Horses don’t give birth to baby pigs

And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. ¹² The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷ And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” ²¹ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. ²⁵ And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. – Genesis 1:11-25

We had an unexpected guest in our container garden pepper plant. A tomato plant appeared. Uninvited but welcome. Unexpected but not a mystery. Simple explanation: either a seed from a nearby tomato plant made its way into the soil, or the pepper plant seedling we bought had accidentally contained also a tiny too-difficult-to-notice tomato seedling. We know the pepper plant didn’t produce tomatoes. Horses don’t bear baby pigs. 

This is a reflection of a phrase that runs throughout this first chapter of Genesis: “According to their kind.” 

I learned long ago of several scientific arguments against evolution. From the amount of dust on the surface of the moon, to the decay of the strength of the north and south pole’s magnetic energy, to the second law of thermodynamics: entropy increases. I find these arguments interesting, and worthy of note. They form a significant foundation for rejecting the idea that all life evolved from a single cell from some sort of primordial soup. 

The Answers from Genesis website offers some helpful arguments that are based on both scientific investigation as well as the Genesis account of creation:

The strategy of using design arguments which are divorced from Scripture was tried once before, in the early 19th century, and it failed to convert people or to overcome the growing skepticism in the once-Christian cultures of Britain and America. In our evangelism we need to present design arguments and the Scriptures at the same time.

They also point out that, “Gecko feet, bat wings, and horse leg bones are among many structures that defy evolution. Design implies a Designer, and life certainly looks designed!”

I like to use the found watch argument: If you find a watch, you naturally conclude that someone lost it, that it was made for the purpose of telling time, and didn’t just happen to come into being over billions of years. It had its origin in a watch factory. We believe that without ever actually seeing a watch factory. 

When you go to the grocery store and buy a can of beans you fully expect to get beans. They don’t morph on the way home into corn or deviled eggs. If you do discover your can of beans to be filled with beets, you naturally conclude that there was a labeling mistake. 

We take the orderliness of our world for granted. Instead we ought to thank God for creating a world in which there is an orderly progression of life, and marvel at the created beauty of flowers, the near miraculous experience of newborn life, and the majesty of mountains, seas, and stars. These all reflect the glory of God and point us to our incredible privilege of knowing him and experiencing his creation.