A few weeks ago, my Dad was sorting through some old papers that had belonged to his parents and came across a booklet titled, “Evolution or the Bible—Which?” by Rev. Dewey Whitwell (the subtitle above is a quote from it). Of course, He knew I would be very interested in it! The booklet appears to have been published sometime between 1933 and 1955. We know this because Dr. Judson Rudd, president of William Jennings Bryan University (now Bryan College), wrote the foreword to the booklet and served as president during those years.
Rev./Dr. Dewey Whitwell was from Nashville, Tennessee, and was an evangelist in the Evangelical United Brethren denomination. The publisher of the book stated that Rev. Whitwell attended the Scopes case that was presented before the Supreme Court of Tennessee in 1926. Other than that, I wasn’t able to find much information on Rev. Whitwell, but I did greatly appreciate what he wrote in this booklet over 50 years ago.
In the introduction to the booklet, Rev. Whitwell stated the following:
I wish to call your attention to a pertinent text for this discussion. The text is found in Gen. 1:1, “In the beginning God.” These first four words of the Bible are the key-note [sic] to all its facts. More depends upon these four words than any other words in the Bible. If we do not believe in the truthfulness of the text we cannot believe in a God, Christ, the Holy Ghost, the inspiration of the Scriptures, and Heaven. Therefore it can readily be seen that these four words are the foundation of the Bible.
Is this text true? If it is false then everything else in the Bible is false. If I did not believe in the truthfulness of this text I could not believe in any other words of the Bible. Thank God this text is true. “In the beginning God,” is a fact long ago established. . . . Yet agnostics, infidels, and atheists have tried (in vain) to prove to the world that God, Christ, Salvation, and Heaven, all constitute a fake. The Bible has truthfully stated: “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God.” [Psalm 14:1]
It is important that you believe in this text because otherwise you cannot believe in the special creation of man by God. Evolutionists deny the truthfulness of this text and the remainder of the Bible. (pp. 5–6)
I don’t think I could have said it any better myself! If Genesis isn’t true, then it casts doubt on the validity of the rest of Scripture. To be truly consistent, we must either believe all of it or none of it.
In a later chapter titled, “What is the origin of all life?” Rev. Whitwell begins by summarizing how evolutionists answer the question and then proceeds with what should be the Christian’s response.
Second, let the Bible tell us how all life came into existence. The book of Genesis is the best authority on creation in the all the world. You need not go any farther or search any longer for a better authority. There are two words in the book of Genesis that explain it all, namely, “God created.” This tells us that all life is a product of the creative hand of Almighty God. Therefore, the Bible teaches that all life is a special product of the creative hand of God, who created all things both in heaven and earth. (p. 20)
Yes, the Bible is the ultimate authority, and there is none better, since God was an eyewitness to His own creation!
In a concluding chapter, “What is the influence of evolution?” Rev. Whitwell expounds on the problems inherent in secular education.
Let me draw you another picture of the influence of evolution on the life of the individual. A child is born in a Christian home. He is taught the Lord’s prayer, and the simple story of Jesus and his power to save. He is made familiar with the Bible record of creation, and God’s plan of salvation. He is raised to go to church and Sunday school and to reverence the Word of God, ministers, and Christians everywhere. That boy completes high school and goes off to college. There he comes in contact with a teacher who teaches him that his family tree is millions of years old and that his immediate ancestors were monkeys, or related animals. He is taught that all life came from a nebular matter or a one-cell organism and that through the process of evolution this one-cell organism produced all life; that all species of every sort both in the vegetable an animal kingdom came from this one-cell organism. For four years this young man is drilled in this theory. He never hears this teacher mention the Bible, God, Christ, or the Holy Ghost. In fact the teacher leaves God out of his teaching. This young man returns home with a sheep-skin [sic] diploma in his hand but he says: “Mother, your old book of Genesis is out of date. The Bible and science do not harmonize. Science is an established fact and the Bible is nothing more than a hypothesis, therefore I am forced to discard the Bible.” This is a fair demonstration of the influence of evolution on the lives of individuals. This is exactly what takes place every year. (pp. 24-25)
How saddened Rev. Whitwell would be today knowing that many children who go to Christian colleges (see Already Compromised) have a similar experience after being taught by professing Christian professors who have compromised on God’s Word. Just as it was a call to parents of Whitwell’s time, it is a call to parents today to do their job of teaching and instilling in children the truth of God’s Word. We are blessed in modern times to have so many tools to teach children to defend their faith!
Rev. Whitwell concludes the chapter with this strong affirmation:
Personally I am one hundred per cent [sic] for the Bible, my God, my Christ, the Holy Spirit, the preservation of personal faith in all the cardinal principles of the Christian faith, the peace and progress of the world, the schools of our land, the church, the home, and the Old Time religion. I have decided that if the world wants to stray off after every kind of heresy and false doctrine, I shall continue to say: “Let others do as they may but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” [Joshua 24:15] (pp. 27–28)
I concur, “Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar.” (Romans 3:4) Thank you, Rev. Whitwell, for standing up for the truth of God’s Word in your time, and may we continue the legacy in the battle for the authority and truthfulness of God’s Word in our own generation.
Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!
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