Darwin and God

Charles Darwin was born on this day in 1809 . . . can you hear the majestic music in the background? No one can deny that Darwin was a great man, and apparently a pretty nice guy. His work, revolutionary for its sweeping general theories developed from studying minutiae, is the basis for modern-day biology. Evolutionist or creationist – no one can deny Darwin’s indelible mark on our belief systems.

So, in honor of Darwin’s 200 year anniversary, let’s take up the subject of evolution and creation. Personally, I subscribe to what would be termed Theistic evolution. There is actually an organization that delves into the interpretation of the biblical writings in light of scientific findings: http://www.theisticevolution.org/ . The articles available on this site provide excellent food for thought in the evolution versus creation debate.

In my opinion, it is much more amazing to think of God having set up this self-perpetuating system of biological evolution than to imagine him plopping man in the middle of Eden. Theistic evolution views the creation story as allegory, rather than attempting a literal interpretation that doesn’t coincide with the hard evidence that supports the evolution theory.

It is important to remember that the bible was written by humans – flawed, with imperfect knowledge, they wrote what they understood. Perhaps God inspired them, but He could not explain the intricacies of the evolutionary engine He designed – that's something that we had to learn over time. Maybe that is why He gave us these big brains!