Assuming that God did use evolution as his creative mechanism and seeing how God has used the death of the weak, sick, and less fit to advance and cleanse his creation, why should we as Christians not join him in his creative work by keeping the weak and unfit animals or humans from reproducing? How does the evolutionary process of culling the weak and sick logically overcome Jesus’ gospel of helping the sick and unfit?
Tell me if you’ve heard this before, “Could God have used evolution as his creative mechanism?”
I have had several friends tell me that the evolutionary origins story is compatible with the whole biblical narrative and that there is no need to reject the evolutionary story. I would like to take on that claim and analyze it against God’s Word and later against some scientific observations.
The purpose for writing this manifesto is this:
Introduction
Not only is the acceptance of evolutionary thought unnecessary for Christians, but it is dangerous. The acceptance of the evolutionary origins story within the Christian church will erase the conviction of the historicity/truth of God’s Word. If the foundations of scripture (established in Genesis) can be marginalized as mythical or poetic, why should we not also be able to reinterpret doctrinal and historical scriptures to match the latest cultural/societal/scientific paradigms? For example, as homosexuality becomes more and more acceptable in today’s culture, it is feasible (seeing how pliable Genesis has been redefined) to expect Christian churches to ordain homosexual ministers. This is already happening in Episcopal, Presbyterian (PCUSA), and Anglican churches. So the battle for the integrity of God’s Word is not just about Genesis, but about the historicity/veracity of the Bible.
The battle of creation/evolution has been waged on many fronts and in many forums. Can my entry into the fray make a difference? My tiny blog may not turn the tide of the many battles, but for those who get a chance to read the following Manifesto, I hope that:
The intended audience of this manifesto is brothers and sisters in Christ who are unsure of the Biblical teachings regarding origins, Christians who purposefully incorporate the evolutionary story into their worldview, and non-Christians who have categorically dismissed the teachings of the Bible because of the belief that the Bible conflicts with the modern academic paradigm. I have sincerely tried to remove wording that would be inflammatory, and my hope is that this presentation will instead be persuasive in order to help bring unity to Christians.
More and more I see the walls of Christendom open their gates to evolution in the hopes of gaining intellectual credibility. Is the hope of gaining intellectual credibility worth the risk of apostacy? The well-known antitheist, Richard Dawkins has spawned a new idea called the Clergy Project. The idea is that those clergy who have come to see the “truth of evolution” and no longer retain their faith in the Bible can find support from their apostate peers.
So, as Christians, how should we view the introduction of evolution into our theology? Should we be receptive to pastors who are preaching the accommodation of evolution into their views of Genesis?
It seems like the obvious question: ‘Well, did evolution happen, and if it did, how does it square with the account in Genesis?’ It seems to me that that’s the elephant in the room. And what Orthodox intellectuals would do would be to consider the question so abstractly that the question was left unanswered. When I was teaching Genesis myself in seminary, I was able to perform the same kind of magic trick—a sort of distraction: ‘Well, I’m going to talk over here, and it’s all going to sound very smart, but it’s not actually addressing the question.’
I had a conversation this morning with a Christian friend who felt that evolution is okay and should not be resisted. His only explanation in our short conversation was that I need to read the Bible appropriately. If we had more time to discuss, I’m sure that he is referring only to Genesis 1. I’d like to hear how the evolutionary worldview fits with the understanding of Genesis 3, Genesis 6-9, Genesis 11, Exodus 20:11, Exodus 31:15-17, Matthew 24:35-39, Mark 10:6, Acts 17:26, Romans 5, Romans 6:23, Romans 8, I Corinthians 15, I Peter 3:20, II Peter 3:5-6.
If Genesis 1 needs to be read as mythology (apparently counter to the writer’s intent), what about the other passages? Do they need to be read as mythology too? If we have to read the historical parts as mythology to accommodate the evolutionary paradigm, which parts can we read as the writer intended?
Can Christians safely compromise the historical veracity of the Bible? I contend that in the hopes of achieving intellectual credibility, when the Biblical Creation account is mythologized, Christians have lost both intellectual credibility and biblical credibility.
ApoloJedi 