How can you be a Christian and believe in evolution at the same time?

Answer 1

How can one be a Christian and believe in evolution at the same time? With an ease that almost borders on the ridiculous. In general, Christians don't have to give up a single thing within their faith to accept evolution as it is presented in modern evolutionary synthesis (MES). MES is the current "state of the art" construct that accounts for all the findings made up to now as regards evolution. Those findings, by the way, include a veritable mountain of hard data that enjoys input from a number of other scientific disciplines as well as the expected contributions of paleoanthropologists and modern anthropologists, who in turn draw on such fields as linguistics and genetics. No thinking and believing Christian is phased by what is known about life on earth and the manner in which it developed. The tons of evidence unearthed up to now are as nothing to his faith. Furthermore, he is unafraid of what may be discovered next, proved next. He could even be said to be excited in anticipation of the future and what it holds as regards illuminating the path down which man has come.

And, other than his faith, he has a reason to not bat an eye at science and what it shows us about the past. MES has absolutely no physical evidence to account for the appearance of life on earth. None. There are only theories. There is no conflict with Christian belief because there is nothing "provable" that contradicts it.

About the only Christians who have a problem with evolutionary science are the so called Young Earth Christians. They have two problems. One is the timetable set down by geologic study coupled with the paleontological record. The other is the diversity of man as evidenced by the variety of races, which is shown by, among other things, their genetic makeup and linguistic patterns.

As regards the geologic evidence, the earth has been the scene of a number of catastrophic geologic events since its creation. What Young Earthers would have us believe, in essence, is that one great catastrophe compressed into a few thousand years is sufficient to account for all the changes to the earth that geology and/or paleontology have shown to have occurred. Make no mistake about it. Catastrophe and the earth are old dance partners. The pounding the globe takes upon the arrival of a big rock from space every few hundred thousand years or every few million years is well documented. The current theory of the disappearance of the dinosaurs is that a big falling object (perhaps coupled with wide scale volcanic action unconnected with the appearance of the space rock) caused climate change on a massive scale over a short period of time. (The "one-two punch" theory.) Exit the dinosaurs. The facts, the hard data, presented by either body of work, the full of geology or the full of paleontology, are enough to crush the life out of any theory that the earth and life on it are only a few thousand or a few tens of thousands of years old. Catastrophes included.

Then there's the diversity of man. The Young Earthers would have us believe that Noah and his three sons and their wives, the four couples in all, account for the broad tapestry that represents what is now human kind. Even if the couples were long lived, their progeny could not account for the way things are. Remember, it's not a question of numbers but of diversity. The diversity of man as can easily be observed by looking at his globally distributed characteristics is strong evidence of the hollowness of the Young Earth theory. Grab the data from linguistics and genetics and it smothers the idea that man has only been evolving for a few thousand years.

Some "regular" Christians are embarrassed by the shouting of the Young Earthers, and some other Christians feel sorry for them. And for obvious reasons.

How can someone be a Christian and believe in evolution at the same time? Most Christians are unphased by what science, driven by the relentless curiosity of the human mind, has shown us about the past history of our planet and about ourselves. Some may even see God's handiwork in the layers of rock within the Grand Canyon or the fossilization of old bone or in the molecular spiral that is DNA.

Another Answer

You can not believe in both!!!!! Most people on both sides, who fully understand the meaning and implications of both would agree. Evolution is specifically a theory designed to provide a completely naturalistic explanation of how the world and universe came to be. Secondly, evolution as such, is a philosophically driven theory frequently ignoring the mountain of contrary evidence produced by the many scientists who do not believe in creation.

Christians who believe in the Bible and who do not wish to mix false science with a faith which is firmly rooted in historical fact reject not only the false belief but the false science that goes along with it. They are not afraid of any genuine scientific debate since true knowledge will prevail in the end. The frequent use of 'straw-man' argumentation by those who wish to characterize this position, together with remarks which amount to a personal attack, does not change the mounting evidence against evolution, not does it change the incompatibility of the two positions.

Put simply, oil and water don't mix and so the two belief systems are incompatible. Another Answer According to Intelligent Design, God designed the Universe (along with its laws - the law of species evolution included) and then the universe evolved. This theory makes sense. Universe indeed seems well designed (a slight change to the 200-th decimal point of the gravitational constant or the electron charge would lead to a universe that cannot support life). Moreover, the evolution theory indeed explains some things in the micro-level of species evolution. Literally, it's impossible.

