How to Reconcile Christian Evolution with Christian Teachings
- Aug 16, 2020
- 4 min read
Is it possible to be a Christian who sees evolution as valid? In short, yes, and this post will explain why. The point of this is not to say whether Christianity or evolution are valid. The point is to say that neither one clashes with the other quite as much as some people think. Below is a list containing four of some of the more relevant verses in The Bible, followed by an explanation as to why they and Christianity in general do not clash with the concept of evolution, as some individuals believe they do.
1) Genesis 1:27 (NRSV): So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
2) Genesis 2:8 (NRSV): And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
3) Genesis 2:22-23 (NRSV): And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,“This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.”
4) Matthew 19:23-26 (NRSV). Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
While it is true that none of these verses indicate that we evolved from different creatures, the idea that we evolved from different creatures does not go against anything these verses say. It's quite possible that we humans had enough physical differences compared to what we have today that in this day and age, we would be unrecognizable as humans, if we were to see what we looked like at the time creation is said to have taken place. For instance, even to this day, there are various ways in which we are still changing and evolving (see link below for more details). Additionally, as indicated by Matthew 19:23-26, anything is possible for a believer in God. Therefore, a Christian person who trusts the words of The Bible who argues that evolution is impossible under Christian teachings is arguably incorrect.
Even if we acknowledge that evolution does not clash with Christianity, some Christians might worry about the moral ramifications this might have, especially with regards to misogyny and whether certain animalistic tendencies are innate and/or immoral. For instance, Darwin, the first person to put forward the idea of natural selection being connected to evolution, had misogynistic views that he used evolution to try to justify (see the article below). One example of such is that, as noted in that article, Darwin felt that adult females from from every species of animal, including humans, resemble the youth of whichever animal species they belong to. Thus, he reasoned that men are more evolutionarily advanced than women. Is there any truth to those views? First off, it should be noted that the concept of evolution itself came before Darwin (see the second article below). He was inspirational in terms of our knowledge about evolution, but not all of his views of evolution represent those who accept the concept of evolution. To say that we evolved from other living creatures does not necessarily mean that we have innate immoral or animalistic tendencies. It just means that we develop and change over time to adapt to our environment and stuff. Secondly, even if we did have have natural tendencies due to natural selection to do certain animalistic things, that would not mean it was right for us to do those things or that we would inherently act upon them. For example, it might be the case that us humans have the animalistic tendency to feel angry and physically attack others who we are angry with, though that does not mean we do not have self-control, and it certainly does not make it right for us to act upon our anger in that way. As I explained in another post on here, what is natural is not necessarily good or moral.
In the end, Christianity and evolution may seem to some like they clash at first glance, though once one researches both topics more carefully, it is quite apparent that they do not in fact clash. Even though the story of creation and The Bible in general, does not say that evolution happened, that should not be taken as evidence that evolution goes against Christianity. For instance, nothing in The Bible suggests the existence of people with autism spectrum disorders, though most believers accept that people that have those conditions exist. Therefore, accepting that evolution is a fact, even though The Bible does not mention it, is not outside of the realm of possibility for a Christian.
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