overcome the devil. God considers the troubles created for us by the devil as a problem to be solved.

Once I understood that my mathematical research is just a top of an iceberg. Everybody of us solves the problem how to overcome sufferings and to overcome the sin. Everybody of us, even not knowing this, is a great mathematician. We are born to solve how to overcome sufferings. To overcome the sufferings it is necessary to deliver them to God. Without God by ourselves we cannot overcome sin. We are solving the problem, how to coordinate with God the fight against the devil.

(Job. 5:7) “Yet man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward.”. To fly upward that is to the heaven, it is necessary to go through the troubles. The sufferings is that problem, solving which, a human flies upward.

So the purpose of the devil in the God’s plan is to set a very difficult problem, which must be solved to go to the upper level.

When we suffer it looks like meaningless, as we don’t know which problems we should solve.

When we get to the heaven, this becomes explicit. After passing through the sufferings we become more smart that angles. Everybody of us will be a great mathematician at the heaven.

It is now unnoticeable for ourselves, that we are solving are difficult mathematical problem during our life. Everybody of us is a great mathematician, but the problem which we solve becomes evident only after getting to heaven.

So: The victory over the sufferings is a hard mathematical problem, which we are solving even not knowing that we do.

We cannot deny: “We will not solve this problem,” because we must learn to solve all kinds of problems. But sufferings is a problem, so we cannot not to pass through sufferings during our life. This is a problem and it must be solved. Sufferings cannot be ignores, they must be got rid.

The devil wants that we would continue to suffer. God wants our victory over all sufferings.

(1Thes. 4:3) “For this is the will of God: your sanctification”. Sanctification is the ability to withstand to the sin. All what God wants from us is sanctification. Sanctification is also moving to the new level and new mind which will surpass the mind of angels. Sanctification encompasses everything what we need. And after the victory over the sin, our sanctification will keep going, because sanctification is fullness of our life and fullness of the will of God. Our mind and our feelings will keep go to develop within the framework of sanctification.

So, sanctification is a new mind which overcomes the sin and moreover moves us to a new level.

The church is called the pillar of the truth (1Tim. 3:15). This means that through sanctification of people the knowledge of the truth reaches a new level, like climbing a pillar and getting to the next level. If the Bible was written now, it probably would be written: The church is the lift of the truth, that thing which allows to climb to the next level of angels’ knowledge of mathematics.

Sanctification is the God’s way to make priorities in our life. It is very simple: It is necessary to decide correctly which of two things is more important. But we need God’s help for solving this problem, because despite seeming simplicity it’s a very difficult problem. Sanctification is necessary to overcome the sin, because the sin attempts to distribute priorities incorrectly in our life.

One who can correctly decide which of two things is more important, can also solve any problem. In reality, entirely holy that is always can decide which of two things is more prioritized only God. Really, the Revelation of John says (15:4) “you only are holy.”

God has already transferred us to an another kingdom: (Col. 1:13) “who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love”. Outwardly nothing has changed: we yet are unable to calculate in mind like computers. Our brains are still overloaded and we cannot be sane computers. We count by fingers, write on paper, because we cannot remember ourselves. But now we by our faith do good, we are at the side of the good. But our side in the fight has changed. Now we are fighters of God.

We cannot do good by our deeds, to do the deed of God is to believe. It is superfluous to cite Bible about this.

Earlier I thought: isn’t it in vain i’m doing math, because angels anyway know math better than me and I cannot discover anything new? The job of a businessman looks even more vain: angels in the heaven are anyway richer and our richness on the Earth costs nothings. And what about the necessity of the job of a regular hired worker, if even the work of a mathematician is vain?

Once I understood that our work is not vain: (1Cor. 15:58) “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” When we work for the Lord, our work is not vain, because we learn how to overcome obstacles.

(Ecc. 1:14) “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.” All what we do under the Sun is vain. Not a vain is what we being settled at the heaven do over the Sun that is in the Kingdom of the Heaven.

Jesus himself passed through sufferings. (Is. 53:3-7) “a man of suffering and acquainted with disease … But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was on him … He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter.” This means that he took the task to solve our problems instead of us. He borne the sin. The sin killed Adam but was not able to kill Jesus. But Jesus really suffered.

Our sufferings make sense because we participate in sufferings of Christ: (1Pet. 4:13) “But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

That Jesus bears our sufferings means that He solves instead of us the problems set by the devil. We should deliver to Jesus our situations, especially these which we cannot solve by ourselves. Earlier I didn’t understand what is to bear other’s sufferings. Now I understand: As the sufferings is just a difficult problem, then to bear other’s sufferings means just to solve the problem instead if him. The cause of a sickness is an unsolved (among angels) problem. Such a problem (and so the sickness itself) can be transferred from one human to another one and finaly to Christ. In the case of a sickness we should call the blood of Christ, to make the problem transferred onto Him, who can solve every problem and thus can overcome every sickness. (Is. 53:4-5) “he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows … But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.”

We should move our sufferings to Jesus. When should we do this? Always. We should learn to always move our sufferings to Jesus. It is what is sanctification.

And the last: We should overcome every suffering with the blood of Christ, bindings them with the name of Jesus.

So the conclusions briefly: The devil wanted to destroy the deed of God, but instead he has set a problem which God uses to transfer us to the next level of knowledge. This problem (that is sin) can be solved only in partnership with Christ. When the sin will be finally overcome, we believers who like all people passed through sufferings will become more smart than angels.