Another View:

But, there are some Christians who believe in Theistic Evolution - that God used evolution to create the entire universe. This is feasible. As long as the Christian believes that God was behind the beginning of the universe (whether by creation or theistic evolution), it is okay.

But it is not okay to be a Christian and believe in secular evolution. That is, that there was no intelligent design in the process of evolution. That would be a Christian living a hypocritical lie. And it cannot work.

Another Answer: I am a Christian and I believe in evolution. The first two chapters of Genesis were never intended by the author to be literal history; they're Hebrew poetry. As such, they give us theological not historical truth. This means that the theory of evolution does not conflict with the Bible. If it doesn't conflict with the Bible it doesn't conflict with Christianity. What evolution does conflict with is a fundamentalist understanding of the Bible, but that is not the Bible itself; its just a modern interpretation of it. It is entirely reasonable to be a Christian and believe in evolution.

Another Answer

Certainly many Christians believe in evolution. Sometimes in so doing they absorb ideas which are not put forward by people who understand the Bible correctly and so contain information which is not correct. One examples of this is related to the type of literature represented in Genesis. It is formed as prose and intended to be interpreted as a historical document. The 'toledoth phrases' which regularly appear through the book indicate the end of particular sections, possibly the tablets on which they were written.

It is also certainly true that the Genesis creation account has its theological aspect which proceeds from its historical statements about the creator. If evolution is true, then the Genesis record of events cannot also be true, even theologically. The two are inseparable.

Thirdly, the language of Genesis one does not leave room for any interpretation other than that the days as written were of 24 hours duration as we know today. This is because the Hebrew word yom (day) is qualified by the words evening and morning. Even those who believe in evolution and thus reinterpret the Genesis narrative acknowledge this to be the original meaning.

Long-age interpretations are also recent as the account in Genesis has almost universally been understood in a literal sense down through the ages, until the rise of Darwinism. It is thus a prior belief in evolution which then forces a re-interpretation of Genesis which is decidedly foreign to the text itself. Many have also noted that the actual order of Creation is different in the two systems.

People then go so far as to suggest that a literal interpretation is somehow out of keeping with the original intention of the author. While people do accommodate the Genesis account to fit evolution, this is decidedly foreign to the clear meaning of the text itself and is not in anyway an 'invention of fundamentalists' or 'Young-Earth creationists'.

All this said, it is clear that Christians do believe in evolution and then try to fit Genesis to it. This also creates problems with the literal understanding of Genesis which Jesus Himself clearly had. What has been created can evolve. I was created as a fetus in my mothers womb, after I was born I evolved into a newborn baby. Over the years I have evolved into a teenager, young adult, then a man. Creation can evolve to a higher existence. BUT, creation was first.

Additional Answer:

Answer is no, you cannot believe in millions of years of evolution (one animal turning into a completely different type of animal over millions of years) and be consistent with the Bible. Humans didn't evolve -you started out a human and you're still a human. Christians shouldn't believe in evolution because it completely contradicts what the Bible says. I believe that being a follower of Christ and believe in evolution are 2 mutually exclusive things. This is why:

To believe in Jesus Christ is to confess in your heart that He is God, who became flesh and was born as a man by virgin birth; that He lived a sinless life and lived among His own; that He died in atonement for our sins and that His sacrificial death reconciled us, sinners, with God.

Now, sin was introduced in the world by the Fall of Man - an act of rebellion originated by pride and deception - which separated mankind from God. Therefore reconciliation was needed. The only way to such reconciliation was Jesus' death on the Cross. As Christ (the Messiah) and as God, Jesus was the only one who could provide a sacrifice holy enough to reconcile us with the love of the Father.

Think about this: if mankind "evolved" from a common ancestor with apes, then there was never such a thing as the Fall of Man. Hence, sin was never introduced in the world; man was never separated from God and no one needed to be reconciled.

Therefore there was never the need for a Savior - and Christ died in vain.

See the problem? Denying the creation of man by divine and supernatural intervention is denying the need for Christ. Therefore, belief in evolution could be (to some extent) compatible with the idea of "a" God - but certainly not with the God of the Bible, and even less with Christ. As a Christian and geologist I have no problem being both. You can not ignore the fossil truth and the fact that the bible was wrote for the masses to understand in parables.

There is a higher being that created us. Saying all humans evolved from Africa is silly like saying all fish came from one lake or sea or all dogs came from one country.

