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Did life arise naturally or supernaturally? Can undirected, random processes result in complex life forms or is there evidence to support the notion of a Creator? Can we reconcile our knowledge of evolution and a belief in God? These are important questions for some people.
Much research has been undertaken and various scientific theories proposed, but – while widely publicised and accepted – they have their problems, and in the academic community they are often vigorously debated.
In our view the evidence currently known points to a ‘both/and’ situation (creation and evolution) rather than ‘either/or’: there was an initial creation, followed by a vast amount of evolution, geological and biological. Far from being static, the world was created to be ever changing, unfolding continually new forms and opportunities until its purpose should be fulfilled. The question of the age of the earth is also not one of 'either/or': we believe the earth is much older than 6000 years but much younger than 4.5 billion years. The view is counter-cultural and controversial, but whatever its degree of acceptability, we encourage interested readers to explore the issues for themselves.
This section offers some discussion of the issues concerning evolution and creation. We encourage you to explore the linked pages at your leisure.
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Our theme is Noah and his escape from a primeval cataclysm that once engulfed the whole world. The story is familiar, perhaps all too familiar, and of course the image of different animals gathered into the safety of an ark is very apt for a zoo, especially where one of its aims is conservation. But the theme also raises questions about whether such an extraordinary story could be true – indeed whether the whole biblical narrative from Creation to the final Apocalypse is true. The three pages linked below provide some starting points:
The Flood story in brief
The ring of truth
When it happened geologically
Darwinism has no explanation of how the atoms and all the laws of nature should just come to ‘be there’, no adequate theory of how life with its highly complex DNA suddenly appeared, and no evidence to show that single-celled life forms evolved into the much more complex forms of the later fossil record. It also cannot explain how consciousness, instinct, free will, and sexual reproduction came into being.
Colin Tudge, author of The Secret Life of Birds, commented on how biological science tends to reduce and impoverish our view of reality:
But life isn’t just a simple game of DNA, and nature as a whole doesn’t work like a simple piece of machinery. The relationship between the DNA and the rest of the cell, and the cell and the rest of the organism, and the organism and its environment, and all creatures in all environments and the fabric of the earth itself, is one of dialogue: a two-way exchange of information: a host of interacting, intersecting feedback loops, both positive and negative.
Researchers notice design in every cell and in every bone, but it’s like the proverbial elephant in the room: no one dares mention the obvious implications for a God-excluding view of reality.
 While we don't profess to have all the answers, we think people should have the freedom to believe in God and know that it makes good sense in relation to the world around them – a freedom frequently restricted by mainstream science and broadcasting.
We argue the case for a new approach. We believe the fossil record does not show one evolutionary tree of life but rather genetically controlled diversification from a number of original forms (Evolution: Yes and No). Geological dating methods, though valid if one accepts that radioactive decay rates have been constant over time, lead to ages in conflict with the evidence of the rocks themselves ('How old is the Earth?' – sister website). Earth history is best understood as a story of recolonisation and gradually declining instability following a primeval cataclysm (The evidence of fossils).
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