As we all know and can observe today, there is a strong tendency in the Church to neglect or deny the literal importance of Genesis 1-3. Often one can hear things like: ‘Genesis is not written like a newspaper, with factual information about how it really, historically happened. It tells us the main things, the big picture’, one says, it gives answer to ‘who’ and ‘why’, not exactly ‘how’ and ‘when’. So, it leaves room for things that went factually different. Also one can often hear about the so called ‘Gap-theory’, that the earth ‘became’ (not ‘was’) desolate and wild, giving room for any form of evolution (although ‘was’ is actually the normal regular Hebrew translation in Genesis 1:2 of ‘ayetah’). One just needs that to insert evolution as a possibility. They go to great length trying to mix evolution with creation, giving all kinds of explanations why it wouldn’t be a problem anymore to see Genesis as not literally having happened, nor that it would any longer be of main importance to faith. Instead that one would expect the Church to be defending Genesis at all times, it is now basically breaking it down completely to the point of where one will very soon end up with having nothing at all instead (who needs an enemy if the main and biggest threat comes from within!). That is really and dramatically sad. It is mistakingly being claimed today, even in evangelical Churches, that being a Christian and believing in Jesus does not depend any longer on the way Genesis is understood and that is being preached now like some kind of new gospel, as if the shells have finally and thankfully fallen from their eyes; like a new Eureka that ‘evolution and Genesis finally can go together’. Well they can’t! The foundation of what one believes, certainly and totally depends on a literal, factual and historical interpretation of Genesis. It makes all the difference in the world. It is totally essential. But, despite that, the Church apparently has largely bend their knees to science and they seem to think that they just cannot deny evolution any longer, without continuously making a total fool of themselves. This, because of the general conviction nowadays that science has 'proven' that the universe and everything on it came into being by a big bang; millions of years of sheer coincidence and chaos acting 'like God' and getting the same result. They are probably afraid of losing people and not being able to reach out to them anymore, if they don’t adjust or otherwise will be completely ignored for not being real; not in line with 'the evidence' of science. So, their new gospel is now based on their new conviction, namely that evolution and believing can very well go together and that it is no longer a problem at all. They even think that they can win people back with it. That is the greatest and biggest lie the Church could ever tell and the people who lean on their status and reputation to openly tell or preach that now, are misleaders in wolf clothes. The idea that it does not matter what one believes about origin, as long as one believes in Jesus, is a contradiction in itself and/or a potential form of an unsolvable conflict, that can only escalate to disbelieve or rejection. It is so obvious that it is amazing to see that so many seem to fall for that conviction. One wants to earn back respect with that. However, the opposite may happen. This way, one is namely really making a fool of oneself, like a teen who always has remained strong and resisted group pressure and silently earned respect for not smoking and not taking part, while everyone smokes, but suddenly turned weak and started smoking, wanting to belong to the group and be taken seriously. The opposite will rather happen and one very likely will be earning disrespect. One should not make the Bible more acceptable, one should people make accept the gospel. This works against that. I have spoken quite some people, mainly in Grammar school, who said they were Christians and at the same time also believed in evolution. I always said and still say: ‘Sorry, they just can’t go together’. You cannot believe in evolution and the Creator. Jesus Himself was the Creator (read John 1)! Why would He have come to the earth if He would have been put out of play by evolution? He would have come and died for us, if Adam and Eve had not fallen into sin, which by the way is no issue at all for evolution, because, according to evolution, they didn't even exist. But what are Christians trying to make of it? Was Adam the first ape maybe? What a foolish nonsense! Why would you worry about being a sinner then? Why would you repent at all? Of what? Of sin? Why would that be a problem at all, if the main instrument of evolution is killing and sinning to survive ones genes at the expense of the other and come into existence that way. Sin, or any moral judgement, simply not exist in evolution. Evolution puts God out of play. Totally and completely. What role is left over for God if evolution should be read between the lines in Genesis?

So, why is it a problem if one just cannot believe that Genesis happened literally?

Simply because everything is totally and completely connected in the Bible and one cannot cut something loose and make believe that the rest is not important. One cannot cut the literal factual meaning of Genesis 1-3 from the New Testament and what Jesus said and did. It is impossible, without ruining it! Jesus totally and clearly pointed to the literal meaning of Genesis. Jesus said, for example:

‘But at the beginning of creation God “made them male and female. … For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one’ (Mark 10:6–8).

