Theistic Evolution: A Personal Examination

Prior to the early 19th century, the Genesis account of human origins was largely taken at face value by Christians in the western world. Yet, as the scientific consensus began to grow and coalesce around Darwinianism, with every major scientific discipline now functioning along its assumptions, the biblical account of creation began to seem untenable. Human origin and development was complicated when evolutionary theories became more focused. The options became (and remain): (1) reject or ignore the biblical account wholesale in favor of naturalistic evolution, (2) reject evolutionary science as flawed and incompatible with Christian doctrine, or (3) seek to harmonize the two, largely by reinterpreting the Bible to accommodate modern science. 

The first option essentially rejects God as Creator. This is off the table for Christians who hold to any sense of orthodoxy. The second option is home to creationists of both the Young Earth and Old Earth type. This is where I am. Science is good and no enemy of Christianity, but I see serious flaws and consequences to evolutionary science that are at odds with truths in Scripture. I’m a pastor, not a scientist, so my concerns are theological. I believe evolution (unguided universal descent with modification of all life from a common ancestor through natural processes, such as genetic mutation and natural selection) will eventually be shown to be false as an explanation for the origin and development of life. Yet not every Christian believes as I do. They may come to a different calculation and be slow to reject what appears to be so widely and firmly held in the scientific community. 

The third option, popularly (though not universally) called ‘Theistic evolution,’ seeks to harmonize the Bible and evolution in some form or fashion, often by suggesting that God used evolution as a mechanism for creation. 

I believe that many Christians who hold this view do so out of a genuine desire to do justice to their Christian faith while taking seriously the claims of modern scientific consensus. There are many Christian men and women who end up holding this position. I sympathize with the impulse, but I do not think it is the most biblically faithful position to hold. Ideas have consequences. Those who add evolutionary theory into their system of Christian belief may find that it causes more problems than it solves. While it may solve the problem of not having to reject current scientific consensus, in doing so it introduces a host of difficult interpretive issues for Scripture far beyond the first few chapters of Genesis. 

What follows is a series of questions for personal reflection, given to guide those who hold to theistic evolution to think through the consequences of their belief. My approach is theological rather than scientific. Some of these questions you may not have considered before. Consider for yourself if attempts to harmonize evolution with the biblical witness causes more problems than it solves. While working through this, consider this question in the background:  when there is conflict between scientific theory and biblical doctrine, where do I tend to give greater weight? For me, which one is more likely to change and accommodate the other?

1. Do you find evidence for evolution as the mechanism of creation present in the opening chapters of Genesis?  If so, where do you see evolution explicit or referenced in the text? If you see no evidence of it, does this trouble you? 
2. How involved was God in the evolutionary process? Is it largely unguided, with God only setting up the process and letting it unfold naturally? Or does God guide the whole process to some end? What is that end?
3. Is the period of Creation at a close? Has God accomplished his purpose using evolutionary development and brought it to end or is it still ongoing? Should we expect further evolution of mankind (biologically speaking) greater than we are now? 
4. Do you believe in a literal and historical  Adam and Eve? If so, are they the product of evolution or special creation? Was Adam the first human? If not, how does this impact your understanding of passages like Luke 3:23-38, Acts 17:26, Romans 5, 1 Corinthians 11:8-9, and 1 Timothy 2:11-14?
5. What does it mean to be made in the image of God? How does holding to an evolutionary theory of human development affect the way this doctrine is traditionally understood?
6. Do you believe in a literal and historical garden of Eden? Why or why not?
7. Do you believe in a literal and historical tree of knowledge of good and evil and tree of life? Why or why not?
8. Do you believe in the original goodness of creation at every stage prior to the fall? If so, how does this line up with the evolutionary narrative of a ‘survival of the fittest’ development of life over millions of years? 
9. Do you believe in a literal fall into sin? 
10. If you indicated that any of the items listed above are not literal or historical realities (questions 6-9), explain what the Fall is and how you think it actually happened.
11. Paul argues that death entered the world of humanity as the result of sin (Rom. 5:12; 6:23). Do you believe that humans died prior to Adam? 
12. Do you believe the first few chapters of Genesis should be read as poem, allegory, or myth rather than historical? If so, what parts and why? When does Genesis transition to actual history? What markers in the text make this clear?
13. If God did create and develop all life through something like an evolutionary means over a long period of time, do you think God could have explained this in a simple way that ancient people would have understood? If so, why did his written account seem to preclude this?
14. How do you interpret the days of creation in Genesis 1?
15. Where does your Christian faith require you depart from naturalistic conceptions of evolution? At what points must your biblical beliefs challenge the scientific consensus?
16. If you became convinced from careful exegesis that Scripture clearly teaches and  requires belief in something like a Young Earth or Old Earth creationist view to the exclusion of evolutionary views, how would you then handle all the secular scientific arguments in favor of evolutionary origins?
17. What kinds of evidence would cause you to rethink or reject the theory of evolution or universal common descent?
18. What kinds of evidence would cause you to rethink or embrace a Young Earth or Old Earth creationist view?
19. On a personal level, has your view of human origins caused you to look down on Christians who hold to Young Earth or Old Earth creationism? 
20. Has thinking through these questions further confirmed you in your positions or caused you to rethink any aspects of them?