I was raised in a home where evolution was seen as the devil's handiwork. It was a huge shock when I got to Taylor University and found out that all of their science faculty believed in evolution. Since then it seems that every VERY smart person that I have met believed in evolution. So my question has always been, if evolution is somehow true and I believe the Bible to be completely true, how do I reconcile the two? Things like calling the first 12 chapters of Genesis myth or just saying it is all a mystery didn't make sense to me.Last week we watched the NOVA program Intelligent Design on Trial on PBS. It was very well done and raised more questions than answers for me. I was especially frustrated by the Christians that were involved. The Intelligent Design movement seems like a meager attempt at repackaging Creationism and "backdooring" it into mainstream thought. Many of the people interviewed came out and said as much.
Since, I have been seeking for either some Christians who believed in evolution that could reconcile their views with those of the Bible well or for Creationists who were seeking to scientifically support the words of the Bible. This is when I came across Reasons to Believe. It is an organization that seeks to support a Biblical creation model through science. The founder, Dr. Hugh Ross, is a former CalTech fellow. All of the people on his staff are also REAL scientists. I listened to a debate that was hosted by the Veritas Forum (an awesome organization). In this debate, for the first time, I heard Christians who all believed in Jesus debating evolution and creation. It was great. I think at this point I have come to a few working conclusions.
- I believe that the Bible is true and does not contain any "myth".
- I believe that science can and does support claims in the Bible. All truth is God's truth. The more we find out about science, the more it will help make sense of the Bible.
- These are tough issues for smarter people than me, but I am expected to work on them in my own way.
- Smart people who love Jesus disagree on these issues.
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3 comments:
Great post. I watched this special also and found it very interesting. After seeing the extensive Darwin exhibit (including the Bible he brought on the voyage of The Beagle) at Chicago's Field Museum a few months ago, it seemed pretty clear that you'd have to ignore some really solid science to discount Darwin's theories wholesale - Natural Selection and the passing-on of beneficial traits makes too much sense.
Unfortunately, most of the Creationists on the PBS special were presented as rubes...on the couch in their living room mumbling about how the Bible don't say nuthin' 'bout us coming from monkeys. While the Darwinists were filmed in labs and libraries in their white coats...but that's PBS for ya.
Darwinism, though, doesn't account for the beginning of life, just the evolution of it since the first organisms - so my question is, "where did that first living cell come from?" I know the focus of the PBS special was the legality of teaching Creationism in schools, but I would've liked to hear the Darwinists' speak more on the origin of life.
I'm looking forward to browsing your links...and I want to hear the debate you mentioned.
Isn't there a quote somewhere about the weakness of an unquestioned faith...C.S. Lewis, maybe? "Faith like a child" is one thing, but dismissing faith-challenging scientific thought because of apparent surface Biblical incongruousness seems dishonest and indicative of a weak faith. If I don't think my faith can stand up to questioning and debate, I'm kidding myself!
Gregg,
Great comment. That is exactly the sentiment with which I began my investigation. I believe in God; I believe in some of the things that these people are studying; now what? I'll look forward to continuing this conversation in person in a few weeks.
Andy
I must agree with Gregg's assessment of the obvious bias that PBS has toward anything Christian. Believers always seem to be represented by those who are not "as smart or sophisticated" as those on the other side of the debate. That makes me tend to discount a lot of their arguments. Call that whatever you may....that's just how it strikes me.
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