RE: [asa] RE: Apologetics Conference 2008 (William Lane Craig)

I follow up on this:

>>> "Dehler, Bernie" <bernie.dehler@intel.com> 11/12/2008 11:42 AM >>>
Schwarzwald said about William Lane Craig:
"He comes across as appealing for - amazingly enough - moderation and charity towards fellow Christians who disagree on these points, particularly insofar as how they relate to theology."

***

Let's be clear about the limitations facing WLC or anyone else who teaches at Biola University. There are views on origins that one cannot hold, if one has a Biola contract -- just as there are views that one cannot hold if one teaches at Messiah. (The sets of views I refer to here are not identical, but they do have some overlap since both Messiah and Biola hire only professing Christians as faculty members. Messiah sees itself doctrinally more in terms of classical orthodoxy than the typically more specific confessions associated with evangelical groups, but I am in no way criticizing Biola for having its own set of specific commitments. I celebrate their freedom to define their institution no less than our freedom to define ours.)

The Biola faith statement is here http://www.biola.edu/about/doctrinal-statement/

Here is the section relevant to this thread:

<The existence and nature of the creation is due to the direct miraculous power of God. The origin of the universe, the origin of life, the origin of kinds of living things, and the origin of humans cannot be explained adequately apart from reference to that intelligent exercise of power. A proper understanding of science does not require that all phenomena in nature must be explained solely by reference to physical events, laws and chance.

Therefore, creation models which seek to harmonize science and the Bible should maintain at least the following: (a) God providentially directs His creation, (b) He specially intervened in at least the above-mentioned points in the creation process, and (c) God specially created Adam and Eve (Adam’s body from non-living material, and his spiritual nature immediately from God). Inadequate origin models hold that (a) God never directly intervened in creating nature and/or (b) humans share a common physical ancestry with earlier life forms.>

Since WLC is a person of integrity, one can assume that his views on origins are consistent with these two paragraphs. Some present and past Biola faculty are YECs, but to the best of my knowledge WLC is an OEC. Certainly his superb book on the Big Bang suggests this.

Ted

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Received on Wed Nov 12 12:52:18 2008