Thomas Huxley – The Evolution of Evolution | David Rives

Evolution… is popular! It seems that every time you turn on the TV, read a college textbook, or flip through an astronomy magazine you see SOME FORM of it. How did this philosophy become so popular that it literally took over science?

Well, maybe we should take a look at Thomas Huxley, who was a leading humanist during the time of Charles Darwin. They actually call him “Darwin’s bulldog” because of his lifelong dedication to promoting Darwin’s evolutionary ideas. Darwin was, you might say, his IDOL, and he actually did more to popularize evolution than Darwin himself! Thousands of people turned out for his lectures on evolution and, unlike Darwin, he wasn’t afraid to broach the topic of human evolution.

Now, unlike many Christians of his time and our time, Huxley realized the inconsistencies between evolutionary ideas and Scripture. And he understood the importance of a literal Genesis to the gospel. He said that if the history recorded in the Old Testament is wrong, then we can’t trust the New Testament accounts either.

Huxley sure didn’t say this because he LIKED the Bible. He didn’t believe God’s Word and he was happy when people rejected it. He did it because he understood that you can’t have a foot in both worlds. You can’t consistently hold to biblical teaching and evolutionary ideas. I mean, some people try to blend the two, but they really are polar opposites! Huxley wanted to show that you can’t hold both ideas (I think he was right about this), but then he went on to claim that evolution was the only scientific position. That was one of his strategies to encourage people to doubt and reject God’s Word.

Huxley’s words have truth for us today. If we accept evolutionary ideas, we’re saying the history recorded in God’s Word is false. But this history provides the foundation for the gospel! Without a literal Adam who sinned and brought physical death into Creation, why did Jesus (the second Adam) come and physically die? And that’s just one simple example! A belief in evolution and millions of years undermines the gospel message! Instead of trusting man’s word, we need to start with God’s Word and refuse to compromise with the thinking of our day.

I’m David Rives. Truly, the heavens declare the glory of God.