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Darwin, Creation and the Fall: Theological Challenges
2009 is the bicentenary of Charles Darwin's birth, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his epoch-making Origin of Species. Christians (particularly evangelicals) have debated the extent and mechanisms of evolution - and some have rejected neo-Darwinism entirely.
The relationship between the scientific understanding of human origins and the biblical story of human origins and the Fall raises numerous questions. How does the Christian doctrine of humanity relate to the biologist's account of human evolution? If we accept the Darwinian picture, how do we understand the Fall and sin, 'good' and 'evil'? What about the problem of evil and suffering?
David Wilkinson begins this stimulating volume by setting the doctrine of creation in the context of worship of the Creator.
R. J. Berry gives a historical survey, from Darwin's own struggle to relate his science to his faith up to the continuing attempt in the present day to wrestle with the theological implications of evolution. Darrel Falk examines the theological challenges that arose for Darwin himself.
Richard Hess carefully examines the early chapters of Genesis. T. A. Noble clarifies the doctrine of original sin and offers some fresh thinking on the doctrine of the Fall. A. N. S. Lane takes a close look at Irenaeus's view of the Fall and original sin.
Henri Blocher responds to attempts at theodicy which rationalize evil by denying the reality of the fall. Richard Mortimer engages constructively with Blocher's previous writings.
In their concluding summary, the editors affirm that there is no conflict between Holy Scripture and modern science, and acknowledge that our quest for deeper understanding is ongoing.
The relationship between the scientific understanding of human origins and the biblical story of human origins and the Fall raises numerous questions. How does the Christian doctrine of humanity relate to the biologist's account of human evolution? If we accept the Darwinian picture, how do we understand the Fall and sin, 'good' and 'evil'? What about the problem of evil and suffering?
David Wilkinson begins this stimulating volume by setting the doctrine of creation in the context of worship of the Creator.
R. J. Berry gives a historical survey, from Darwin's own struggle to relate his science to his faith up to the continuing attempt in the present day to wrestle with the theological implications of evolution. Darrel Falk examines the theological challenges that arose for Darwin himself.
Richard Hess carefully examines the early chapters of Genesis. T. A. Noble clarifies the doctrine of original sin and offers some fresh thinking on the doctrine of the Fall. A. N. S. Lane takes a close look at Irenaeus's view of the Fall and original sin.
Henri Blocher responds to attempts at theodicy which rationalize evil by denying the reality of the fall. Richard Mortimer engages constructively with Blocher's previous writings.
In their concluding summary, the editors affirm that there is no conflict between Holy Scripture and modern science, and acknowledge that our quest for deeper understanding is ongoing.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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About the author
R.J. Berry
47 books3 followersFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert James "Sam" Berry FRSE FSB is a British geneticist, naturalist and Christian. He was professor of genetics at University College London between 1974-2000. He was president from 1983 to 1986 of the Linnean Society, the British Ecological Society and the European Ecological Federation. A Christian, Berry has spoken out in favour of evolutionary creationism, and served as a lay member of the Church of England's General Synod and president of Christians in Science. He gave the 1997–98 Glasgow Gifford Lectures entitled Gods, Genes, Greens and Everything.
Robert James "Sam" Berry FRSE FSB is a British geneticist, naturalist and Christian. He was professor of genetics at University College London between 1974-2000. He was president from 1983 to 1986 of the Linnean Society, the British Ecological Society and the European Ecological Federation. A Christian, Berry has spoken out in favour of evolutionary creationism, and served as a lay member of the Church of England's General Synod and president of Christians in Science. He gave the 1997–98 Glasgow Gifford Lectures entitled Gods, Genes, Greens and Everything.
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February 17, 2015
All evangelicals must accept that if science contradicts the Bible, then science is wrong. But we must also recognise that if science contradicts my interpretation of the Bible, then it could be that my interpretation of the Bible that is wrong, and science, in fact, that is correct. We must therefore be constantly reviewing our interpretation of Scripture in the light of new theological, archaeological or other scientific discoveries.
