250: Should Christians Believe in Evolution? (Short Version)

Theology For the Rest of Us | Quick Answers to the Questions About God and the Bible

This episode is unique from most episodes of the podcast because this episode covers content and material from a previous episode, but simply does so in a shorter time (episode 248 is similar, that particular episode was the shorter version of content from episode 247). This episode covers the same content that is covered in episode 249 however this episode aims to cover the same material is much less time (this episode is less than 18 minutes while episode 249 is nearly 47 minutes long). Questions and topics related to the origins of humanity, the age of the universe, and the age of the Earth often come up in debates and conversations whenever Christians are seeking to reconcile the words of Scripture with the ideologies from the world of science. In this episode, Kenny tackles the question, "Should Christians Believe in Evolution?" First, Kenny asserts the importance of clarifying what type of evolution we're actually talking about. There are many different types of evolution, and making sure that we have clear understanding of our verbiage is essential. The two prominent types of evolution that are being alluded to when we're discussing the topic of the origin of species are macro-evolution and micro-evolution. Macro-evolution is the concept that species evolve into other species, a concept for which there is no scientific evidence, just theory. Micro-evolution is the concept that species change and evolve over time within their own kind, a concept for which there is scientific evidence. Secondly, Kenny explains the two types of macro-evolution being asserted by people today: secular (naturalistic) macro-evolution and theistic evolution. The secular (naturalistic) form of macro-evolution is the concept that all living creatures today all evolved from a single cell organism over the course of millions of years, without the help or guidance of any supreme being. The secular or naturalistic viewpoint (also sometimes referred to as the Darwinian perspective) generally disregards the existence of God altogether. This view is rightly rejected by most professing Christians. Another form of evolution that Kenny discusses is the concept of theistic evolution. This form of evolution is the belief that God guided and shepherded the process of evolution to help the process achieve the result that He desired. There is no Scriptural evidence for this view, and this view is logically insufficient in many regards, so Kenny encourages his listeners to reject this view as well. Recommended Reading: Genesis Unbound (by John Sailhamer) Four Views on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design (multiple contributors, edited by JB Stump) Three Views on Creation and Evolution (multiple contributors, edited by James Porter Moreland) Old Earth or Evolutionary Creation? (multiple contributors, edited by Kenneth Keathley & J. B. Stump,) Ultimate Proof of Creation (Jason Lisle) Old Earth Creationism on Trial (Tim Chaffey & Jason Lisle) Navigating Genesis (Hugh Ross) The Genesis Debate: Three Views on the Days of Creation (multiple contributors, edited by David Hagopian) Resources to Examine: Creation or Chaos: Modern Science and the Existence of God [DVD series] Stand to Reason [Website] Institute of Creation Research [Website] Answers in Genesis [Website] Reasons to Believe [Website]