Many may be scratching their heads because I am using heaven and evolution in the same title. There is a good reason for this. Heaven is one of the best reasons why a Christian should not accept the theory of evolution. In past articles, I have shown that Jesus was a young-earth creationist and that evolution contradicts the character and nature of God. In this article, I will lay out why I believe heaven contradicts evolution.

In another essay, I wrote about the connection between the new heavens and a new earth, and this planet. This world will be restored to an Eden-like paradise like it was before Adam and Eve sinned. This understanding about heaven has an enormous impact on the debate between creation and evolution. Christians who believe in an old earth and/or evolution do not teach a restored world, so they must believe that death was a good thing and/or that God is going to destroy this world (which I have already written about).[1]

The Bible teaches that there was no death, disease, or suffering of any kind before sin came into the world. We also know that God will swallow up death forever and wipe away our tears (Isaiah 25:8). Revelation 21:4 repeats this and adds that there will be no more crying or pain. 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 also echoes this by saying, “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?^’”

This view of death is completely different from what evolution teaches. According to the theory of evolution, death, disease, suffering, and pain have been in the world since before sin came into God’s creation. If God used evolution and is going to restore the world, then this means that death, disease, and pain will continue on the New Earth, for they were part of God’s “very good” creation (Genesis 1) in this worldview. In fact, the evolutionary worldview teaches that before the appearance of humanity, there was mass death that has never been seen by man. This means that in heaven, there will be mass extinctions of animals, disease, and many other horrors that give us pain.

To sum it up, if God used evolution, then the New Earth will be worse than our present lives. There is nothing for God to restore, nothing for him to change. Heaven will be no different than his world, full of sin and death. But as many Christians know, heaven is the removal of evil from creation. What do you think?

[1] Pattle Pun, a biologist at Wheaton College, believes that God used evolution over millions of years. He argues that man is to be a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), and that mankind is not to be restored to a pre-Fall status, and God will create a brand new creation. He even uses Timothy 4:4-5 to say that since everything that God created is good, then death must be good, since death does not necessarily always equal evil. Death (or natural selection, as Pun says) is only evil when mankind exploits it. See Pattle Pun. “A Theology of Progressive Creationism.” Perspectives on Science and the Christian Faith 39 (March 1987): 9-19. Retrieved from http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1987/PSCF3-87Pun.html

Hugh Ross, the founder and director of the organization Reasons to Believe, also teaches that this present universe will be replaced by “a brand-new one.”See Hugh Ross. Creation and Time. (NavPress: Colorado Springs), p. 69.