RE: [asa] Saving Darwin -- On the "Fall"

Bernie D. wrote:
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"Why does anyone resist evolution? Because of the threat to their
theology (I don't think there's any other reason)."
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I think it is very important to amend Bernie's statement to "Because of the PERCEIVED threat to their theology."

Often?this perception is a knee-jerk reaction with?little basis in reality, just because somebody in their church (or some extremist like Richard Dawkins or Ken Ham or Bill Dembski) has told them that evolution (if G.A. is reading, this conversation is about biological evolution) is an enemy of Christian faith.? If we can work through a few?important concepts (like not asking Scripture questions it isn't trying to answer, not making the "God of the Gaps" error of making natural explanations and God's action mutually exclusive), in many cases people can be helped to see that the perceived threat is phony,?or maybe limited to a smaller set of scientific and/or theological?issues (such as human origins and?traditional?understandings of?the Fall), or maybe at most an area of minor?tension and mystery rather than a fatal threat.??Or maybe that some aspect of their theology has not been thought through and/or is not Biblically sound?and needs to be modified.

I think countering such?misperceptions is one of the most important things the ASA can do, both as an organization and as?individuals as we interact in our churches, workplaces, etc.? At this point I will put in a plug for the book "Origins"?by Deborah and Loren Haarsma that I just finished reading, which I think does an excellent job of this, and is at?a good?level to be given to a college student who might be wrestling with these issues for the first time.

Dr. Allan H. Harvey, Boulder, CO (ASA Member)
(usual disclaimers here)

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Received on Tue Jun 17 13:49:23 2008