Often scientific discovery increases our understanding and appreciation of the Bible’s message. But some scientific theories seem opposed to Christian teaching, and, if Richard Dawkins is to be believed, none more so than Darwinian evolution. How we view evolution will have an incalculable impact on how we understand the Bible’s message. It will change not just how we read Genesis, but also our thinking about sin and the fall, and consequently our beliefs about redemption and the work of Jesus Christ. We must therefore be extremely careful in assessing whether Darwinian evolution can be compatible with an evangelical interpretation of the Bible.
Although several books attempt to reconcile Genesis 1‑2 with Darwinian evolution, very few attempt to do so with the doctrine of the fall. A book which wrestles with these issues is therefore to be welcomed. Darwin, Creation and the Fall is a collection of essays by respected theologians and scientists that attempts to demonstrate that a belief in evolution is compatible with an evangelical understanding of scripture. It does so insisting that the fall was a real, historical event.
The book starts with an affirmation of God as creator, and a reaffirmation that Christ is at the centre of the doctrine of creation. Several essays roundly reject various atheist or liberal viewpoints for neglecting or rejecting Christ leading to a failure to understand God’s purpose in creation at all. A major contribution that the essays make is to remind us that it is not only the doctrine of God which is at risk from scientific atheism, but equally the doctrine of man.
Of all the essays, T.A. Noble’s careful exploration of original sin, is perhaps the most stimulating. After surveying historical approaches to original sin, he insists that a Christian understanding of the fall must be understood from the vantage point of the New Testament and in the light of the second coming. Considering the return of Christ can only be done “through revelation and is unknown to human insight… it is not accessible to human science and critical history” (pg 119). But Noble goes on to add that just as the return of Christ will cause monumental change that science cannot know, so also the Fall may have caused an equally radical change that science and historical enquiry are equally incapable of investigating.
Ultimately, however, the book is a disappointment. R.J. Berry’s insistence that the death brought about by the fall is only spiritual and not biological is particularly unsatisfactory. It means he is forced to view the “bondage to corruption” (Romans 8:21) of creation simply as the problems of pollution and man’s lack of praise to God. Surely the death, disaster and disease which so afflicts our planet demands a more robust response? Equally Berry’s arguments bring into question the significance of the promise of physical resurrection, and the reality of Christ’s bodily resurrection, and even whether Scripture is teaching us that heaven is forever when it tells us there is no more death there. Too much is lost, and too little gained. Yet this lead is followed – albeit less dogmatically – by Blocher in a later essay.
It is equally disappointing that there was no discussion on the nature of scientific investigation itself. Since the enlightenment a lot of science has proceeded from the false premise that what we can scientifically test and measure is all that exists. The existence of a spiritual dimension in our world and in ourselves is ignored or rejected by most scientific enquiry. This means that much scientific thinking has literally rejected reality, and is built on a foundation of what is false. Much of the science that came out of the godless Middle Ages would be considered an embarrassment to scientists today, and it is not a coincidence that science advanced rapidly during those periods where a biblical worldview was predominant.
Can you imagine what a difference it would make if most scientists believed that the physical universe was not a closed system, but that there was also a spiritual reality that transcended and affected what we can see and measure? It is of course possible that despite the last century’s slide away from biblical thinking, God in his common grace has redeemed scientific inquiry to the extent that it can largely be relied upon. But that is by no means clear. And, until most scientists take the biblical worldview seriously, many Christians will need far better arguments than those provided in Darwin, Creation and the Fall to persuade them that the Scriptures should be re-interpreted in the light of Darwinian evolution.
Often scientific discovery increases our understanding and appreciation of the Bible’s message. But some scientific theories seem opposed to Christian teaching, and, if Richard Dawkins is to be believed, none more so than Darwinian evolution. How we view evolution will have an incalculable impact on how we understand the Bible’s message. It will change not just how we read Genesis, but also our thinking about sin and the fall, and consequently our beliefs about redemption and the work of Jesus Christ. We must therefore be extremely careful in assessing whether Darwinian evolution can be compatible with an evangelical interpretation of the Bible.
