smrpgx wrote:I only read the first post, so that's what I'm replying to.
It may seem like evolution is true and that the first chapter of Genesis is simply a picture of what is happening, but there are many dangers to believing that. See for yourself:
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-c015.html
I beg to differ. I will try to answer each point as I see it (my personal beliefs):
Danger NO. 1 ... Misrepresentation of the Nature of God
The Bible reveals God to us as our Father in Heaven, who is absolutely perfect (Matthew 5:48), holy (Isaiah 6:3), and omnipotent (Jeremiah 32:17). The Apostle John tells us that "God is love", "light", and "life" (1 John 4:16; 1:5; 1:1-2). When this God creates something, His work is described as "very good" (Genesis 1:31) and "perfect" (Deuteronomy 32:4).
Theistic evolution gives a false representation of the nature of God because death and ghastliness are ascribed to the Creator as principles of creation. (Progressive creationism, likewise, allows for millions of years of death and horror before sin.)
This is an argument from ignorance. Does anyone honestly believe there's a difference to God between a few thousand years and a few billion years? God is outside time and space and is not bound by them. Besides, the Bible does not forbid the killing of animals. Why is it not possible that we physically evolved then were made in God's imgage (spiritually, not physically) 6 to 10 thousand years ago? I see it exactly like that. Therefore, danger 1 is no danger.
Danger NO. 2 ... God becomes a God of the Gaps
The Bible states that God is the Prime Cause of all things. "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things ... and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him" (1 Corinthians 8:6).
However, in theistic evolution the only workspace allotted to God is that part of nature which evolution cannot "explain" with the means presently at its disposal. In this way He is reduced to being a "god of the gaps" for those phenomena about which there are doubts. This leads to the view that "God is therefore not absolute, but He Himself has evolved - He is evolution".2
That is simply ridiculous. God is still the cause of all things, whether He did it in 6 literal days 6 to 10 years ago or did it 13 billions years ago in an instant has no bearing whatsoever on the eternality or the continuity of God. The analogy employed is false and as such, danger 2 is no danger.
Danger NO. 3 ... Denial of Central Biblical Teachings
The entire Bible bears witness that we are dealing with a source of truth authored by God (2 Timothy 3:16), with the Old Testament as the indispensable "ramp" leading to the New Testament, like an access road leads to a motor freeway (John 5:39). The biblical creation account should not be regarded as a myth, a parable, or an Allegory, but as a historical report, because:
o Biological, astronomical and anthropological facts are given in didactic [teaching] form.
o In the Ten Commandments God bases the six working days and one day of rest on the same time-span as that described in the creation account (Exodus 20:8-11).
o In the New Testament Jesus referred to facts of the creation (e.g. Matthew 19:4-5).
o Nowhere in the Bible are there any indications that the creation account should be understood in any other way than as a factual report.
The doctrine of theistic evolution undermines this basic way of reading the Bible, as vouched for by Jesus, the prophets and the Apostles. Events reported in the Bible are reduced to mythical imagery, and an understanding of the message of the Bible as being true in word and meaning is lost.
I certainly do not regard the biblical creation as myth nor as an allegory. But again there's a perseptual difference in reading the creation accounts. This has been totally explained on this very website here
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/day-age.html. Genesis is completely harmonized with day age creation. Ergo, danger 3 is no danger.
Danger NO. 4 ... Loss of the Way for Finding God
The Bible describes man as being completely ensnared by sin after Adam's fall (Romans 7:18-19). Only those persons who realize that they are sinful and lost will seek the Saviour who "came to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
However, evolution knows no sin in the biblical sense of missing one's purpose (in relation to God). Sin is made meaningless, and that is exactly the opposite of what the Holy Spirit does - He declares sin to be sinful. If sin is seen as a harmless evolutionary factor, then one has lost the key for finding God, which is not resolved by adding "God" to the evolutionary scenario.
I truly don't know what this means. How exactly is the conclusion drawn that evolution makes sin meaningless? Evolution does not address the issue of sin in any way nor does it address the issue of God for that matter. We're not referring to neo-darwinian evolution here that things evolved from total randomness, but modern biology and the evolution of like species, and purpose. Sorry, no danger there.
Danger NO. 5 ... The Doctrine of God's Incarnation is Undermined
The incarnation of God through His Son Jesus Christ is one of the basic teachings of the Bible. The Bible states that "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14), "Christ Jesus ... was made in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:5-7).
The idea of evolution undermines this foundation of our salvation. Evolutionist Hoimar von Ditfurth discusses the incompatibility of Jesus' incarnation and evolutionary thought: "Consideration of evolution inevitably forces us to a critical review ... of Christian formulations. This clearly holds for the central Christian concept of the 'incarnation' of God ... ".3
Jesus was made in the likeness of men (physically)
after men were made in the likeness of God (spiritually). When seen from this perspective then there's nothing in evolution that contradicts Chrisitian formulations and as such, danger 5 is no danger.
