(Currently an unpolished work in progress).
Is evolution true? In short, the answer is "No." But, this requires some explanation.
The term "evolution" has multiple meanings, but usually what is meant by the question "Is evolution true" is whether the theory of common descent and of organisms becoming progressively more and more complex through natural selection true.
Most scientists today believe that all living things today evolved from a common ancestor that lived long ago. According to this world view, bacteria that lived billions of years ago mutated and evolved and eventually became the millions of kinds of species that exist today. This is the theory of common descent.
The term "evolution" is also used to refer simply to changes that occur to populations of organisms over the course of generations. Evidence for change of this sort is abundant, and very few, if any, creation scientists argue against this kind of evolution. Creationists generally prefer to simply call such changes "adaptation" to distinguish such changes from molecules-to-man type evolution. Such adaptations are no problem for those who believe what the Bible says about creation.
The theory of the evolution of all of our modern species through billions of years of natural selection, however, has great difficulties if we try to make this theory fit what the Bible teaches us about God, His character, and about how God relates to His creation. Proponents of evolutionary theory often teach that science is about the order of the physical universe and that religion is about the purpose of the universe, and so, being about two totally different things, they say that it is impossible for scientific ideas to conflict with religious ideas. In other words, don't worry that evolution might destroy your religious faith, because it has nothing to do with religious faith. This idea is a smooth sugar coating on the pill of evolution, and has probably resulted in the loss of spiritual faith for tens of thousands of unsuspecting students. The reason is because the idea is simply not true, though it may sound good on the surface. The truth is that order and purpose are, and have always been, very related to each other. The physical make-up of an airplane or of a backhoe has a lot to do with its purpose, which is why no airplane is ever likely to look like a backhoe or vise versa! The same is true about the order and purpose of the universe. A universe ruled by dog-eat-dog survival-of-the-fittest is simply incompatible with a cosmic purpose in-line with the golden rule as taught by Jesus. Jesus came to set us free from sin and from death, the wages of sin. But according to evolutionary theory, death has always existed and is not the result of sin at all. The Bible portrays a God who is very intimately involved with His creation. Evolution, even theistic evolution, necessarily challenges this viewpoint.