There are many more Bible verses that point to Genesis and to the fact that the historically details of creation, as described, are crucial (See here). So when saying it is not important or that in reality it went by evolution, one totally betrays Jesus, who He is, and what He said, and everything He did, and the reason why He did it, and therefore betrays the gospel. It is unavoidable that it will sooner or later lead to a great conflict in the mind and soul of someone and will rather lead to disbelieve instead of believe. One may ask oneself, if one does not believe what happened in Genesis, about the natural things that happened, and instead of that believe in evolution, why should one at all believe the spiritual things and/or meaning? (Referring to John 3:12). If things went differently and did not happen the way Gods Word says, but would be essentially different, what in the Bible can we still trust then? And how on earth can we then ever obey the greatest command to 'love God with all our heart, soul and mind' if one of them, the mind, is in total conflict with it? Can one believe with one’s heart and soul and shut down the mind which is not in line with it or what’s more, is in enmity with it and even contradicts it? No. That is totally impossible. A person cannot be departed. It should be in unison and mutual agreement with each other or sooner or later one of the three (heart, soul or mind) fails. The facts of creation were given by the Only One who was there, present since the beginning of creation (and before that). He was the only eyewitness, because He made everything Himself and told Moses to write it down! (the inspired Word of God). How dare we say that things may have gone differently or not exactly like He said? Based on what? Who are we to speak against our Creator? Remember what God spoke to Job? And why should people be deceived with evolution? For what purpose? To give faith more credit in these times where one thinks, or has handed oneself over to the believe that Evolution has proven otherwise, although it is just a theory based on a believe-system as well. Evolution implies that God, or any faith, should be excluded and can and may never ever play any role at all in it. What does the Church think to gain when Evolution is brought into the picture, into the Church, into the Bible, into the hearts and minds of Christians? What does that do to God? Where does it leave Him? Why would God suddenly need evolution? Could He not handle it all by himself? Was He not powerful enough maybe and suddenly needed billions of years to not even reach the slightest of what He could do otherwise, by just speaking and commanding things into being? How foolish is that? Does that not, in itself, create a powerless, not so almighty God, who is not at all sinless nor holy either? Don’t we create our own God with that, namely an idol, which is not at all like the Bible says He is, nor who we should serve? Why would God need ‘survival of the fittest, driven by selfish greed and killing to survive? Why would He need sheer coincidence and chaos’ to finally get what He wants? What does that make Him? What is left over of His holiness and His total righteousness, His love, His wrath and His will? One can go on questioning like that. It is totally insane and foolish and it makes a total fool of God. With that, one is basically cursing God, by no means honoring Him or accepting/respecting who He is. Can one call that faith? Can that be a consistent position when being a Christian? No, not at all. One cannot hold to that and all, and has to let go of it very quickly, let alone embracing it instead. It is out of the question! It is a total sign of disbelieve, not of believe. It is even blasphemous, when one thinks about it! That the Church does not realize that and thinks they can get away with it, or even thinks it is an advantage for evangelizing, to keep the Church growing or whatever, is totally shocking in itself.

Where ever in the Bible can one question the 6 days of creation? Is not the whole Bible in all possible ways confirming the real literal 6 days? Why question it then, if the Bible itself gives no indications for that at all; rather the opposite? What if there were no real first human beings, Adam and Eve, created by God? If they were not historically created, they had not really fallen in sin either, and why would there have been any problem with sin at all then? Why then would Jesus have come to the earth? Why should he have given himself to mankind to solve its basic problem since the fall of man? There would not have been any reason for it at all. It would all have been in vain! Why then would one call out loud in a church on Easter morning: ‘Jesus is truly risen!’ (like some seem to do), when there wouldn’t even have been a reason for Him to come to the earth at all, nor die nor rise again. What ground would we have to believe that not everything has gone differently in reality or probably should be interpreted differently also? You see. Think about the consequences. Everything becomes questionable and doubtful. Why would He have come, why would He have died and why would He have risen? He probably wouldn’t, because if there would not have been any need for it at all, if Adam and Eve were not really historically there and not really and historically fallen in sin, if evolution is true. If one readily agrees that the real historical Adam and Eve were needed. How do they fit in the evolution picture then? You tell me. Were they a group of apes maybe? From Amoebe to Adam by millions of years of evolution? How dares one even claim to be a Christian if one dares to consider this seriously and even debating about this as a serious possibility! (Sadly enough, I seriously have read about a congress where they indeed seriously talked about the consideration of Adam and Eve possibly being a group of apes; I don't make it up). This can only be happening if doubt has already long gone won it from faith. It is totally insane, foolish and, again, blasphemous towards God. One can and may not call oneself a Christian if one is seriously considering this as a real option and even holds it as a real possibility, or even believing that, rather than the way it happened like written in Genesis. A total and deep realization of the consequences of ones thinking is needed then, including a deep repentance and conversion.

Only if one really literally believes in Genesis 1-3, one has a firm foundation to believe the rest of the Bible. If not, everything will become questionable and in the end nothing remains and one will be left empty handed. If one calls oneself a Christian, and at the same time believes in evolution, this can be the case for a very short time, unknowingly and not fully grown up yet in faith; being a freshly and newly, just reborn Christian. Or if one is a very superficial unknowing Christian, with no Bible knowledge or understanding at all, who is still on its first spiritual 'baby milk', with not a lot of insight yet (sadly this can be the case for some even years after their conversion). If one is already longer on the way, and still says to believe in evolution it should be considered a sign that one may be called religious or is going to church, but does not have the Holy Spirit living inside. And who does not have the Spirit does not belong to Him, the Bible says. It is a mixture that just simply cannot hold. Certainly not when growing up spiritually. Many shall come in that day and say ‘Lord, have we not…’ And He shall say ‘depart from Me, I never knew you’. That is the kind of ‘Christians’ we are probably dealing with then; the unbelieving religious ones, the proudly doubters who see their doubt as a sign of (mature) believe rather than disbelieve. When thinking that way, religion may still be a nice and satisfying hobby and one may have many social contacts and friends within that group. They may go to Church every day and even all their life and yet never become reborn. I would say as a warning to you: ‘if you say you are a Christian and at the same time believe in evolution’, doubt your salvation very much and rethink everything again seriously. Become born again and convert yourself to Christ and believe in your Creator. If not, it seems like you are hopelessly lost, which, of course, I don’t hope.