Danger NO. 6 ... The Biblical Basis of Jesus' Work of Redemption Is Mythologized
The Bible teaches that the first man's fall into sin was a real event and that this was the direct cause of sin in the world: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12).
Theistic evolution does not acknowledge Adam as the first man, nor that he was created directly from "the dust of the ground" by God (Genesis 2:17). Most theistic evolutionists regard the creation account as being merely a mythical tale, albeit with some spiritual significance. However, the sinner Adam and the Saviour Jesus are linked together in the Bible - Romans 5:16-18. Thus any view which mythologizes Adam undermines the biblical basis of Jesus' work of redemption.
Again, from my perspective it is completely reconciled with the bible because I do believe that Adam was the first man
made in the likenss of God (spiritually) when God bestowed a conscience and an eternal soul into him. No mythology and no biblical contradiction and what's more. no danger.
Danger NO. 7 ... Loss of Biblical Chronology
The Bible provides us with a time-scale for history and this underlies a proper understanding of the Bible. This time-scale includes:
o The time-scale cannot be extended indefinitely into the past, nor into the future. There is a well-defined beginning in Genesis 1:1, as well as a moment when physical time will end (Matthew 24:14).
o The total duration of creation was six days (Exodus 20:11).
o The age of the universe may be estimated in terms of the genealogies recorded in the Bible (but note that it can not be calculated exactly). It is of the order of several thousand years, not billions.
o Galatians 4:4 points out the most outstanding event in the world's history: "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son." This happened nearly 2,000 years ago.
o The return of Christ in power and glory is the greatest expected future event.
Supporters of theistic evolution (and progressive creation) disregard the biblically given measures of time in favour of evolutionist time-scales involving billions of years both past and future (for which there are no convincing physical grounds). This can lead to two errors:
1. Not all statements of the Bible are to be taken seriously.
2. Vigilance concerning the second coming of Jesus may be lost.
Danger NO. 8 ... Loss of Creation Concepts
Certain essential creation concepts are taught in the Bible. These include:
o God created matter without using any available material.
o God created the earth first, and on the fourth day He added the moon, the solar system, our local galaxy, and all other star systems. This sequence conflicts with all ideas of "cosmic evolution", such as the "big bang" cosmology.
Theistic evolution ignores all such biblical creation principles and replaces them with evolutionary notions, thereby contradicting and opposing God's omnipotent acts of creation.
Both dangers 7 and 8 are adequately answered by the God and Science link above. there simply is no contradiction between the bible and day age creation. No danger exists.
Danger NO. 9 ... Misrepresentation of Reality
The Bible carries the seal of truth, and all its pronouncements are authoritative - whether they deal with questions of faith and salvation, daily living, or matters of scientific importance.
Evolutionists brush all this aside, e.g. Richard Dawkins says, "Nearly all peoples have developed their own creation myth, and the Genesis story is just the one that happened to have been adopted by one particular tribe of Middle Eastern herders. It has no more special status than the belief of a particular West African tribe that the world was created from the excrement of ants".4
If evolution is false, then numerous sciences have embraced false testimony. Whenever these sciences conform with evolutionary views, they misrepresent reality. How much more then a theology which departs from what the Bible says and embraces evolution!
Whose reality and from what perspective? They use a Darwinist to prove a point against theism. Why is it so inconceivable that both evolution and God can be harmonized? Why is it that we have to shut our eyes to huge leaps in the sciences (though imperfect) so that we can believe in God? I just don't get it. Science can only enhance my understanding of God as it was part of his creation after all. certainly no danger there.
Danger NO. 10 ... Missing the Purpose
In no other historical book do we find so many and such valuable statements of purpose for man as in the Bible. For example:
1. Man is God's purpose in creation (Genesis 1:27-28).
2. Man is the purpose of God's plan of redemption (Isaiah 53:5).
3. Man is the purpose of the mission of God's Son (1 John 4:9).
4. We are the purpose of God's inheritance (Titus 3:7).
5. Heaven is our destination (1 Peter 1:4).
However, the very thought of purposefulness is anathema to evolutionists. "Evolutionary adaptations never follow a purposeful program, they thus can not be regarded as teleonomical."5 Thus a belief system such as theistic evolution that marries purposefulness with non-purposefulness is a contradiction in terms.
purposefulness is anathema to evolutionists. Maybe to some atheistic evolutionists but certainly not to evolution. Evolution deals with
how. It does not deal with
why, that is left to God. And that is specifically why they can be harmonized as they complete one another. I sense no danger here either.
CONCLUSION
The doctrines of creation and evolution are so strongly divergent that reconciliation is totally impossible. The theistic evolutionists attempt to integrate the two doctrines; however such syncretism reduces the message of the Bible to insignificance. The conclusion is inevitable: There is no support for theistic evolution in the Bible.
Again, I beg to differ.