In response to PGelderman@aol.com on 15th June 1996
>I do want to encourage everyone on the list to communicate
>something about who they are and what their particular
>interest in evolution or origins comes from. There's no
>compulsion about this if you are bashful, but I think
>people would be interested in knowing who is interested in
>this forum and why. You might also find yourself getting
>in touch with some interesting folks that way.
I am only one week new to the Internet, and just starting to see how useful
it might be. I
am a pastor in the Uniting Church in Australia, in a small rural town in NSW. My
congregations are made up of basically people of a strong evangelical
persuasion, but there
are extreme views of Biblical interpretation, particularly over this issue
of evolution. I have
a conservative evangelical thrust to my ministry.
The issue of Creation/evolution has stayed with me from my conversion to
Christ 25 years
ago. At the time I was trying to harmonise a belief in God with what I
believed science was
teaching. I never did resolve that question before I stepped out in faith to
put my faith in
Christ.
My studies in pure mathematics as a mature aged student gave me plenty of
exposure to
logic reasoning.
At various times I have wandered between a Creationist view, to a Theistic
evolutionary
view. (I have never felt very comfortable with a young earth theory of
Creation. I am
disturbed when some Christians, in their evangelistic zeal, give the
impression that certain
views on creation are almost a prerequisite for being a Christian.)
I still sit on the fence somewhat, yet I will argue very strongly against an
evolutionary view
which leaves everything to chance without a Creator working through the
natural processes
He put in place. I have come to realise that it is important to recognise
our presuppositions,
and how much they filter the way we receive the data. My strong
presupposition as a
Christian is that there is a supernatural reality. Such a presupposition is
beyond science to
prove or disprove.
My difficulty is that as a scientific layman, I simply don't have the depth
of information and
training to judge which side is right - particularly that both sides claim
to champion
academics speaking for them who are millions of lightyears ahead of me in
their grasp of
the data. (I remember the discussion with a godly young earth creationist in my
congregation who one day took issue with the fact that I mentioned objects
in space that
were millions of light years away. I forgot that in her thinking there could
only be about
6000 light years.)
The bottom line for me is that whatever way God did it, He did it!! He is
the Creator. We
are not here by blind chance. There is too much beauty and order around us
for me to
consider that. Just because I don't have all the answers, or for that matter
hardly any
answers, it does not follow that such answers don't exist. By the grace of
God, I might
come to understand more about Creation. But may I never be sidetracked from
knowing
my Creator more and more intimately every day. I have been humbled over the
years as a
Christian to observe how my views sometimes have had to change. For a period
of time I
reacted against earlier ultra-fundamentalist interpretations of the
Scripture, and became
quite liberal, dismissing miracles and a belief in the existance of Satan.
God has His ways
of helping us to see the truth. For me my liberal, humanistic worldview was
shattered when
in my every day life as a minister I began to experience people being
released from
demons, and other sorts of healing. I am not infallible!
I would love to think that some easy solutions could be found. Who wouldn't
like Noah's
Ark to suddenly be discovered??- but I suspect that such discoveries will
continue to allude
us, dispite the various tantilising expeditions that have been thwarted in
various ways.
Thank you for this interesting discussion opportunity. I will continue to
watch it unfold.
God bless.
from down under,
Owen Lukins
lukinso@acr.net.au
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| Owen Lukins [] |
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