Take a look at life in the world around you. It runs from the microscopic to the very large. It is found on land, in the air, and the sea. Few places on earth are devoid of life of some kind. How did this profusion of life arise and fill every available niche on earth?
Four Alternatives
Those who hold to a strictly literal interpretation of Genesis will argue that God created each species, as is, at a relatively recent time in the past. While minor changes in form are accepted, major changes that produce new species are not.
At the other end of the spectrum is the Theory of Evolution (ToE). This theory proposes that all life today comes from a common ancestor. In the approximately 3.5 billion years since then, this common ancestor has accumulated changes in shape and function and spread throughout the world. This is sometimes called a naturalistic ToE, indicating it has no place for a supernatural creator.
In between these two extremes are two others that seek a middle road. The first of these is Progressive Creationism (PC). PC accepts that the earth is very old. But it rejects evolution as the mechanism for the diversity of life. Instead, PC argues that God created all species, both past and present, but not all at once. Throughout the earth’s history, God created the appropriate life forms for that time.
The second “middle road” is Theistic Evolution (TE). TE accepts both an ancient world and the general precepts of ToE. But TE also argues that God has guided the process to some greater or lesser extent.
Choosing An Alternative
I grew up with the first alternative. God did it all in six days. I was comfortable with that and could have easily stayed there. But the challenge I mentioned in an earlier post came into play here. I struggled with the Big Bang for a while, but the evidence I saw seemed overwhelmingly in its favor. And it was relatively easy for me to fit it into what the Bible had to say.
But the Theory of Evolution was quite a different matter. I did not want to accept it. And I fought against it for a long time. It was not until I read “Finding Darwin’s God” by Kenneth Miller that I began to realize that it was possible to believe in the Bible and evolution at the same time. Eventually, I grew to accept that evolution was a tool that God could have used to produce the diversity of life we find today.
Do I accept the naturalist version of the ToE? No! I have never entertained that view as viable. I am unable to remove God’s guiding hand in the process. How much he is guiding it is unknown to me. But major morphological changes, the rise of consciousness, and the mind are hard to wrap my head around apart from a guiding hand.
Evolution and the Bible
As I have expressed repeatedly during this series, I firmly believe the Bible is inspired by God, truthful in all it teaches, and authoritative in matters of faith and practice. I know some of you who read this doubt my position. But it is always something I have held tightly to. And it is the primary reason I was so reluctant to accept the Big Bang and, eventually the Theory of Evolution.
So, do the early chapters of Genesis support evolution? They are clear that naturalistic evolution is incompatible. Genesis 1 repeatedly claims that God created the diversity of life we see, not natural processes.
But it does leave open the door to at least humanity being created as a process in Genesis 2:7. That verse tells us that the Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth before breathing into him the breath of life. But that, admittedly, does little other than leaving the door open a crack.
For me, the answer has been to accept that the Bible is not primarily a science or history book. It is given to us to help us be productive people of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17). And I look at Genesis 1-11 now, not as literal history or science, but as stories that teach us who we are, where we came from, why the world is the way it is, and who God is. What it teaches is true. Although often not in the sense we want it to be.
I will follow up on this series soon with a final summary post.
- The Bible and Science (1/4/2025) - When the Bible and science appear to conflict, the issue is understanding what God tells us in his two revelations: the Bible and creation.
- A Reluctant Journey to the Big Bang (1/11/2025) - The more time I spent looking into the Big Bang and Theory of Evolution, the more I began to accept them as largely true.
- The Age of the Universe (1/18/2025) - How can we reconcile the age disparity of the creation between what proponents of the Big Bang claim and what Genesis seems to tell us?
- The Theory of Evolution (1/25/2025) - The Bible does not directly support the Theory of Evolution. But it does leave open that possibility if you recognize it is not a science book.
- Two Revelations: Creation and the Bible (2/1/2025) - God has given us two revelation. The first is the creation and is general in nature. The second is the Bible. And it is more detailed.
There would appear to be a direct contradiction between this creation of men from the dust described in Genesis and our purported evolution from apes. Luke’s gospel describing the lineage of Jesus finishes with ‘Adam the son of God’.
There are many arguments used to both defend and attack the Theory of Evolution. I do not have an answer for all of them, and probably never will. But I did, and do, believe that my creator could produce humanity in whatever fashion he wanted to. I am not trying to convince anyone that he used an evolutionary process to do it. But that is what I have become convinced of.
Thanks for a thoughtful and honest post. I have followed a very similar path. I have even read Miller’s book you mention and quite a few others, as i imagine you have also. My conclusion is that Genesis 1-11 is primarily a theology and not a history, though there is some places where they both touch down. If we read those chapters as something other than theology, for instance as science or even simple history, we will not get the message God has for us. And that is the pity.
That is what I have come down on as well.
Perhaps my struggle to make peace with what I believe and what I see may be easing some. Thanks for bringing the book to my attention.
Blessings on your journey