Evolutionary creation
Evolutionary creation, also presented as Evolutionary creationism, is the religious belief that God created the earth using processes of evolution. The concept is similar to theistic evolution and accepts modern science, but there are theological differences.
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Its supporters, who tend to be conservative evangelical Christians, hold that God continues to be actively involved in evolution, to a greater extent than theistic evolutionists believe this.[1]
There is diversity among evolutionary creationists in explaining how these two concepts fit together.[2]
Proponents
Denis Lamoureux
In June 2003, Canadian biologist Denis Lamoureux wrote an article which appeared in Crux on Evolutionary Creation: Beyond the Evolution vs. Creation Debate,[3] and in 2008 he published a theological book on Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution. The publications were aimed both at Christians who do not believe in evolution (including young Earth creationists), and at those looking to reconcile their Christian faith with evolutionary science.
His main argument was that Genesis presents the "science and history of the day" as "incidental vessels" to convey spiritual truths.[4] Lamoureux rewrote his article as a 2009 journal paper, incorporating excerpts from his books, in which he noted the similarities of his views to theistic evolution, but objected to that term as making evolution the focus rather than creation. He also distanced his beliefs from the deistic or more liberal beliefs included in theistic evolution.[3]
Francis Collins
In 2006, American geneticist and Director of the National Institute of Health, Francis Collins, published The Language of God (A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief). He stated that faith and science are compatible and suggested the word "BioLogos" (Word of Life) to describe theistic evolution. Collins later laid out the idea that God created all things, but that evolution is the best scientific explanation for the diversity of all life on Earth.[5]
References
- Eugenie Scott (13 February 2018). "The Creation/Evolution Continuum". NCSE. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- Jim Stump (13 March 2019). "Defining the Relationship between Evolution and Divine Intervention". Sapientia. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- Lamoureux 2009.
- "Review: Evolutionary Creation". NCSE. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- Biologos website, What is Evolutionary Science?
- Slate website
- University of Wisconsin Christian Faculty (notes)
Publications
- Lamoureux, Denis O. (29 December 2009). "Evolutionary Creation: Moving Beyond the Evolution Versus Creation Debate". Christian Higher Education. Informa UK Limited. 9 (1): 28–48. doi:10.1080/15363750903018231. ISSN 1536-3759. (pdf)
- Lamoureux, Denis (2008). Evolutionary creation : a Christian approach to evolution. Havertown Eugene, Or: The Lutterworth Press Wipf & Stock. ISBN 978-1-55635-581-3. OCLC 885123583.