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Writer's pictureBible Brian

Mechanic done it


Evolutionists like to claim that Christianity hinders science, as rather than look for real answers to questions about nature, we just say "God done it" and leave it at that. Christianity is said to be intellectually lazy, and Evolutionists are somehow superior because they do prefer to look for answers. This infantile claim is completely untrue.

Think of the universe as a car. Both Creationists and Evolutionists are looking at the same car. On the topic of origins, creationists know it was created by an intelligent designer, and there's no way it could have come about without one. Evolutionists, by contrast, insist that the only way to find out how the car was created is to look at the systems within.

So the Evolutionists start examining the car, while the Creationists search for the designer. They find him, and he hands them his autobiography. In the front, there's an explanation of how he created the car. There are also instructions explaining how the car should be used, and how it should eventually be returned when it can't be used properly anymore.

So the Creationists return to the car, and find the Evolutionists hard at work, trying desperately to explain how it came about. The Creationists show them the book, but are met with mockery. "The mechanic done it isn't a valid answer!" They shout.


The Creationists examine the car, knowing full well how it came about, and try to figure out how it works. Meanwhile, the Evolutionists do the same, all while vehemently denying the creator's influence on the origins of the car. Eventually, one of the Evolutionists decides the car should be fuelled with diesel. A Creationist, having read the creator's book, objects, citing page 4, which says the engine was specifically designed for petrol. The Evolutionists begin to scold the Creationists, calling them anti-scientific bigots. The car is fuelled with diesel, and not surprisingly, it breaks.


The Evolutionists again try to figure out how the car was made, until one of them finally announces that, based on how the pedals all look similar, each of the car's components must have resulted from an explosion in a junkyard. After hundreds of thousands of random events, all of the engine's components finally formed together, then the car finally gained a frame, some doors and finally, the seats just jumped inside. He still can't figure out why the car seems to prefer petrol to diesel, but it must have happened at some point.


The Creationists pull out the book again and show the Evolutionists exactly where it explains the creation process, and that it had nothing to do with a junkyard explosion, and the creator chose petrol over diesel because it's cheaper. The Evolutionists scold the Creationists as being anti science until finally, some of the Creationists decide to compromise. They still believe in the creator, but the Evolutionists insist the car couldn't be created in the manner the book says, so maybe the creator didn't do it quite like the book says. Maybe the book has some allegory in it, just like the part where the creator says he felt like he was in a desert, when really it was just a hot day and the garage had poor ventilation.

The Creationists, quite upset by being accused of hating science, continue to examine the car, and they learn many interesting things. They learn how the speedometer measures the speed of the car. They figure out how the breaks are connected to the headlights. With the help of the Evolutionists, they even figure out how to make the engine a bit quieter, and even with their constant bickering over origins, they have fun playing with the car. One day, the car gets old and rusty, and it can't function anymore, so they take it back to the garage from whence it came.

As the last scientist steps out of the car, a door opens, and out steps the creator himself. He looks disappointed. What was once a beautiful car is now a shell with sawdust in the engine.

He looks first to the Creationists, still holding his book. It's filled with bookmarks, and covered in various colours of highlighters. "I think each of you deserve your own cars." He says.


Then he looks to the Theistic Evolutionists. Some of them are holding copies of his book, and while they've crossed out some bits and added their own, there are some bookmarks and highlights. The mechanic splits the Theistic Evolutionists into two groups, and to the first group he says "I'm giving you your own cars, too."

Then he turns to the Evolutionists, and the remaining Theistic Evolutionists. The few who are holding his book have no bookmarks or highlights. Pages are torn out, sentences have been scribbled on, and there are plenty of doodles. "You think I'm making you cars? Get out of my garage. You're walking."

Here we have a summary of the origins debate. First thing to note: There's only one correct answer. Before the Creationists and Evolutionists even find the car, the fact is the car was created by a single mechanic in a specific way. In much the same way, our universe has an origin. One origin. Not two, not seven, one. The Evolutionists mock the Creationists for their belief in the mechanic, but the mechanic does exist, he did create the car, and so while it's not entirely satisfactory, the Creationists actually could have just claimed "the mechanic done it". In much the same way, God exists, he did create the universe, and Christians can accurately claim "God did it" when talking about origins.

Which leads us on to our second point: The origins debate and science are seeparate issues. The mechanic was not present in the car turning every cog, spinning every piston etc. Once he'd created the car, it worked. It worked in a very specific way, and it worked that way as and when it was required to. The scientists could then examine it constantly and try to figure out how it worked, regardless of their view of how the car came to exist. In the same way, our universe functions in the same way regardless of who looks at it. You don't need to believe in God to do science any more than you need to believe in a mechanic to drive a car. It certainly helps, though. If you assume the car is designed for driving, you will drive it, but if you assume it has no function, you might as well use it as a glorified flower pot.

The petrol vs. diesel analogy represents morality. All throughout this analogy, all involved parties agree on the purpose of the car, just as most humans would agree that it is a good thing to further humanity. Even prominent Evolutionists like Bill Nye, or Richard Dawkins, vehemently defend the idea that our use of science should be for the benefit of our kind. But without reference to the creator, why should we believe that?


The Creationists and Evolutionists disagree on what fuel should be used. The Evolutionists prefer diesel, but the mechanic's autobiography says petrol should be used. They use diesel, the car breaks. In our world, morality really does matter. When we act up, our societies fall.

Then comes the rise of Theistic Evolution. After a long time of believing the creator's book, some of the Creationists decide to go along with the Evolutionists. Still believing in the creator, they decide to ignore or trivialise his book. In the real world, Theistic Evolution has only recently sprouted, and unfortunately it's covering the Church like fungus. It requires a decreased view of the Bible.

Creationism, thankfully, is not a salvation issue. Theistic Evolution was nailed to the cross with Jesus, so a Christian who believes in Theistic Evolution can still be saved (represented by the highlights and bookmarks in the mechanic's book). The mechanic still gives some of the Theistic Evolutionists their own cars, just as he does the Creationists, because it doesn't matter how they believe the car was created. It's their relationship with the mechanic, displayed by their treatment of his car, that matters.

However, Theistic Evolution is often a slippery slope towards unbelief. Jesus actually said if you can't believe him when he speaks of Earthly things, you can't believe him when he speaks of Heavenly things (John 3:12). This is represented by the other group of Theistic Evolutionists, who barely still believe in the creator, but their copies of his book are torn, blacked out and lacking any sign of them having studied it. Effectively, they're no different from the Evolutionists. It is noted that the mechanic describes the garage as being like a desert. This is because there is allegory in the Bible. The Psalms, for example, describe the Earth as immovable, the trees clapping their hands and the oceans singing. But just as the mechanic wasn't messing around when he described the creation process of the car, so also does God use minimal allegory when describing the creation process of the Earth. Peter even warned that people would deliberately forget this process (and the global judgement that followed) one day (2 Peter 3:3-6).

The origins debate will likely continue for as long as the Earth endures, but ultimately there is only one real answer, the issue has been settled, and eventually God is going to turn up to prove that. The question is, will you trust your mechanic?

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