Are The Bible And Evolution Compatible?
Bodie
Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, February 11, 2026 (Donate)
Letter, unedited:
I
am just making a comment on multiple articles i have read on the topic of
evolution on your site. I myself am a dedicated Christian; however, i also
believe in evolution. This is due to my extreme interest in the whole debate
which has raged about the topic for many many years, and being a zookeeper and
animal trainer i felt i should personally educate myself as much as i could in
the subject. The article which is based around proof of creation and
presumptions, i think, is quite a shallow inlook to the situation. First of
all, if this was the case the greater influence to evolutionary thinking,
Charles Darwin would have never hypothesised natural selection, as he was a
theological student and a dedicated christian at the time of his journey on the
beagle. Also saying that because evolution theory has been constantly re
written and the bible is not we should trust the bible, all it shows is that
evolution is willing to move with the times and evidence.
Thank
you,
C.C., Australia
Response:
Thank you for
contacting the ministry. I want
to encourage you to read Genesis and meditate on it because it simply doesn’t
mix with evolution. Years ago, I considered mixing them—more specifically, the
evolutionary aspect of millions of years with the Bible. Regardless of how
much I studied, it didn’t work. So, I know where you are coming from.
I am
commenting below to help you get started, but I’m starting with a passage from
Christ in Mark that is relevant to this discussion. My comments are intended
with kindness and sincerity.
I
am just making a comment on multiple articles i have read on the topic of
evolution on your site. I myself am a dedicated Christian; however, i also
believe in evolution.
One of the
problems I faced was Christ’s comments in Mark. Jesus said:
“But from the
beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female'” (Mark 10:6).
If you
believe Christ is Lord and are dedicated to following the Words of Jesus, then
this becomes an enormous problem. According to the General Theory of
Evolution, many billions of years ago the creation began, and man only
evolved into the scene a few thousand years ago. Do you think that Jesus was in
error and that human marriage between male and female (of which Jesus is
speaking) has been around 13 or so billion years?
Jesus, the Creator, made it clear that the first marriage between man and woman (Adam and Eve) came at the beginning of creation. Tallying up the genealogies, Jesus was speaking about 4000 years after this creation. So, let’s look at this in chart form:
If the days in Genesis are regular solar days and Jesus was speaking about 4000 years later, then, yes, the first marriage on Day 6 was at the beginning of creation.
If the earth is indeed billions of years old, then the first male and female came nowhere near the beginning of creation. This is a major theological problem. Either Christ is a liar in that view, or Christ told the truth and man-made evolution is a lie.
Those who
religiously believe in evolutionary time over God’s Word have tried to respond:
- Some say biblical
creationists have the same problem by appealing to Mark 10:6 as not being
Day 1 of creation.
- Some insert words in the
Bible to change the meaning (e.g. “beginning of the creation of marriage”).
- Some suggest that beginning
is referring to an entire figurative “6-day” creation period or Creation
Week,
regardless of its length.
Looking at
point 1:
The argument incorrectly makes the assumption that the “beginning of creation”
means the “first day of creation.” The Bible doesn’t say Day 1 of creation; it
says the beginning of the creation.
If one were
to watch a movie, like Expelled by
Ben Stein, and then tell a friend about the beginning of the movie,
would that consist of the first word or frame of the movie only? Absolutely
not; it would be a range of time surrounding the beginning of the movie and the
events that get the movie going. Jesus’ statement was reasonable and accurate,
and any view of an old earth clearly falls flat.
The Bible
points out that the term beginning has a bit of a range. For example, the devil
was a sinner “from the beginning” (1 John 3:8) and yet this was after God’s
declaration that everything was very good at the end of Day 6, as sin is not
very good nor is the devil. The foundations of the earth were made on Day 3
(God made the dry land) and that was “at the beginning” according to Hebrews
1:10.
Even if an
“old earther” were to try to use point 1, then they are conceding that Jesus
would be wrong. Can Jesus err? No. If Jesus can err, then perhaps Jesus erred
in passages concerning salvation. If this were the case, then it undermines the
gospel and deity of Christ.
Looking at
point 2:
Who is fallible sinful mankind to try to add to Scripture to “correct” God?
Sadly, when I hear someone add to Scripture in order to make it align with
personal views, I think of Jehovah’s Witnesses treatment of John 1.[1]
Jehovah’s
Witnesses view Jesus as a created archangel, named Michael. So John 1,
becomes a major problem for Jehovah’s Witnesses because Jesus, the Word, is the
Creator of all things. So, they change the Scriptures to align with their
viewpoint:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. (John 1:1 NKJV)
Jehovah’s Witness change: In [the] beginning the Word was, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was a god. (John 1:1 NWT)
Notice how
the change is that the Word was “a god” as opposed to “God.” Sadly, this is
done to change the Bible to conform to Jehovah’s Witnesses’ fallible theology.
When people take Mark 10:6 and change it to conform to mankind’s fallible
theology, then what is the difference? Don’t mistake what I’m saying here; “old
earthers” are still saved as long as Jesus is their Savior, but their tack is
the same as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Conforming ourselves to what Scripture says
should be the goal of a Christian, not trying to change the meaning of
Scripture.
