Evolution v. Creationism
Nye vs. Ham, Science vs. Religion, and why it is okay to like both.
(EDIT: Evangelical Evolution is simply the words I chose for consistency in a few conversations I was holding prior to this post. Later in the post I suggest Theological Evolution, which may make more sense to many people. Both terms I use interchangeably.)
As many Kentuckians, and I can only assume, many Americans tuned in for the Evolution v. Creation Debate this past Tuesday between Mechanical Engineer and Science TV Star Bill Nye (bowtie and all) and Ken Ham, holding a Bachelors of Applied Science and wide experience with Young Earth Creationism, stirred quite a few pots of discussion between all sorts of people with all sorts of beliefs.
Both sides were shown, but as often in the world of polarizing systems, there is little room for the middle ground. Likewise, the vocal minority always wins out in a shouting match and the Militant Creationists as well as the Militant Evolutionist/Atheists came out and dominated conversation with shouting and name-calling without really grasping the true idea of why we are talking about this in the first place. If they are to be believed, it is black or white, and no cross contamination is allowed.
So, I have written this post to give a glimpse of one of the many “gray” options.
A friend recently asked me about the contradiction of terms when I combined Evangelical Evolutionist; lets first break down and look at what each word means.
Evangelism is the idea of believing in something, and actively teaching, and sharing that something; to try and spread that something across every plain it could reach. And in the common vernacular it has latched on and has in some ways been fused with Christianity.
Evolution is simply the gradual development of something. But in the sense I was using it, Evolution stands more directly for the scientific Theory of Evolution publically started by Charles Darwin and his book, “The Origin of Species” and continued by scientists since.
In many social circles, these two things don’t fly together. In many ways they are generally pitted against each other in the public’s eye. And in many ways, they are each discredited by the other side of the paradigm. I am not going to go into any great detail into either of the subjects alone, but I highly suggest you take a gander over at the Wikipedia articles located here and here. And if you want a more visual/oral presentation, head over to livedebate.com where the video of the Nye v. Ham Debate is currently being shown.
The basis for Evangelical Evolutionism, or Theological Evolutionism is combining the two ideas that can and do in fact go together. Below is a brief idea of how they work together. I will be using quite a few “I”’s and “personally believes” so bare with me.
(And here is when I start sharing my beliefs and opinions.)
Genesis 1, the creation story, I believe is 100% true. God created the world that we live in and the lives that inhabit it. But, the literal words of Genesis is Hebrew poetry. By Poetry, I don’t mean worthless and fabricated. The opposite of that actually. The first book of the Bible was written by a man, with the guidance and inspiration of God to help every person on this Earth know how they got here and who was responsible for this life miracle. I believe that is the main point of Genesis.
When you read and understand Genesis in the sense that God, and in extension, Moses, wanted his people to understand the creation of the universe. That in many ways almost demands teaching to the lowest common denominator (and not a derogatory way); teaching in a way that all could understand. I mean, if God wanted to be understood, he couldn’t really say: “ Take a look at the Wikipedia article for Maxwell’s Equations, that is light”.
That was partially a joke, but I think you get the point. The Creation Story was written in a way that the people and the society at the time could understand it. I think he works even today to help us understand his work. Who is to deny that God works through scientists and their ideas to once again show us the world, and get just a tiny glimpse of what he has done and continues to do.
Science (again my opinion) is just another way for us to look at the great landscape that God created, both physically and mentally. I can visually see the mountain ranges; I can hear the mating calls of wild birds; I can taste the refreshing creek water; I can smell the scents of plant and animal alike; I can touch the physical and tell it is there. Why is it so hard to view God’s creation through the intellectual route that science provides.
Karen Armstrong, a leading Religious History Scholar even suggests the idea of science already working within religion. She says, “Before the modern period, Jews, Christians and Muslims all relished highly allegorical interpretations of scripture. The word of God was infinite and could not be tied down to a single interpretation. Preoccupation with literal truth is a product of the scientific revolution, when reason achieved such spectacular results that mythology was no longer regarded as a valid path to knowledge.”
Above you can just get a taste of why I take the Creation Story with a heavy dose of symbolism, mythology, allegory, and parables. It isn’t that I don’t believe in God or his wondrous creation of the Universe (as some Young Earth Creationists have said to me), it is that I find my own way to interpret what God has given me.
With that explained, I think it is fairly easy to guess how the Theory of Evolution falls into the plan. God created all this somehow, right? Why is it impossible to think God created the world and the lives on it through the gradual process of Evolution? Who is to say that through evolution he couldn’t shape and guide it to the Day of Reckoning? This understanding lets us as Christians open up our world to scientific study that could has conflicted with the Young Earth Creationist viewpoint.
This is just an introduction to just one way in which science and religion can work together and through each other to allow us rich and rewarding lives. A couple different of people asked me about it when I posted on the social media outlets about the Nye v. Ham Debate. I did not go incredibly detailed into this, like I said, it was just an incredibly general and sparse preamble. If there are any questions, additions, comments, recommendations, corrections, or snide remarks you can leave them in the comments, or contact me in any way you wish. Facebook, Twitter, Email, or other methods.
Have an awesome day!