Although several books attempt to reconcile Genesis 1‑2 with Darwinian evolution, very few attempt to do so with the doctrine of the fall. A book which wrestles with these issues is therefore to be welcomed. Darwin, Creation and the Fall is a collection of essays by respected theologians and scientists that attempts to demonstrate that a belief in evolution is compatible with an evangelical understanding of scripture. It does so insisting that the fall was a real, historical event.
The book starts with an affirmation of God as creator, and a reaffirmation that Christ is at the centre of the doctrine of creation. Several essays roundly reject various atheist or liberal viewpoints for neglecting or rejecting Christ leading to a failure to understand God’s purpose in creation at all. A major contribution that the essays make is to remind us that it is not only the doctrine of God which is at risk from scientific atheism, but equally the doctrine of man.
Of all the essays, T.A. Noble’s careful exploration of original sin, is perhaps the most stimulating. After surveying historical approaches to original sin, he insists that a Christian understanding of the fall must be understood from the vantage point of the New Testament and in the light of the second coming. Considering the return of Christ can only be done “through revelation and is unknown to human insight… it is not accessible to human science and critical history” (pg 119). But Noble goes on to add that just as the return of Christ will cause monumental change that science cannot know, so also the Fall may have caused an equally radical change that science and historical enquiry are equally incapable of investigating.
Ultimately, however, the book is a disappointment. R.J. Berry’s insistence that the death brought about by the fall is only spiritual and not biological is particularly unsatisfactory. It means he is forced to view the “bondage to corruption” (Romans 8:21) of creation simply as the problems of pollution and man’s lack of praise to God. Surely the death, disaster and disease which so afflicts our planet demands a more robust response? Equally Berry’s arguments bring into question the significance of the promise of physical resurrection, and the reality of Christ’s bodily resurrection, and even whether Scripture is teaching us that heaven is forever when it tells us there is no more death there. Too much is lost, and too little gained. Yet this lead is followed – albeit less dogmatically – by Blocher in a later essay.
It is equally disappointing that there was no discussion on the nature of scientific investigation itself. Since the enlightenment a lot of science has proceeded from the false premise that what we can scientifically test and measure is all that exists. The existence of a spiritual dimension in our world and in ourselves is ignored or rejected by most scientific enquiry. This means that much scientific thinking has literally rejected reality, and is built on a foundation of what is false. Much of the science that came out of the godless Middle Ages would be considered an embarrassment to scientists today, and it is not a coincidence that science advanced rapidly during those periods where a biblical worldview was predominant.
Can you imagine what a difference it would make if most scientists believed that the physical universe was not a closed system, but that there was also a spiritual reality that transcended and affected what we can see and measure? It is of course possible that despite the last century’s slide away from biblical thinking, God in his common grace has redeemed scientific inquiry to the extent that it can largely be relied upon. But that is by no means clear. And, until most scientists take the biblical worldview seriously, many Christians will need far better arguments than those provided in Darwin, Creation and the Fall to persuade them that the Scriptures should be re-interpreted in the light of Darwinian evolution.
November 3, 2012
This is a collection of eight essays written by Evangelical Christians: four theologians and four scientists, who accept both the authority of Scripture and the contemporary scientific picture of the world. They are edited versions of papers given at meetings of the Christian Doctrine Study Group of the Tyndale Fellowship and Christians in Science in 2008.
