Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation?

Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos

Kenneth Keathley, J. B. Stump, Joe Aguirre, Kenneth Keathley, J. B. Stump, Joe Aguirre

• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9780830892648
• Topic: Theologie & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion & Wissenschaft

- Jesus Creed Book of the Year 2017, Science and FaithChristians confess that God created the heavens and the earth. But they are divided over how God created and whether the Bible gives us a scientifically accurate account of the process of creation. Representatives of two prominent positions—old-earth creation (Reasons to Believe) and evolutionary creation (BioLogos)—have been in dialogue over the past decade to understand where they agree and disagree on key issues in science and theology. This book is the result of those meetings. Moderated by Southern Baptist seminary professors, the discussion between Reasons to Believe and BioLogos touches on many of the pressing debates in science and faith, including biblical authority, the historicity of Adam and Eve, human genetics and common descent, the problem of natural evil, and methodological naturalism. While both organizations agree that God created the universe billions of years ago, their differences reveal that far more is at stake here than just the age of the earth. Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation? invites readers to listen in as Christian scholars weigh the evidence, explore the options, and challenge each other on the questions of creation and evolution. In a culture of increasing polarization, this is a model for charitable Christian dialogue.BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity invite us to see the harmony between the sciences and biblical faith on issues including cosmology, biology, paleontology, evolution, human origins, the environment, and more.

BOUNDARIES

WHAT VIEWS DEFINE YOUR ORGANIZATION?

ROBERT STEWART, DEBORAH HAARSMA,
HUGH ROSS, AND KENNETH SAMPLES

SBC MODERATOR ROBERT STEWART

I have very much enjoyed our dialogues. I have especially enjoyed the vibrant faith that is evident among members of both BioLogos and Reasons to Believe (RTB). I have also appreciated the respectful tone and even fellowship that has always been part of our dialogue sessions.

At least since the publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species, Christians have been all over the map in terms of how to understand the relationship—or lack thereof—between science and theology. In recent times, various organizations that specifically focus on the relationship between Christianity and science have flourished among evangelicals. BioLogos and RTB are among the best-known and most-respected groups seeking to show the harmony that exists between Christianity and science.

There are two overarching domains that enter into this discussion: science and Christian theology. There are also two primary avenues of knowing who God is and what he has done: general revelation (the book of nature) and special revelation (Scripture). Science interprets nature while theology interprets Scripture. Thankfully, both BioLogos and RTB are composed of scientists who love theology and theologians who love science.

There are, however, significant differences between the two groups. I would like Deborah and Hugh to share briefly how their respective groups came to be and something of their purpose, core values, presuppositions, and methods, both scientifically and theologically. Please feel free to shape your responses to fit your group’s unique identity and mission.

Biologos Author Deborah Haarsma

Over many hours of conversation and fellowship together, Bob, Hugh, and others often asked about the views and organization of BioLogos. Here I give an overview and address common questions.

What is your mission? As described in the introduction, BioLogos was founded by Francis Collins, a world leader in genetics and an evangelical Christian. The mission of BioLogos is to invite the church and the world to see the harmony between science and biblical faith as we present an evolutionary understanding of God’s creation.

We hold to these core commitments:

• We embrace the historical Christian faith, upholding the authority and inspiration of the Bible.
• We affirm evolutionary creation, recognizing God as Creator of all life over billions of years.
• We seek truth, ever learning as we study the natural world and the Bible.
• We strive for humility and gracious dialogue with those who hold other views.
• We aim for excellence in all areas, from science to education to business practices.

