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What if God "evolutionized" the world?
By Morgan Kirk, Florida
On the back of my red 2005 Jeep Liberty, I have two emblems: the Darwin decal and the Jesus fish. Intended to represent my belief that science and religion can coexist simultaneously, I placed these symbols in a position where the reptile and the fish are actually facing each other.
"Why should a convergence of science and religion be unacceptable? Darwin and Jesus, evolution and Creation, science and religion: none of these concepts should be considered oxymorons." -Morgan Kirk
I'm sure my decals offend proponents on either side of the Darwin versus Jesus debate. But is it completely ludicrous to believe that God might have been the guiding force behind evolution? Is evolution mutually exclusive of creationism?
Recently a new term, theistic evolutionist, was coined to describe a person who believes God played a hand in the evolutionary process. Like my decals, this term probably offends extremists on either end of the argument. But as a Christian, I believe that with the Lord anything is possible. So isn't it possible that evolution does not disprove His creation?
Indeed, the process of evolution had to be created, either by chance or on purpose. Couldn't God have had everything to do with the ongoing change in the world and that He still does? Why should a convergence of science and religion be unacceptable? Darwin and Jesus, evolution and Creation, science and religion: none of these concepts should be considered oxymorons.
I suppose people could argue that theistic evolution conflicts with the literal interpretation of Genesis, which of course, it does. The Bible says God created the world in seven days, while the theory of evolution states the world is continually changing, and science continues to claim the age of the Earth as 4.5 billion years old.
However, I consider the book of Genesis an allegory for God's construction of the world. Whether or not He created the world in seven days, literally or figuratively, should not matter. God has the ability to create life instantaneously or gradually. Why should it concern us if God chose to mold the world in a slow progression? Either way, these ideas should not hinder one's faith in God or invalidate the facts of science.
So you see, the Jesus versus Darwin debate does not have to occur. Belief in Jesus and the basic elements of Christianity do not have to contradict support of Darwin's theory of evolution. To believe in Jesus as our savior takes blind faith, while believing that God initiated the evolutionary process simply requires an open mind. Either way, I'm driving the kissing emblems on my Jeep home to illustrate that if nothing else, let us agree to disagree.
