Friday, July 23, 2010

Why I Am Not A Theistic Evolutionist

The issue of the origins of the world have come up a lot recently, and I find myself in an interesting space where I am neither a 6-day creationist nor a theistic evolutionist. I believe that God created the universe and everything in it, but the method he used to create is probably to wonderful for me to comprehend. But I did want to say a few words about why I do not believe in the theory of evolution.

The first reason is because science is not an exact science. That is to say, as soon as we developed a Scientific Establishment, we developed reasons to maintain the status quo of that Establishment. Science, particularly the science of origins, is as open to bias and politics as any other institution. More to the point, evolution is the preconception of modern science. It is the starting point, the foundation. It won’t be questioned. Which is fine, as far as it goes. It just means that I won’t take science all that seriously, and I certainly won’t intimately tie it to my theology.

The second reason I don’t believe in evolution is a philosophical one. The ancients believed in a three-partite reality: Divinity, Humanity, and Nature. Each element was continuous with the other, meaning the divine realm could be manipulated through the natural realm. The Hebrews came along and said that Nature doesn’t belong in that mix because it exists to serve the needs of Humanity and reflect the glory of Divinity, and that those two were the only two parts of reality. Moreover, there is a distinct separation between God and his creation, of which Humanity serves as vice-regent. So we have this:

Ancient pagans: Divinity + Humanity + Nature = Reality.
Ancient Hebrews: Divinity + Humanity = Reality.

But with the advent of evolutionary science, Divinity has been removed from the equation, and Humanity has been subsumed back into Nature. So we have this:

Evolutionary Science: Nature = Reality.

Because Humanity has emerged from Nature, it can never truly transcend Nature. We are always an accidental, and at times undesirable, part of it. Try as they might, the theological evolutionists cannot insert God into a process that neither needs him nor wants him. Nor can they add the same value to Humanity that Genesis 1 gives us, because humans can be nothing more than an accidental carbon-based byproduct of Chance, and nothing less than the scourge of the planet. Thus, if Darwin’s The Origin of Species is the Genesis of evolutionary science, then An Inconvenient Truth is its Book of Revelation.

I simply do not accept the premise of the evolutionary equation. Reality is more than Nature—much, much more. Nature is less than reality—much, much less. God is transcendent. Humanity is created in his image. I agree with the ancient Hebrews: Divinity + Humanity = Reality.

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