On September 22, 2023, Makati Hope invited a special speaker, Rev. Dr. John Tse, to give its high school students a new perspective on the topic: “Creation vs. Evolution.” Despite the setbacks provided by the vog released by Taal Volcano on that day, the seminar still pushed through, much to the students’ surprise.
Tse is a Nuclear Medicine and Radioisotope expert and president of the International Radiochemical Centre Inc. Canada (IRC Canada) and the Canadian Institute for Global Advancement. He is also a professor of Nuclear Medicine.
The speaker then introduced a Bible verse from Romans 1:20, which states, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
Tse then discussed evolution, which is a theory proposed by Charles Darwin that explains that while the exact origin of species remains unconfirmed, species have evolved over time to adapt to their surroundings, branching out to different subspecies. Only the "good" species would survive and the "bad" ones wouldn't.
Then, he introduced creation, which is a theory from the Bible stating that all humans were created equal by God. However, evolution argues that someone is superior to another, but since it is impossible to go back in time, creation and evolution will remain theories and will never be truly proven.
The Rev. Dr. further expounds that God loves beautiful things, which is why we all love beautiful things and despite having beauty preferences, we all love God’s creations. Then, he goes on to explain a simple logic—0≠1. Meaning, “1” has to be there before evolution. We need one to exist and then from that one, we begin to evolve.
“If you look at yourself, you will see some of God’s creation. Everything God created has a purpose,” Tse says. He explains that biology also shows things that we are made to do. Only life forms bring life.
After, he states that evolution is based on random selection or designed mutation, there is no specific design or intelligence required. However, the evolution of species serves its purpose, like how the wings of birds allow them to take flight, or how the human eye is meticulously designed and needs every part to be functional for the entire eye to work. Tse adds that those wearing glasses aren’t evolving, rather they are evolving backward. This will become a problem for glasses-requiring individuals in the far future.
Tse asks, why then are humans able to see the colors of a flower vividly while the bee sees it in muted colors? He answers that the colors of the flowers are made for human sight, but the bees’ color vision has adapted to show which flowers have nectar that they can harvest.
He gives another example of intelligent design: zebras have unique stripes that allow them to recognize each other, but their black and white stripes are actually designed for them to escape predators; since they travel in herds, their stripes blur when they run, confusing the predators.
Another example given was how human eyebrows are short so as to not obstruct our vision, and they curve outwards to deflect sweat and raindrops.
However, there is also random bad mutation, like the development of cancer cells that have been the cause of death for many.
Tse says that we don’t have enough Earth time to actually see mutation. It will take many, many years to see evolution take place, and the years of our lifetime are numbered.
Evidence says that we are not from apes, but rather from a mother and father. “You cannot give your blood to the monkey, but you can to fellow humans,” Tse says.
If God indeed exists, we should know His and our purpose. Many people acknowledge God as the creator of the universe. Therefore, the aforementioned verse—Romans 1:20—is true.
Tse concludes that creation wins over evolution. We all live in suffering and we will always need Him in all aspects of life but despite this, we must always remember that we were created by God with a purpose.
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