Looking at
point 3:
If one goes on to conclude that “from the beginning of creation” (and likewise
“from the beginning” in Matthew 19:4) means “all of the creative period,
regardless of its length” then this implies 13–14 billion years of time in the
“creative period,” which is the beginning, middle, and end of the creation!
It is strange
that one would think that 13 billion years or so have passed and that all of it
is the beginning of creation—and now suddenly we are at the end after a few
“measly” thousand years. Going back to our movie illustration, this would be
akin to telling someone that the end was the last one second of a movie and
that the other two hours of it were only the beginning.
1 John 3:8
indicates that Satan was a sinner from the beginning and yet this was after
creation week! So if point three is true, then 1 John 3:8 is wrong! It simply
causes problems when one tries to add billions of years into creation week. Biblical
creationists can say that the first six days are all part of the beginning of
creation—and we can rightly argue this; an old earth creationist can’t. I
encourage you to trust Jesus over evolution stories.
This
is due to my extreme interest in the whole debate which has raged about the
topic for many many years, and being a zookeeper and animal trainer i felt i
should personally educate myself as much as i could in the subject. The article
which is based around proof of creation and presumptions, i think, is quite a
shallow inlook to the situation.
I’m not sure
which article you are referring to, but the fact is that nothing makes sense
without the Bible, and evolution has no basis in the Bible. And it should be
the Bible that is the authority over any article.
First
of all, if this was the case the greater influence to evolutionary thinking,
Charles Darwin would have never hypothesised natural selection, as he was a
theological student
Darwin didn’t
originally hypothesize natural selection; he merely gave it a name. Darwin was
well aware of creationist Edward Blyth, who published several papers on the
subject 20–25 years before. The idea was around before both of them, though.
You are
correct: Darwin was not a scientist, but a theologian. I find it ironic that
evolutionists often criticize creationists for saying anything outside of their
field of study, and yet they do not question Darwin who spoke about biology.
and
a dedicated christian at the time of his journey on the beagle.
I seriously
doubt Darwin ever gave his life to Christ. If he was saved, how could he walk
away from Christ (Isaiah 43:10-1; John 10:28-30; 1 John 2:15-20; John 6:40:37–40).
Studying Scripture, and even a theology degree, won’t get anyone into heaven.
Jesus Christ is the only way (John 14:6).
Darwin
described himself as an agnostic at best and even published that man, while
evolving, invented the concept of God. Darwin wrote:
“What my own views may be is a question of no consequence to any
one but myself. But, as you ask, I may state that my judgment often fluctuates
. . . . In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an Atheist in the
sense of denying the existence of a God. I think that generally (and more and
more as I grow older), but not always, that an Agnostic would be the more
correct description of my state of mind.”[2]
Fluctuation
about whether there is a God or not has little to do with salvation, which is
found in no other name under heaven than Christ (Acts 4:12).
Also
saying that because evolution theory
“Theory”?
Evolution is not a theory; it is a failed hypothesis at best as its coherence
leaves much to be desired.
has
been constantly re written and the bible is not we should trust the bible, all
it shows is that evolution is willing to move with the times and evidence.
So are you
saying that the Bible shouldn’t be trusted? If evolution is true, then the
Bible is false. Even evolutionists get this loud and clear:
“Christianity has fought, still fights, and will continue to fight
science to the desperate end over evolution, because evolution destroys utterly
and finally the very reason Jesus’ earthly life was supposedly made necessary.
Destroy Adam and Eve and the original sin, and in the rubble you will find the
sorry remains of the Son of God. If Jesus was not the redeemer who died for our
sins, and this is what evolution means, then Christianity is nothing.”[3]
Since
evolution is being re-written every day, then it should be a red flag that
there is something wrong with that belief system. Why add that belief system to
the Bible? Would we want a Bible that changed or a God that did (Psalm 119:89;
Hebrews 13:8)?
The issue is simple: if you can’t fully understand how God can create in six
days as opposed to the atheistic belief in millions of years, then grant God
the honor of being more learned than you are.
It is time to
stop trusting in the “religion of the day,” and get back to the authority of
the Word of God.
With kindness
in Christ,
Bodie Hodge,
Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various
churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers
in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding
news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight
Council.
Bodie
launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal
website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken
on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and
universities. He is married with four children.
Mr. Hodge
earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois
University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of
years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering
and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic
materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a
grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar,
Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.
His love of science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields. Originally at Answers in Genesis; Edited; Republished by permission.
[1]
Is Jesus the Creator God?, Bodie Hodge, Answers
in Genesis website, December 12, 2007, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/aid/v2/n1/jesus-the-creator.
[2]
Letter addressed to Mr. J. Fordyce, and published by him in his “Aspects of
Scepticism” (1883) in Charles Darwin, The Life and Letters of Charles
Darwin, Including an Autobiographical Chapter, Volume 1, ed. Francis Darwin
(London: John Murray, 1887).
[3]
G. Richard Bozarth, “The Meaning of Evolution,” American Atheist, 20
September, 1979, p. 30.