Life forms or humans develop anywhere the environment is conducive to life even on other planets.

It is not logical, the two are mutually exclusive. Acknowledging Darwinian Evolution while upholding a Christian belief is axiomatically contradicting in credo and deduction; one cannot be a Christian while at the same time sustaining a mental coherence between the two. Why? Darwinian-Evolution, comprising of two scientific theories 'Evolution' and 'Big Bang,' practically undermines the whole of Christian theology, falsifying a massive amount of Old Testament content and a majority of New Testament books, particularly Romans, and all four canonical gospels of John, Mark, Luke, and Matthew.

If already this much of the Scriptures is forged, then what keeps it from becoming, as nearly the entire atheist's blundered camp jeers, a fairytale-mythology? How does it undermine Christianity you ask? Let's consider under what premise neo-Darwinism identifies itself. First, it embraces naturalistic processes which are devoid of purpose and any supernatural interference or causation; no inference from a designer.

Secondly, the primary evolutionary mechanism, the interplay of chance mutations with environmental pressure, requires no explanation for the mechanism, and therefore, any religion under the pretense of providing a required "Why?" is guilty of ignorance and deserves a consequential strict scientific condemnation, as science rightfully should, on behalf of the currently established scientific tenets of evolutionary science (consisting cosmological and chemical evolution, along with biological).

Evolution and Christianity cannot co-exist.

Only the scientifically illiterate (except in the rare case of Collins and a few others who have all been soundly refuted) and ignorant can hold to Christian belief together with evolution (a concealed form of religious belief). For it is the same as ratifying and promoting Christianity and Scientology amiably with one another.

Additionally, while there is no definite answer, there are plausible and convincing answers as to what transpired to produce the "Big Bang," (National Academy of Sciences, Singh, Dawkins and other notable pioneers and supporters cling to Big Bang theory) which is the critical constituent prior to the inception of evolution (be it any type of the theory of evolution, yet excepting micro-evolution preemptive for Creation Theory) in Evolutionary Theory.

As the Big Bang and Theory of Evolution are not mutual, that is, Big Bang is not prerequisite of the Theory of Evolution; this follows to say that despite the seclusion of the Big Bang, it is a naturalistic process that happens throughout life, and no form of theistic Christian belief (theism cannot account for, or compromise evolution) is sanctioned. Evolution is caused by triggers in genes. Different animals have different triggers. These triggers can be caused by varying circumstances, but most commonly a change in habitat.

Evolutionary beginning:

This dwells into biopoiesis (such as primordial ooze).

Some maintain that evolutionary processes started only after life was already present, and from there makes a leap of improbable proportions to a "single, universal, common" ancestor for all life on earth.

Some maintain that when lightning struck the ocean, chemical elements reacted and almost instantaneously arranged itself in RNA and DNA, which further arranged itself into several thousand genes and millions of atoms capable of feeding itself from non-organic sources. It then remained in stasis for around 3.5 billion years, when over the next 600 million years, it then proceeded to arrange itself into all life.

As demonstrated and explained above, the Theory of Evolution leaves no room for a Christian God to interfere. An adherence to Christianity and Evolution combined is dismissed as illogical, incomprehensive, and paradoxical.

Another View:

Although this acceptance is a growing trend across Europe, in particular, there is simply no way anyone can 'reshape' the Bible into a book that also somehow supports the theory of evolution. Jesus (as the Son of God) and the Apostles did not teach any other 'genesis' than God's creation found in the opening book of the Bible and repeated many times throughout the Scripture -- in fact Jesus was the one who did the actual forming of man out of the dust (see John 1:1-4). He was there. Was anyone there to witness evoloution? Has anyone found the 'missing link.' Can evolution explain why the eye sees or the myriad of symbiotic relationships in nature. How about the finite universe?

There are immense pressures falling upon Christians and the various denominations to find a 'middle ground.' However, if we are brave enough to accept the creation account at face value, then theistic evolution becomes impossible to believe. We cannot believe both the Bible and evolution. Both Old and New Testaments consistently support the account of the divine creation of Adam and Eve.

Logically then, those of us who desire to truly know the truth and not merely accept writings/teachings of others, are obliged now to examine the evidence for the authority and authenticity of the Bible, along with God's existence, and compare them with the viability of the theory of evolution. I wonder how many will actually take this first step.

