Discussing Evolution with Care

Mouw's Musings: Discussing Evolution with Care

...Not that I have no thoughts about that subject. When I was a teenager, Bernard Ramm’s A Christian View of Science and the Scripture was quite controversial in my part of the evangelical world. So I read it, and he convinced me that something in the neighborhood of “progressive creationism” and “theistic evolution” was quite acceptable for those of us with a high view of biblical authority, and that is where I have been on the subject ever since. So if anyone asks me, I feel quite free to say that I do not believe in a literal six-day creation, and that an acceptance of the Genesis account is quite compatible with a belief in evolution.

But I worry some about giving too much encouragement to the defenders of evolution, especially because of a controversy that took place a few years ago.  It hasn’t gotten a lot of notice, but it should inject a note of caution into the views of those of us who distance ourselves from the “young earth” types. ...

Comments

[Sam Carr]

Michael, I was also very impressed with Ramm's book when I first read it even though at the time I felt myself 'too conservative' to fully accept his positions. Subsequently I wonder at the lack of alternatives facing Christians especially as to how they view Genesis. For one thing, the category of 'true myth' has practically been wiped out of the modern consciousness.

On the one hand we certainly should not be allowing the popular understanding that science disproves the bible to hold sway. On the other hand our own thinking on how Genesis and science are both truthful has to be much more clearly worked out and expressed.

[Michael W. Kruse]

"On the other hand our own thinking on how Genesis and science are both truthful has to be much more clearly worked out and expressed."

Amen! The thing that has really helped me in gaining more understanding about several biblical issues is the role of stories in ancient cultures. It is such a different world from our scientific factual apporach to things. I think when begin to understand how stories communicate authoritative truth many difficulties disappear but we have to learn to read looking through different lenses.