When it comes to the matter of origins, the evolution/creation debate is fraught with emotions. The evolutionary paradigm is the monolith of our age that stands against Christian doctrine. To borrow a biblical analogy, creationism is most definitely the David to evolution`s Goliath. There are those both within and outside of the Church that see no contradiction between religion and science, permitting first that Genesis 1-11 is not accepted as historical. Some try to resolve the issue by believing God used evolution as His means of creating humanity (Theistic Evolutionists), despite the fact that this was not Darwin`s theory and indeed is at odds with the character of God found in the Bible. There are those that choose to believe religion and science operate in two mutually exclusive and separate spheres - one of physics the other of metaphysics. Yet this dichotomy is hard to maintain when ethics and morality are increasingly being influenced by neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory and indeed would require allegorising almost all of the Bible that speaks of God`s interaction with Israel and His creation. All attempts to blur the edges between the scientific paradigm of methodological naturalism and the doctrines of the Bible are unsatisfactory for one reason or another, either scientifically or theologically.
The debate over our origins is an ideological battleground. It is fiercely contested. The controversy rages on and both sides shoot to kill. I have recently had experience of this first hand. I have been discussing the origins issue on an internet forum, from which I have a few reflections I would like to share:
I now believe it is a mistake to engage in this debate with people who are not genuinely open to the Bible. Creationism (the belief that God created in six literal days as recorded in Genesis 1), is instantly dismissed in the minds of evolutionists precisely because its source of authority is the Bible. The secularisation of western society is such that any appeal to the Bible as a source of authority in matters historical or scientific are rejected as incredulous. I also believe it is a mistake to engage in this debate with people who are not genuinely open to the belief in the sovereignty of God. It is axiomatic that if there is no God then there is no creator, no designer and no truth to the Bible. Straw Man arguments abound undermining creation research because of these presuppositions.
Having a relationship with the person is essential to the nature of this debate. Debating with anonymous strangers over the internet is not a good idea. You open yourself up to being a target and people are far more careless with their words and with offending you or your feelings. I suspect that if you had a relationship with a person before hand, then the conversation would take on a different tone and feel. There would be more respect, even if they disagreed with you and people would be more careful in how they responded and replied to you.
Another important reflection is that without the Holy Spirit working in a person`s heart the arguments will fall on deaf ears. Alternative scientific models are rejected as "unscientific" and because all scientific research is now done through the lense of evolution all the evidence seems to point to evolution in a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. The paradigm is not questioned and when evidence is used as counter-arguments against evolution then it is dismissed as merely proving the theory incomplete rather than false. People`s commitment to evolution is resolute.
What does this mean for those of us who hold to a literal, historical understanding of Genesis 1-11? It means that this debate is largely fruitless when the circumstances are wrong. While it is important that we educate ourselves, it is not a battle we have much chance of winning on purely academic grounds. Evolution is the establishment. Rather, we must continually pray and seek opportunities to speak to the truth in love to those who God has brought into our path but only when the time is right. We must pray for discernment as to when to approach the subject and what to say. We must be wise not to throw our pearls to pigs, and in our conversations and relationships with others we must be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16).
In hindsight I have made mistakes in the way I approached this subject. I have learnt from them and I don`t intend on making those mistakes again. While I am not entirely jaded, I believe I am more discerning. From my experiences and insights I hope I can help other Christians who struggle with this same issue.
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