Another Answer

Evolution is the attempt to explain Creation without a Creator. There are only two options: either Creation by Evolution or Special Creation by God. There are several reasons why Christians could believe in Evoultion.

Disobedience.

Many scientists have thoroughly checked Evolution and concluded it just cannot work, and then despite this still believe in creation by Evolution because the only other option is Special Creation by God but refuse to accept that because it would mean obedience to that very same God. Unfortunately some of these are Christians who don't want to be told what to do.

No alternatives given.

Most people are taught that everything came about solely by Evolution, and are not even told there is another option available of Special Creation by God: they don't even know there is a choice. Since many of these people are Christian it is inevitable they will believe in Evolution.

Risk of losing job.

Also, although many scientists are Christians who believe in Creation by God, if they so much as hint this they will will not get even neutral Peer-Reviews, and will,believe it or not, definitely lose their funding, plausibility, accreditation, and their jobs. They have to say they believe in Evolution if they want to keep their job, and over time can actually come to believe what they have actually said. They can only openly say they don't believe in evolution when their job is not at risk

Old Testament not taught.

Some Christians do believe in Evolution because the Creation by God is in the Old Testament, and they don't read it because they have been taught the Old Testament has been done away with. Creation figurative Some Christians believe in Evolution because they have been taught the Creation is Figurative only and wasnt factual so it didn't happen that way. Media The Media is very strongly Pro-Evolution: it does not give equal air time to Anti-Evolutionists. If time is given Creationists are mocked, lampooned, and their comments are biased and censored. Creation by God is not mentioned except to downplay it and stress it was believed only by uncivilized primitive savages but in comparison modern man is civilized.

Answer 2

Evolution and religion are not mutually exclusive. Christians really can and do believe in evolution. Consider for example

The position of the Catholic Church:

• Pope Pius XII stated in his encyclical Humani Generis (1950) that there was no opposition between evolution and the doctrine of the faith and that he considered the doctrine of "evolutionism" a serious hypothesis, worthy of investigation and in-depth study equal to that of the opposing hypothesis;
• Pope John Paul II, in an address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (1996), said that new knowledge has led to the recognition of the theory of evolution as more than a hypothesis;
• Pope Benedict has refused to endorse "intelligent design" theories, instead backing "theistic evolution" which considers that God created life through evolution with no clash between religion and science.

The position of the Episcopal Church: The Episcopal Church has said that the theory of evolution does not conflict with Christian faith.

• In 2006, the General Convention affirmed, via Resolution A129, that God is creator and added that "the theory of evolution provides a fruitful and unifying scientific explanation for the emergence of life on earth, that many theological interpretations of origins can readily embrace an evolutionary outlook, and that an acceptance of evolution is entirely compatible with an authentic and living Christian faith."

For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation

Answer 3

Opinion:
A noted paleontologist and agnostic Stephen Jay Gould saw fit to state, "Either half of my colleagues are enormously stupid or else the science of Darwinism is fully compatible with religious beliefs —and equally compatible with Atheism" ("Impeaching a Self-Appointed Judge," quoted in Dawkins' God, 2005, p. 80).

Though there is a growing trend amongst many in 'Christianity' to accept evolution as an explanation for origins of life here on Earth, it is far from a proven 'theory.' Consider Australian molecular biologist and medical doctor Michael Denton, himself an agnostic, has written, evolutionary theory "is still, as it was in Darwin's time, a highly speculative hypothesis entirely without direct factual support and very far from that self-evident axiom some of its more aggressive advocates would have us believe" ( Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, 1986, p. 77). But for mankind, it seems for every 'educated' person supporting evolution there will be another not supporting it. This is an unending debate for many but not for the student of The Bible who is not a follower of some mainstream Christian group.

The choice for me is to either believe the words of Christ or to deny Him. Jesus said Mark 10:6 in the New King James Version (NKJV) 6 But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ referring to Genesis 1:27; 5:2. He also said this in the parallel account of Matthew 19:4 New King James Version (NKJV) 4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ The Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul, also fully believed in the creation account (see Acts 17:24,26; 1 Corinthians 15:45; 1 Timothy 2:13; 1 Corinthians 11:8-9.

To my way of thinking then, there is simply no way of reshaping the Bible into a book that also somehow supports the theory of evolution. Either we are brave enough to accept the creation account at face value making theistic evolution impossible to believe or we fully discount the truth of Scripture. We cannot believe both the Bible and evolution as both Old and New Testaments consistently support the account of the divine creation of Adam and Eve.