Darwin’s theory has always had some serious weaknesses. For example, from the beginning, every version of the theory assumed the existence of the biological process of reproduction as a given. Descent with modification assumes a process by which descent takes place. But how did the process of reproduction (a mind-bogglingly complex biological process) itself evolve without an already existing process of reproduction?

Since 1859, when Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was published, Christians have been forced to wrestle with the challenges raised by his theory of naturalistic evolution. For millennia, Christians had taught that God created each species according to its kind. Slight changes may accrue for various reasons, but cows remain cows and horses remain horses. Darwin challenged this teaching by proposing a theory to surmise how various organisms may have arisen over time from a common ancestor. He suggested that offspring differ slightly from their parents and from each other. Animal breeders have long observed the same thing and take advantage of these variations by selecting the most desirable offspring to produce the next generation.

Darwin argued that something analogous to a human breeder exists in nature without any intelligent choices being made by anyone—human or divine. He argued that some biological variations provide individual offspring with advantages that make their survival more likely. Over time, those offspring with such advantageous traits survive, breed, and pass down those traits to the next generation. Thus, the mechanism of evolution was said to be a purely “natural selection.” When Gregor Mendel’s work on genetics was rediscovered at the turn of the twentieth century, an explanation for variations in offspring was added to Darwin’s theory.

Christian Responses to Evolution

Christians have responded to Darwin’s theory in a number of ways since it was first published. Some have rejected the theory completely, explaining its scientific problems but emphasizing that Darwinism is contrary to Scripture. We see this approach in the work of organizations such as Answers in Genesis, Creation Ministries International, and the Institute for Creation Research. Others have rejected the theory completely but have focused almost exclusively on the argument that it is contrary to the evidence in nature. We see this approach in the Intelligent Design movement represented most famously by the Discovery Institute. The essential point to note here is that the Christians involved in these various organizations tend to agree that descent with modification and natural selection can account for neither the origin of life nor the diversity of life.

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