The Problem of the Fossil Record

Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
—Psalm 100:3

A notable flaw in the evolutionist theory is the problem of the fossil record. If all life is the result of slight modifications from a one-celled protozoa, you would think the fossil record would be filled with evidence of transitional forms between a single-celled creature and a multi-celled creature. Many creationists wrongly assume that the fossil record provides evidence for evolution. The fact is, the fossil record is the creationists’ best friend, because the fossil record contains no evidence of macroevolution. Dr. Gary Parker said, “Fossils are a great embarrassment to the evolutionary theory and offer strong support for the concept of creation. If evolution were true, we should find literally millions of fossils that show one kind of life slowly and gradually changing to another kind of life. But missing links are the trade secret, in the science of paleontology.”

Why does the fossil record contain no evidence of slight modifications over a long period of time? Well, the evolutionist will say, “The problem is we just don’t have enough fossils.” If that were true—if the problem were a lack of fossil evidence—then you would expect wherever there are the most fossils you would find the proof of evolution. And yet the opposite is true. There are not enough changes in the fossil record to account for the humungous changes that have occurred between species in life over a long period of time.

Much to the evolutionists’ dismay, the fossil record points to a sudden appearance of life-forms on planet Earth. Even the evolutionists have to admit that all of a sudden, in the Cambrian geological age, there was an explosion of sorts in which all animal life-forms appeared suddenly. And what’s interesting is there are no intermediates to those animals that are contained in the Cambrian explosion. Even more interestingly, 500 million years later, there have been little to no changes in those animals—no fossil evidence of macroevolution. How do you explain the appearance of all of the animals in the animal kingdom in this one geological era? Scientists suggest scenarios based on intuition and assumption rather than on evidence. Their belief system is guided by the assumption that there is no God. Remember this—evolution is more than a scientific theory; it is a religious philosophy. The evolutionist has as many presuppositions as we do. They start with the assumptions that there is no God and that the diversity of life is the result of random mutations. We come to the discussion with the assumption that there is a Creator God. We both have our assumptions. The real question is, to which assumption do the footprints of the universe lead us? The psalmist said it this way, “Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3).

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Four Fatal Flaws of Evolution” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2008.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Dr. Gary Parker, quoted in David B. Loughran, “Evolution: Fact or Fallacy?” Vital Topics, Stewarton Bible School, Stewarton, Scotland, April 1996.