Re: [asa] anti-evolutionism and deism

>>> "David Buller" <bullerscience@gmail.com> 04/19/07 8:50 PM >>>writes:

I've been discussing interpretations of Genesis with my youth pastor, and
he
recently gave me a copy of his YEC-perspective syllabus notes which take
an
anti-evolutionary stance. In order to refute evolution from a theological
perspective, it said that in the evolutionary creationist/theistic
evolutionist view:

1. God creates at the level of minimal existence
2. God steps aside while creation progresses onward

I discussed with him how deistic this seemed to me. It presupposes that
when God isn't acting supernaturally (creating through evolution), He is
"at
the level of minimal existence" and has "stepped aside." Yet this is
exactly how (with very few miraculous exceptions) God acts in the natural
world today! This view forces them to say that God is of "minimal
existence" and has "stepped aside" *today*. In their own YEC view, God
was
actually only "active" for six days, and left it alone after that.

***

Ted responds:
Most impressive analysis, David. You're way ahead of where I was at your
age.

You (and others) may find it interesting to read Harry Emerson Fosdick's
analysis of this very issue, which he wrote in 1922, responding to William
Jennings Bryan in the NY Times.
http://www.geocities.com/lclane2/fosdick2.html

Theologically, in general, Fosdick was too liberal for me. But he did seem
to nail this particular issue on the head.

Ted

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Received on Fri Apr 20 10:14:38 2007