WHICH CAME FIRST, THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG?
by Richard “Jake” Jackson
“Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” I remember when I was a kid, how it seemed that this classic puzzle could never be solved. Chickens only came from chicken eggs, and chicken eggs only came from chickens.
Eventually I learned that there are two great countervailing world views, which give opposing solutions to this ancient riddle. The creationist maintains that the chicken came first; the evolutionist proposes that the egg came first.
A creationist is one who believes that God created chickens (and everything else) by his own design, which reproduced succeeding generations of chickens by laying chicken eggs. In modern news media terms, a person who holds this view is called a “right-wing-fundamentalist-Christian-Bible-thumping-ignorant-bigoted-toothless-hillbilly-fanatic.” (Actually, some of us have very good dental care.) The creationist’s view is based on the biblical account of Genesis chapter 1: “And God created … every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, … and let fowl multiply in the earth.”
An evolutionist is one who rejects the biblical account in favor of the theory that a series of accidents and coincidences over millions of years brought life from non-living elements, which mutated and developed into various forms eventually resulting in the modern day chickens (and everything else) which we see around us in the world today. All of this is said to have happened randomly without intelligent design or guidance. In modern news media terms, a person who holds this view is called a “scientist.” (The fact that there are many biologists, geologists, physicists, and other PhD’s and science teachers who are creationists rather than evolutionists is conveniently ignored by the mainstream news, entertainment and education industries.) The evolutionist’s view is based on Charles Darwin’s theory as set forth in his work, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
Basically, the theory of evolution works like this: Once upon a time there was a lizard-like animal, which we will call a Pre-Chicken. This Pre-Chicken laid an egg with genetic mutations which made it substantially different from a normal Pre-Chicken egg. When it hatched, a different type of creature came out: an Almost-Chicken. The Almost-Chicken possessed characteristics due to its mutation which gave it an advantage over the Pre-Chicken for survival and procreation. Over time, Almost-Chickens proliferated while Pre-Chickens died out. This process of mutation and competition was repeated over millions of years until the Pre-Chickens, Almost-Chickens, Not-Quite-Chickens, and any other intermediary forms eventually led to a new, distinct species: our modern-day chicken. Thus, the first true chicken egg was laid by a bird that was not a true chicken.
Neither creation nor evolution has ever been replicated in a laboratory. No experiment employing “scientific method” has proven either theory true or false. Proponents of either view can only suggest interpretations of “data” gathered from around us as evidence or lack of evidence in support of either theory.
If the theory of evolution were true, one would expect to find many examples in the fossil record of intermediate forms that bridged the gap from one species to another. Charles Darwin expected that such missing links would be found. In addition, one would expect to find (or to be able to produce) newly evolved species in the present day. However, no one has ever been able to demonstrate a single example of a new species which has developed from a different species. (There have been times that a few fossilized bone fragments have been found and utilized to propose elaborate “missing link” models. “Nebraska Man” was a pre-human species proposed from one tooth, which turned out to be from an extinct pig. “Piltdown Man” was developed from the jawbone of a modern ape. The famous “Lucy” was actually a chimpanzee. A “Neanderthal Man” skeleton was found to be an old man who had arthritis.)
No one doubts that there is a great deal of variation within each species. In fact, no two individuals are exactly alike. It has been demonstrated that many traits are hereditary (passed on genetically). It is also accepted by evolutionists and creationists alike that some inherited characteristics give rise to advantages or disadvantages for the survival of the individuals and their offspring. All of this happens within a species, but not between species.
The evolutionary theory not only suffers a lack of evidence; it suffers a lack of logic. What advantage would there be to a fish with legs before it developed lungs? Or a fish with lungs before it developed legs? During the generations that a wing or leg is developing but not yet functional, it would be a disadvantage, not an advantage.
It is easy to understand why creationism is so vigorously opposed. People do not want to have to deal with God. If we admit that God exists, we are forced to consider ideas such as Truth, Sin, Righteousness, Heaven, Hell; and we are confronted with our ultimate accountability to our Creator.
If evolution is true and our existence is a result of random natural occurrences, then our lives are finite and meaningless. Upon death, our being terminates. Does anyone really believe this? Isn’t there something inside every person that shouts, “That can’t be true! There must be more!”?
If God created us, it follows that we have a purpose: to serve and glorify God. (Don’t panic! This is not grievous, it is joyous. Try it!) Consistent with creationism is the concept that our souls are eternal, which the Bible declares (and which we suspected all along, in spite of our “education”.) The problem for most people is the Bible’s unyielding declaration about eternal destiny: you can trust Jesus Christ and spend eternity with Him in heaven, or you can reject Jesus Christ and spend eternity in a lake of fire.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Science has been unable to prove or disprove either the theory of evolution or the theory of creation. Which one you choose to believe is a matter of faith, and the implications are of utmost significance.
Be sure to watch for our next discourse: “Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?”
Richard “Jake” Jackson is a Deacon at The BIBLE Baptist Church, and is the founder of Gospel Advocates, Inc. This was written and submitted as a “Letter to the Editor” regarding an item in the news about Creationism vs. Darwinism. The newspaper declined to publish it, so we’re publishing it here.
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