Creation or evolution: what Christians can agree on

A somewhat recent article in Christianity Today highlighted some of the things that Christians can agree on in terms of how the world came into being, irrelevant of their position on whether God formed the world more through creation or evolution. Todd Wilson provides “ten theses on creation and evolution that we believe (most) evangelicals can (mostly) affirm.” The following are a few of those theses:

  • “Whatever Scripture teaches is to be believed as God’s instruction, without denying that the human authors of Scripture communicated using the cultural conventions of their time.”
  • Genesis 1-2 is “historical in nature, rich in literary artistry, and theological in purpose.”

Last of all, Wilson argues that “The Christian faith is compatible with different scientific theories of origins, from young-earth creationism to evolutionary creationism, but it is incompatible with any view that rejects God as the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Christians can (and do) differ on their assessment of the merits of various scientific theories of origins,” even moving to the point where more Christians are now okay with saying that God used evolution to form the world as noted by another recent Christianity Today article.

Because there are so many differing views on origins, Wilson argues that Christians should be humble about how they approach their own understanding of the formation of the world (and how they dialogue with others about it). As a pastor, I wish this last point was something all Christians would be willing to acknowledge, especially as I think too many people have been hurt by not doing so.

Leaving the church over (bad views of) science?

America recently published an article about why teens are leaving the church. In that article, Dinges highlights that, according to two recent reports looking at young people’s church relationship to church, one of the reasons young people give for leaving the church is related to science (or reason). Yet, Dinges, points out that it might not be science (or reason) causing young people to leave so much as it is a misunderstanding of reason (and its relationship to faith).

Dinges notes:

A related disaffiliation rationale that both reports suggest is in need of deeper exploration concerns the role of science. Significant numbers of teens indicated that their beliefs were now predicated on “factual evidence.” In one fashion or the other, they attributed their departure from religion to their ideas of what is required by a belief in science. These assertions, like knowledge of the content of their faith, raise the question of scientific literacy: How much do most respondents—especially young ones—actually know and understand about both scientific facts and scientific epistemology? Data on American scientific literacy in general is not encouraging in this regard. Nor is it apparent why Catholicism, a tradition that extols a positive relationship between faith and reason, apparently falls so short here.

Dinges’s question about how well people actually understand science is helpful for encouraging a healthier understanding of the relationship of faith and science. As a pastor, I’d also say that a better understanding of faith and the role of certainty in faith would also be helpful.

Science and Faith need not compete

NPR recently published an article about a Bible study that focused on science, highlighting that science and faith do not have to compete.

The article notes the following:

Science and Christianity often seem at odds in the public imagination. But some churches have made part of their mission to lessen that tension by bringing science into Bible study.

“You can’t have a seat at the table if you don’t speak science,” said Matthew Groves, 24, an adult Bible study teacher at Nashville’s First Baptist Church. He lists climate change, artificial intelligence and bioethics as just a few of the substantive issues people of all faiths are struggling with in today’s world. In order for churches to be relevant cultural institutions, he said, they have to engage with these things.

As important as it is for the church to engage with science, there are still significant challenges, as Sociologist Elaine Ecklund highlights: “When you get to scientific research that seems to challenge conceptions that religious people have about who God is, or who human beings are, then you see some tensions arising.”

At Campus Edge we do our best to be honest about the challenges while also asking how the tension might help us understand the world and God better.

Evolution and Flourishing

A recent tweet by Tim Keller illustrates how a lot of people see evolution as being about the strong overcoming the weak. Keller asks:

Andy Walsh, however, argues that this is a misunderstanding of evolution. Instead, as Walsh puts it:

Evolutionary biology is not a last-organism-standing proposition. Look at the vast diversity among living species. There’s not a single, most fit species on its way to domination at the expense of all others. A wide assortment of resources means there are numerous niches that can be occupied fruitfully. Thus I don’t see where evolutionary biology necessarily mandates cutthroat behavior; to the contrary, it strikes me as a call to maximize flourishing.

Most of the scientists I know who understand evolution as being the means by which God formed the world see science (and evolution) as helping them to be more in awe of God and how God works. Thinking about evolution as leading to a maximization of flourishing seems to me one of the ways in which we can be filled with wonder about how creation and God work.


Science and faith redefining altruism

Steve, one of the board members of Campus Edge, wrote a fascinating article about how science and faith can help us understand altruism. He notes that, “For a given behavior, if the degree of relatedness times the benefit is greater than the cost this behavior should be favored by natural selection.” Through Jesus the degree of relatedness, both to other human beings and to the whole creation, increases significantly. Steve concludes by noting that “It is only this spiritual kinship that can empower the kind of altruism necessary in a broken world desperate for beings who put others ahead of themselves.”

I encourage you to read the article and appreciate how his understanding of science and faith helps us understand the good we do (and ought to do) for the whole world.

How does evolution affect the image of God as Creator?

Steve, one of Campus Edge’s board members, has spent a lot of time pondering how evolution affects our understanding of God. Two pieces of work that he has written explore how evolution can point to God’s power and awe-inspiring work.

He put together a blend of the words of David (Psalm 8 and 104) and Darwin, which is titled “Psalm 1859” (Darwin’s The Origin of Species was published that year). This was published by BioLogos as part of a two-part blog post about his trip to an evolutionary biology conference in the Galapagos Islands a few years ago. Part 2, which includes Psalm 1859 at the end, is here: He borrowed directly from Psalm 8, Psalm 104, and The Origin with my point being that Darwin expressed the same wonderment at creation as did the Psalmist.

A more original piece that he wrote considers the past, present, and future of God’s creative work and our role in it:

Integrating one’s faith and one’s discipline

It delights me to hear from the wisdom of those participating in Campus Edge. And last week’s conversation about how to integrate one’s faith and one’s discipline did not disappoint.

Graduate school is about being formed deeper in one’s discipline. The deeper one gets involved in one’s discipline, the more one is shaped by that discipline: you could say that each discipline disciples a person into a certain way of being and thinking. This then affects one’s faith, as these ways of being and thinking affect one’s relationship with others and God. Scientists, who are taught to question everything and accept as true only things that can be proven, often question the validity of their faith and Christian beliefs – because how can one prove that it is true? Musicians (and artists), who are taught the validity of each person’s experience, also question the validity of their faith but for a very different reason: how can we accept that Christian beliefs and my faith is more true than someone else’s faith or beliefs? For professional students, one’s questions about faith and beliefs are less likely to be intellectual and instead are often very practical: what does faith and belief look like in the presence of suffering and death and the ugly side of human beings?

Knowing the tendencies of one’s discipline helps one to recognize and understand one’s faith questions better. It also helps those of us supporting (other) graduate and professional students, as we recognize the crises of faith that are likely to happen. We can trust that God will be present in the midst of the questions and can thus be hopeful that people will grow in their understanding of God and their own discipline.

We can also rejoice in how growing to love one’s discipline can help one grow to love God more. Many doctors and veterinarians can delight in how the discoveries of medical science allows them to help others. Many scientists appreciate God better on account of the wonders they discover in creation. Many musicians become closer to God through music. Many academics understand their own assumptions about the world, God, and others through being forced to identify the assumptions that those in their own discipline make about the same things.