Yesterday I stated my disagreement with Young Earth Creationism (YEC). Today, I saw the comic above and it made me laugh. But, the comic also makes a good point. Many Christians are afraid to answer the question of whether they believe in Young Earth Creationism or some form of Old Earth Creationism or of Theistic Evolution. Frankly, it is not because they are truly unsure. Rather, they do not wish to face the almost instant attack that is received from those who believe in YEC.
In all too many of our congregations, conservative Christians who do not buy into YEC theorizing are made to feel as though they have deserted God and are put on the spot to explain why they disagree with YEC theory. More than that, they are often labeled as having been “corrupted” and or “taken in” by secularism. In other words, despite the easily confirmed fact that many conservative Christians (particularly outside the USA) theologians see no conflict between some form of Theistic Evolution or Old Earth Creationism, nevertheless all too many USA conservative Christians are willing to quickly label them all as not being true interpreters of Scripture. Entire swaths of conservative Christians are quickly dismissed without a second thought.
It bears mentioning that the irony is that some of the great modern conservative Protestant Christian heroes are in strong agreement with one of the theistic evolutionary models. For instance:
John Stott – The evidence of Genesis 2-4 is that Adam was a Neolithic farmer. The New Stone Age ran from about 10,000 to 6,000 BC. [and in another quote] All pre-Adamic hominids, still homo sapiens and not yet homo divines, if we may so style Adam.
Tim Keller – For the record I think God guided some kind of process of natural selection, and yet I reject the concept of evolution as All-encompassing Theory.
From the Early Church Fathers, one can quote Origen – Now who is there, pray, possessed of understanding, that will regard the statement as appropriate, that the first day, and the second, and the third, in which also both evening and morning are mentioned, existed without sun, and moon, and stars— the first day even without a sky? And who is found so ignorant as to suppose that God, as if He had been a husbandman, planted trees in paradise, in Eden towards the east, and a tree of life in it, i.e., a visible and palpable tree of wood, so that anyone eating of it with bodily teeth should obtain life, and, eating again of another tree, should come to the knowledge of good and evil? No one, I think, can doubt that the statement that God walked in the afternoon in paradise, and that Adam lay hid under a tree, is related figuratively in Scripture, that some mystical meaning may be indicated by it.
Throughout Church history, orthodox believers have fallen on one side or the other on this issue. However, it was not until YEC began its strong attack in the mid-20th century that this issue became a dividing issue between supposedly “true” Christians and supposedly not so true Christians. What had been an issue over which freedom was permitted during most of Church history became something dark and divisive, over which all Christians must take a stand, over which all Christians would be judged. YEC adherents have not served the Church well, but rather have tried to force the Church into a stance over which there has yet to be agreement during our history.
The end result has been much derision on the part of secularists and much pain in the body of the Church. If anything, YEC has had the effect of silencing university students who might otherwise have stated that they were Christians. Nowadays, even secularists know that the first question to ask a Christian is about evolution or some other hot-button issue. But, of evolution there is no clear consensus among orthodox Christians like there is on many other hot-button issues. So, it is easier to keep quiet than to chance ridicule over something you do not even believe in.
This is a sad thing.
Really? I’m a conservative Christian and I’ve little trouble telling YECs that they’re bonkers. Reason and geological evidence make the YEC position untenable. YECs are impervious to facts. I waste no time trying to convince them that they are wrong. Their faith is something to behold. But faith without reason is less faith and more programming.
Thanks for another opportunity to mention Romans 1:20. The whole 13.8 billion years of God’s universe, physical, chemical and biological evolution are hidden there. So, you, Christian and I and many others must continue to pray for a healthy growing faith in YECs, instead of the rigid, brittle, easily broken faith they have. Lastly (for the moment) this morning when I re-read Zacharias’ song for his son, “to prepare his WAYS” struck me. So, back to my beams.
Father why do you quote a man who the 5th council has determined to be a heretic. the early Church especially St. Basil considered the naturalist of his day to be morons. I’d stand with a Church father before I ever consider the opinions of some dork who got shoved in lockers in high school
I quote Origen for several reasons. One, that quote is representative of several Church Fathers and is one of the clearest statements. And, this was not one of the areas of doctrine for which he was anathematized. Two, the anathematization of Origen has led to some debate for many years. The reason is that he was anathematized 300 years after his death. He lived as a Christian. He served as a priest within the Church. He died a martyr’s death. He was given a martyr’s burial. The debate has been that if a priest has lived obedient to the Church, quoted by several Early Fathers of the Church, and died within the Church, then it is one thing to say that his teachings were mistaken, but another thing to personally accuse him of heresy and anathematize him. Three, we quote saints about whom we say that they were partially mistaken while still considering them saints. For instance, a goodly number of Orthodox theologians now consider some of the theology of St. Augustine of Hippo to be deeply flawed and not in accord with the Church Fathers. But, no one has tried to anathematize him or remove him from the rolls of saints in the way that Origen was. So, as I say, while we all agree with the Fifth Council that some of his beliefs were wrong, not all agree that it was appropriate to characterize him the way in which the Fifth Council did and to essentially ex post facto remove the honor of his martyrdom.
“Origen is a Church Father and is widely regarded as one of the most important Christian theologians of all time. His teachings were especially influential in the east, with Athanasius of Alexandria and the three Cappadocian Fathers being among his most devoted followers. Argument over the orthodoxy of Origen’s teachings spawned the First Origenist Crisis in the late fourth century, in which he was attacked by Epiphanius of Salamis and Jerome but defended by Tyrannius Rufinus and John of Jerusalem. In 543, Emperor Justinian I condemned him as a heretic and ordered all his writings to be burned. The Second Council of Constantinople in 553 may have anathemized Origen, or it may have only condemned certain heretical teachings which claimed to be derived from Origen. His teachings on the pre-existence of souls were rejected by the Church.”