After talking for about 30 minutes about creationism vs. evolution, and he’s really good at it, Jeff Phillips motioned out toward the 13,645-square-foot addition to Covington Church of Christ that is expected to be finished by the middle of February.
“Look out at that building,” said Phillips, an associate minister at the church with a congregation of about 250. “There was a designer, a builder. It didn’t just happen and the world is the same way. If you’re going to have something that functions then there was something behind it. This movie shows what was behind it.”
The movie Phillips is talking about is a documentary called “Is Genesis History?” It grossed $2.6 million when it was released in theaters in February of 2017 and the church is showing the movie at no charge Jan. 18-20.
As anyone who knows much about evolution and the Bible is probably aware, creationism according to the Bible and the theory of evolution don’t go together very well.
Most scientists believe intelligent life began around 400 million years ago. While the Bible does not give a specific date of the beginning of the world, studies of the text conducted in the 17th century (most notably James Ussher) theorized it began about 6,000 years ago, which is something Phillips believes to be about right.
“Is Genesis History?” uses creation science to promote young Earth creationist beliefs that contradict generally-accepted scientific facts regarding the origin of the universe, the age of the Earth and the descent of all lifeforms.
“You gotta believe in something and only one side of the story is being told in a popular way,” Phillips said. “Any museum is talking about 450 million years ago as being the first sign of intelligent life. That doesn’t jive with scripture.”
Phillips has many beliefs that are shared in the film. He talks about gaps in fossil records and doesn’t believe in evolution.
“The idea that things get better over time? Time erodes things, corrodes thing. Evolution says we keep getting better and smarter. There’s nothing in history that illustrates that.”
Several things have been written that question the science depicted in the movie.
Gregg Davidson, a writer for the website biologos.org, wrote, “The strength of each argument is dependent on listeners only being exposed to young-earth resources. While the ubiquitous misrepresentations promulgated in this film are disturbing in their own right, their stated association with the gospel is what is most alarming.”
“Will there be detractors? Absolutely,” Phillips said. “There will be people who come in here and say this is a bunch of hogwash … The idea of this movie is so you can have a little more faith in what you believe in and not just a blind faith.”