What do we mean by the Christian faith? We mean the same core beliefs held by Christians over the millennia, from the Apostles’ and Nicene creeds to today. We believe in the Trinity—God the Father, Son, and Spirit. We believe that God created all things, visible and invisible. God transcends his creation and brought it from nothing (creatio ex nihilo); God is immanent in creation, actively participating in a creative and continuing sense (creatio continua); and God will transform the current order of things into his new creation (creatio ex vetere). All people are created in the image of God, yet all have sinned against God and are in need of God’s saving grace. God’s Son became incarnate in the person of Jesus of Nazareth as fully God and fully man. His physical death and historical bodily resurrection provide the only path to salvation and eternal life. The Holy Spirit convicts, equips, guides, and empowers God’s people today. The Bible, including all the books of the Old and New Testaments, is inspired by God, trustworthy, and authoritative for our faith and lives. These core Christian beliefs are not unique to Protestantism but are shared across Christendom. While the BioLogos community is centered in the evangelical Protestant world, we have awarded grants to Catholic scholars, discussed theological insights from the Eastern Orthodox world, and written about church fathers from all branches.

How does BioLogos get from biblical faith to evolution? John 1 and Colossians 1 teach that all things were made through Christ, and in him all things hold together. Because it is Christ’s creation, we are motivated to investigate the natural world and to take seriously the evidence we find there. That evidence tells a compelling story of evolutionary development of the diversity of life over billions of years. Thus we adhere to core Christian commitments while also accepting the scientific evidence for evolution as the current best description of how God brought about the diversity of life on earth. That includes the scientific evidence that humanity began nearly 200,000 years ago in a population of several thousand individuals.

Why use the term “evolutionary creation” rather than “theistic evolution”? It emphasizes God’s creation as the noun, with evolution as the modifier. The parallel with “young-earth creation” and “old-earth creation” highlights how all of these views agree that God created the world while disagreeing about how God acted.

How big is your tent? BioLogos is not a membership organization but a community gathered around the commitments described above. Our board, nine staff, and fellows completely affirm our mission statement, core commitments, and belief statement. Moving out from that center, our advisers, hundreds of guest blog authors, and other friends typically affirm most of these statements, but they are not required to sign an agreement. At times we invite guest blog authors with significantly different views because they have ideas worth discussing. Everyone, regardless of their views, is welcome on our online discussion boards, where the only requirements are to maintain a respectful tone and stay on topic.

One thing we discovered in our dialogue with RTB is that the BioLogos tent of viewpoints is larger than the RTB tent. Even among those who agree with all the BioLogos core commitments and belief statements, there is still a significant range of views that are fully within the organization. Consider the issue of human origins. Within the commitments stated above (e.g., God created humans in his image; they fell into sin; there were more than two individuals at the headwaters of humanity) there are several possible ways to understand Adam and Eve, including as two real historical figures who led a larger group. BioLogos actively fosters research and discussion among the different views on this topic, as discussed in chapter three.

In this volume, the BioLogos authors are speaking from within the BioLogos community, and what they write about here is within the bounds of our core commitments and belief statements. Keep in mind, however, that their view may not be the only view at BioLogos—others in the tent may disagree. The most prominent of such disagreements are noted in the respective chapters.

How does your view compare to other views? The BioLogos commitment to biblical faith gives us a strong basis for unity with Christians who disagree with us about science. Evolutionary creation clearly differs from young-earth creation (YEC)—the view that the earth and universe were made in six twenty-four-hour days only a few thousand years ago—yet we respect their commitment to Christ and biblical authority.

Our Christian commitments are the biggest difference between our views and those of atheistic evolution. In today’s culture, the word evolution has become closely tied to atheistic worldviews, to the point that many Christians find the word itself distasteful or even abhorrent. At BioLogos, however, we completely reject this connection—the science of evolution does not require an atheistic worldview! Instead, like most scientists, we use the word evolution to refer to a scientific process or theory, in the same way scientists refer to the theory of gravity or the process of photosynthesis. Consider the orbits of the planets around the sun. Most Christians are comfortable believing that God governs the motions of the planets and that gravity describes those orbits; the spiritual explanation and the scientific explanation are not mutually exclusive. Similarly, at BioLogos we believe that God governs the development of all life over billions of years and that the science of evolution is an accurate description of that process. Thus BioLogos rejects ideologies such as evolutionism that claim evolution has replaced God or renders humans insignificant or purposeless.

