You will rarely see it in print but the full title of Darwin's work published in 1859 was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. He actually proposed two ideas. One is called microevolution, meaning very small and very gradual changes in species over time. When that concept is extrapolated to account for all living things it is called macroevolution. The concept of macroevolution was refined during the twentieth century and called neo (new) Darwinism. Few people outside the science of biology are aware that neo Darwinism is all but totally discarded as a workable theory. Darwin's concept of gradualism has been found to be inadequate and the reigning concept in evolutionary thought now is called extended evolutionary synthesis. This is a rather vague phrase meaning: we do not agree on how evolution happened but we are sure that it did happen and we are exploring several possibilities to explain how.
But let us pause and review some responses of Christians over the last 150 years to Darwinism. Most responses have not been credible and therefore not God-honoring. There have been too many instances of ridicule, misrepresentation, and quotations taken out of context. Things hit a low point during what was called the "Scopes monkey trial" in Dayton, Tennessee in 1925. There is evidence that sad spectacle was promoted by commercial interests who wanted to bring visitors and lots of cash into the area. A more credible response to Darwinism from a biblical standpoint was the book After Its Kind published in the 1950's. The year 1961 saw the publication of The Genesis Flood by Whitcomb and Morris. They proposed two concepts. First, they argued that the entire cosmos including life on the earth was only a few thousand years old and had an appearance of age. Second, they argued that the flood of Noah's time was global and created all, or nearly all, the earth's strata thus further adding to the apparent age. In spite of the fact that most Christians who are practicing scientists and most qualified biblical scholars rejected both ideas these two concepts quickly became what has been called the new orthodoxy of fundamentalism. It is usually called young earth creationism.
Before we say more about Christian opinion on these matters let us pick up the thread of evolutionary thought. Evidence regarding evolution has increasingly come to rest upon the results of studying the human genome (DNA). The head of the human genome project was Francis Collins who professes to be an Evangelical Christian. He, however, was so convinced that DNA showed common descent of all living things, including humans, from a common ancestor that he founded an organization called Biologos. This is an organization of scientists who profess to be Evangelical Christians but are convinced of common descent (evolution). They call their view evolutionary creation. They recognize only two creative acts of God: the original creation moment in which God, as it were, programmed (like a computer) all matter to develop (evolve) into the cosmos and life on the earth. Second, they believe that God endowed a highly evolved creature with a soul and that was the first human.
Francis Collins has written that he does not believe Genesis to be historical. Nor does he believe Job or Jonah to be historical. They are viewed as allegory or metaphor. The overwhelming majority of Evangelical Christians, including many in the sciences, cannot accept either the science or the theology of the Biologos group. As much as anything, those in the Biologos group are motivated by a fear of being accused of the God of the gaps. That phrase means using God as an explanation when you cannot come up with a natural explanation. This is viewed as kind of an unpardonable scientific sin. However, there is an inconsistency here, They accept two creative acts of God (that we mentioned above). So, how can they logically admit God at two crucial points and still not be depending on a God of the gaps?
Are thoughtful Christians left now with just these two rather extreme positions of young earth creationism and evolutionary creation? Do we have a third option that is both scientifically credible and one that takes Scripture seriously? When I asked a Christian man who is a professor in the physical sciences at a branch of The Ohio State University about this he unhesitatingly answered Reasons To Believe and their website reasons.org.
A large number of papers by competent Christian scholars supporting their positions can be found at godandscience.org.
There is a very great need at this moment for Christians to calmly discuss these things without throwing verbal rocks at each other. The test of Godly wisdom is that it is (among other things) peace loving, gentle, approachable, and full of tolerant thoughts . . . ." James 3:17 (Phillips)
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