I'm a Christian.

I also believe, quite firmly, in evolution.

And I do not see a contradiction in the two.

Indeed, there are a pair of quotes in today's Michael Gerson column in the Washington Post that quite clearly reflect my point of view on the matter, each from author Leon Kass

The first notes that there is a rough parallel betwen evolutionary theory and the Genesis creation account.

Leon Kass, in his masterful work "The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis," observes, "The biblical account is perfectly compatible with the fact of a slowly evolving cosmos, with life arriving late, beginning in the sea and only later emerging on earth, progressively distinguished into a variety of separated kinds."

Indeed, if one does not read that account with a spirit of wooden literalism, that parallel is quite obvious. That would make the beginning of Genesis an allegory, rather than a history. And to those who object, may point out that if mere human beings are capable of using that literary technique, then so is an omniscient, omnipotent God.

But more important is the Kass quote that closes the column.

"Let us assume that creation is evolution," argues Leon Kass, "and proceeds solely by natural processes. What is responsible for this natural process? . . . Can a dumb process, ruled by strict necessity and chance mutation, having no rhyme or reason, ultimately answer sufficiently for life, for man, for the whole? . . . And when we finally allow ourselves to come face-to-face with the mystery that there is anything at all rather than nothing, can we evolutionists confidently reject the first claim of the Bible -- 'In [the] beginning, God created the heavens and the earth'?"

My argument is that no, that claim cannot be rejected. At the same time, God cannot be scientifically proven. There is no way to place God in a test tube or under a microscope slide, and there is no reagent that can test for his presence or absence. But as has often been pointed out, science and faith can be seen as -- and ought to be seen as -- complementary rather than contradictory. To place them at odds with one another is to present a false dichotomy, for coming to understand the divine miracle of creation AND evolution (which are, dare I say, one and the same) should not necessitate the the rejection of a Creator. Similarly, faith in a Creator God need not result in the rejection of the scientific laws and processes by which creation was carried out and which God gave us the intellect to understand. Indeed, both of those extreme positions fall well outside the boundaries of the Judeo-Christian faith tradition, and must be labeled heretical. Let them be anathema.

Posted by: Greg at 02:13 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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