Similarly, BioLogos rejects worldviews such as materialism and scientism that claim that science is the sole source of knowledge and truth, that science has debunked God and religion, or that the physical world constitutes the whole of reality. Rather, we believe that God typically sustains the world using faithful, consistent processes that humans describe as “natural laws.” We reject ideologies such as deism that claim that the universe is self-sustaining, that God is no longer active in the natural world, or that God is not active in human history.

How do your views compare to those of RTB? RTB and BioLogos celebrate our common commitment to biblical Christianity and to science as a means of understanding God’s creation. Moreover, the groups agree on the importance of how we discuss these issues. BioLogos holds that conversations among Christians about controversial issues of science and faith can and must be conducted with humility, grace, honesty, and compassion as a visible sign of the Spirit’s presence in Christ’s body, the church. RTB has not only stated its shared commitment to this goal, but also actively demonstrated it in dialogue with us.

Both groups affirm that God reveals himself in two “books”: the book of nature and the book of Scripture (see, e.g., the Belgic Confession, article 2). Since both revelations are from God, they cannot conflict with each other—they might be referring to different things, but they are not saying contrary things. The apparent conflicts come at the level of interpretation, since scientists do not always agree on how to understand the natural world and Christians do not always agree on how to interpret the Bible. We at BioLogos agree with this statement on the RTB website about interpreting the two books:

We believe God’s two revelations (Scripture and nature) will agree when properly interpreted. When apparent contradictions arise, we reexamine the data—both biblical and scientific—recognizing that our understanding is incomplete. Sometimes the scientific data seems an unclear or awkward fit with the biblical data. But we see such instances as an opportunity to study both of God’s revelations more deeply.1

While both groups start from this framework, they come to significantly different conclusions about what the two books are revealing. The biggest areas of difference are scientific—namely, our respective views on the evolution of life and the origins of the human species. BioLogos finds compelling the scientific evidence that all life, including humans, descended from a common ancestor, and that natural evolutionary processes can bring about the development of species. Keep in mind that both groups believe that God created humans, even though we disagree on the methods God used to create.

Another key area of difference is our approach to biblical inerrancy. Both groups take the Bible seriously as inspired by God, trustworthy, and authoritative for our lives. The BioLogos tent, however, includes a range of views on inerrancy. Some actively embrace the term, viewing the Bible as inerrant in matters of faith and practice. Others, while taking Scripture seriously as authoritative and inspired, do not find inerrant to be a helpful term in describing their views. Most emphasize that Scripture was revealed in a prescientific context, in which God adapted his message to the understanding of the people of the time. Thus, God did not attempt to teach science to the ancient Hebrews. The Bible is God’s revelation for people of all times, but it was God’s word to the original audience before it came to us. That context is essential.

Our organizations have significant differences in how we view the relationship between the Bible and science. At BioLogos, we do not see the Bible as making particular scientific predictions, nor do we develop our own scientific model. Instead, we affirm the process of science taking place in the larger scientific community. We emphasize that the scientific method itself follows naturally from a biblical worldview, as it did for Boyle, Galileo, and Faraday, and that the truths discovered by scientists of any worldview are God’s truth. Thus the scientific conclusions we accept at BioLogos look much the same as those accepted by scientists of all worldviews. We don’t consider this surprising, since all scientists, including atheists, are studying the natural world, God’s general revelation. Where the views of BioLogos differ from most scientists is in the larger religious and philosophical perspective held around those purely scientific conclusions. Because of God’s special revelation in Scripture, we completely reject the claims made by militant atheists in the name of science.

Sometimes we at BioLogos are asked, “If your science looks just like the science of the secular world, why would you believe in God?” Our answer typically is, “For much the same reasons as other Christians.” We commit our lives to following Jesus for reasons such as a deep conviction of our need for a Savior, a spiritual experience of the Holy Spirit or of answered prayer, or seeing how the Bible rings true in our lives and in the world today. We typically see science as a limited tool, not equipped to answer religious questions about God and meaning. But when we view the natural world through the lens of Christian fait...