{"id":18336,"date":"2009-01-14T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-14T17:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=18336"},"modified":"2020-01-14T11:31:35","modified_gmt":"2020-01-14T17:31:35","slug":"do-the-fittest-survive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-the-fittest-survive\/","title":{"rendered":"Do the Fittest Survive?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n

A tenant of evolution is that creatures improve by the principle of the survival of the fittest. Creatures best able to survive and adapt to an environment live to produce offspring while the less fit tend to die off. Hence, as mutations occur, the belief is that the changes which enhance survival remain while harmful mutations are removed from the gene pool. It occurred to me that among the many flaws in evolutionary belief, the principle of the survival of the fittest is in direct contradiction to what God has told us regarding the way this world operates. \u201cI returned and saw under the sun that – the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all<\/i>\u201d (Ecclesiastes 9:11). The wise man, Solomon, noted that best doesn\u2019t always win.<\/p>\n

We see this when watching the Olympic games. The best athletes in the world will at times make spectacular errors and someone who was not quite as good wins the event. Sometimes winning means being lucky; sometimes losing is the result of a small accident that really has nothing to do with your abilities. Then there is the factor of being in the right place at the right time. You might not be the best, but because at that moment there was no one better available, you are chosen.<\/p>\n

Think about the death of Abimelech in Judges 9. Abimelech managed to make himself king of Israel for three years during the days of the Judges. He was a brilliant warrior, winning many battles. He led a strong group of warriors and managed to squelch many rebellions. But in the town of Thebez, while getting set to burn a group of rebels holed up in a tower, a woman took the upper stone used to grind flour by hand, threw it at Abimelech from the top of the tower, and managed to crush his skull. Did this mean that the woman was stronger than Abimelech because she managed to kill him? Was she the better warrior? Or was it simply because she happened to get a lucky shot at the better man (quite possibly with God\u2019s aid).<\/p>\n

\"\"

David slaying Goliath I Samuel 17:50-51<\/p><\/div>\n

The young boy David, inexperienced in war and wearing no armor, brought down a gigantic Philistine warrior with a single stone from a sling-shot. Who was the better warrior? Who had the superior strength, weapons, and armor? And yet an apparently \u201clucky\u201d shot from a small boy brought him down (I Samuel 17:50).<\/p>\n

King Ahab, hoping to thwart a prophecy of God, went to battle dressed as a common soldier. He died when a stray arrow pierced a gap in his armor. \u201cNow a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” The battle increased that day; and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, and died at evening. The blood ran out from the wound onto the floor of the chariot<\/i>\u201d (I Kings 22:34-35). Because of the prophecy, we know that God\u2019s hand guided the arrow, but the man who shot it was just shooting at random. He wasn\u2019t aiming to take out the king of Israel. From his point of view, it was just a lucky shot; yet that unnamed soldier was not necessarily a better warrior or a smarter leader than Ahab.<\/p>\n

Survival of the fittest? No, it doesn\u2019t happen that way in the real world. \u201cBut God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence<\/i>\u201d (I Corinthians 1:27-29).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton A tenant of evolution is that creatures improve by the principle of the survival of the fittest. Creatures best able to survive and adapt to an environment live to produce offspring while the less fit tend to die off. Hence, as mutations occur, the belief is that the changes which enhance…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[80],"class_list":["post-18336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-evolution"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":36443,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-created\/","url_meta":{"origin":18336,"position":0},"title":"God Created","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Download Audio by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 45:9-13 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The ancient language of Hebrew contains two words for making something: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The word 'asah refers to what we do with our talents. We make things from what already exists. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But there is another word, bara, that is used in connection\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90736,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/design-flaws\/","url_meta":{"origin":18336,"position":1},"title":"Design Flaws?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"The design of our shared tubes for eating and breathing causing people to choke to death on their food proves the designer was an utterly incompetent halfwit.......or we evolved\" [NF]. I would say to NF that this argument is ridiculous! That is like saying that if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17700,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sciences-rejection-of-evolution\/","url_meta":{"origin":18336,"position":2},"title":"Science’s Rejection of Evolution","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Dennis Marks To say that evolution is the easiest thing to prove is a statement beyond reason and a product of blind faith. Many will say that \u201call major scientists support evolution.\u201d The fact is there are many scientists who believe in the biblical account. Here is just a small\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/rejected-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":56384,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-fruits-and-tendencies-of-evolution\/","url_meta":{"origin":18336,"position":3},"title":"The Fruits and Tendencies of Evolution","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 29, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jon Gary Williams Typical of many evolutionists is this statement from\u00a0The Meaning of Evolution, by G. G. Simpson: \"Man is the result of a purposeless and materialistic process that did not have him in mind.\" A more recent statement by the famed evolutionist, Julian Huxley, expresses the same sentiment:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42529,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-did-the-elephant-get-its-long-trunk\/","url_meta":{"origin":18336,"position":4},"title":"How Did the Elephant Get Its Long Trunk?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bryan Sharp How did the elephant get its long trunk? In his fairy tale, \"The Elephant's Child,\" Rudyard Kipling fictionally describes how the elephant got its long trunk. Originally, we are told, elephants had short noses, but one day a young elephant got too close to the river and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/AlligatorAndElephant-300x241.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":60937,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-would-jesus-do-about-the-death-penalty\/","url_meta":{"origin":18336,"position":5},"title":"What Would Jesus Do About the Death Penalty?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Joe Neil Clayton Recently C-span carried a speech by Alan Keyes to an audience in Virginia. Mr. Keyes, a respected columnist, orator, and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, captivated his hearers with a lecture on the causes and cures for the moral collapse in our country. Part of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18336\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}