The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly passed a nonbinding resolution condemning creationism in the classroom, and even went so far as to classify creationism as a threat to human rights. Albert Mohler wrote about this in his blog last week here. The text of the resolution can be found here. I would encourage everyone to read this resolution in its entirety, because it is extremely illuminating of the thoughts and beliefs of the European Council. The resolution passed 48 votes to 25, with three abstentions. Obviously, the vote passed with a substantial majority. This is a disturbing trend not only in Europe but in the West in general.
Creationism has been on the outs since the early 20th century when Clarence Darrow showed up William Jennings Bryan at the Scopes Trial. Evolution has been steadily gaining in credibility over the decades, and has completely shut out any inkling of creationism in any classroom. This is not going to be a discussion on evolution. There are plenty of websites and books out there that offer strong critiques against evolution. Some of those include Darwin On Trial, Darwin’s Black Box, The Battle for the Beginning, Bones of Contention, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, Biblical Creationism, and many other books. However, even among evangelicals, creationism has been discredited with an abundance of attacks by evolutionists and a desire by many popular evangelicals to skirt the issue in order to remain nonconfrontational.
However, creationism is a fundamental doctrine of Scripture, and of Christianity. Despite how the first 11 chapters of Genesis might be an embarrassment to the modern scientific mind, they are part of Scripture and describe a God that creates out of nothing, that must be omnipotent, omniscient, and sovereign. The creation order in Genesis 1 is completely different than the evolution order of events, so the two are not compatible in any sense. Despite many attempts, one cannot believe both in Biblical creationism and naturalistic evolution. So where are Christians supposed to stand? We are supposed to stand on the Scriptures. When the Scriptures speak of creationism, we stand on creationism, despite what the world thinks. We must be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in us. And we do that by standing firm on the truth of the Scriptures because we know that they are God-breathed, truth itself, and without error.
This resolution by the European Council is simply another indication of the secularization of Europe and the West. And creation is a simple doctrine to speak out against. If creationism is a threat to human rights, then what about the doctrine of sin that includes homosexuality? What about the doctrine of Biblical stewardship of the earth as opposed to the theology of ecology? The resolution states, From a scientific view point, there is absolutely no doubt that evolution is a central theory for our understanding of life on Earth. The Council makes no mistake that it holds to a worldview that is strictly based on evolution, and has no room for creationism, and consequently no room for God. Moreover, the resolution states, For some people the Creation, as a matter of religious belief, gives a meaning to life. Nevertheless, the Parliamentary Assembly is worried about the possible ill-effects of the spread of creationist ideas within our education systems and about the consequences for our democracies. If we are not careful, creationism could become a threat to human rights which are a key concern of the Council of Europe. The Council again makes no mistake that it holds to a belief that creationism can become a threat to democracy and human rights. Why? Because it is a threat to the evolutionary worldview.
The resolution also states, despite a statement that it does not want to impinge on any religious belief, The Assembly has constantly insisted that science is of fundamental importance. Science has made possible considerable improvements in living and working conditions and is a not insignificant factor in economic, technological and social development. The theory of evolution has nothing to do with divine revelation but is built on facts. So in effect, the resolution claims that divine revelation is not based on fact, but the theory of evolution is! The council attempts to separate fact from revelation. This is a serious issue that Christians must be prepared to respond to. Christianity is not based on imagination or wishful thinking, as evolution is, but is based on fact, in history, and substantiated by supernatural miracles.
Read this resolution. It claims that teaching creationism is dangerous, harmful, will turn back science, and bring society back to the dark ages without a host of scientific discoveries. However, Christians must be prepared to take a stand on creation as a fundamental doctrine of God. As much as we may be persecuted for it, made fun of, denigrated, and harassed in the media for it, we must stand for creationism. When creationism falls, then other more supernatural doctrines such as sin, the resurrection, atonement, and the second coming will not be far behind.