The focus of this book is not on the age of the earth or the meaning of "day" in Genesis, but rather on "the relationship of human origins as told by modern science and the story of human origins and of the Fall told in Holy Scripture." The essays are:
"Worshipping the Creator God: the doctrine of creation," by David Wilkinson
"Did Darwin dethrone humankind?" by R. J. Berry
"Theological challenges faced by Darwin," by Darrel R. Falk
"God and Origins: interpreting the early chapters of Genesis," by Richard S. Hess
"Original sin and the Fall: definitions and a proposal," by T. A. Noble
"Irenaeus on the Fall and original sin," by A. N. S. Lane
"The theology of the Fall and the origins of evil," by Henri Blocher
"Blocher, original sin and evolution," by Richard Mortimer
In summary, the contributors established three critical principles: "1) An insistence that as new information emerges, Scripture, while God-given and authoritative, must be re-examined and may require reinterpreting, 2) An awareness of the compelling genetic and fossil evidence that human beings have descended from an ape-like line, and that we are therefore related to other living beings, and 3)The uniqueness of human beings as the only creatures made in God's image, albeit `fallen' so that life in fellowship with God is now possible because of Christ's redeeming and reconciling death."
The editors put these principles together and conclude that "there must have been a `Fall' in time and that we cannot rule out the existence of a historic Adam."
I recommend this book for Christians who reluctantly accept biological evolution as a process that God used in creating us but struggle with how to integrate this into their Christian faith.
The focus of this book is not on the age of the earth or the meaning of "day" in Genesis, but rather on "the relationship of human origins as told by modern science and the story of human origins and of the Fall told in Holy Scripture." The essays are:
"Worshipping the Creator God: the doctrine of creation," by David Wilkinson
"Did Darwin dethrone humankind?" by R. J. Berry
"Theological challenges faced by Darwin," by Darrel R. Falk
"God and Origins: interpreting the early chapters of Genesis," by Richard S. Hess
"Original sin and the Fall: definitions and a proposal," by T. A. Noble
"Irenaeus on the Fall and original sin," by A. N. S. Lane
"The theology of the Fall and the origins of evil," by Henri Blocher
"Blocher, original sin and evolution," by Richard Mortimer
In summary, the contributors established three critical principles: "1) An insistence that as new information emerges, Scripture, while God-given and authoritative, must be re-examined and may require reinterpreting, 2) An awareness of the compelling genetic and fossil evidence that human beings have descended from an ape-like line, and that we are therefore related to other living beings, and 3)The uniqueness of human beings as the only creatures made in God's image, albeit `fallen' so that life in fellowship with God is now possible because of Christ's redeeming and reconciling death."
The editors put these principles together and conclude that "there must have been a `Fall' in time and that we cannot rule out the existence of a historic Adam."
I recommend this book for Christians who reluctantly accept biological evolution as a process that God used in creating us but struggle with how to integrate this into their Christian faith.
April 12, 2017
It is safe to say that we need more books like this. I had been looking for a while before finding this one. The thing is, the science is pretty clear, and though science is never settled, it is pretty clear that the mainstream will never accept the young earth proposed by creationists. It is fairly easy to dismiss worries about the Genesis account - it is perfectly possible, using traditional hermeneutical methods, to read it non-literally. But this is not the chief problem. The problem is not in Genesis 1, but Romans 5; not the doctrine of Creation, but the doctrine of the Fall. But scholars who are inclined to discuss questions about the theology of Paul, or of human nature, are rarely those interested in the interface of Science and Theology, so finding assessments of the arguments is rather difficult.
But I have to say I was rather disappointed in this volume. Certainly it discusses the issues, but it poses rather more questions than it answers, and none of the contributors is really a sufficiently imaginative theologian to address this. There is much discourse to fails to get to the point; an essay on the religious beliefs of Darwin himself, for example, which is fascinating to historians of science, but utterly irrelevant to the theological questions at hand.
Sadly, this is still the most in-depth book on the subject. There is a good deal more work to be done in this area.
But I have to say I was rather disappointed in this volume. Certainly it discusses the issues, but it poses rather more questions than it answers, and none of the contributors is really a sufficiently imaginative theologian to address this. There is much discourse to fails to get to the point; an essay on the religious beliefs of Darwin himself, for example, which is fascinating to historians of science, but utterly irrelevant to the theological questions at hand.
Sadly, this is still the most in-depth book on the subject. There is a good deal more work to be done in this area.
January 8, 2017
Not surprising - being the of the bicentenary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species - 2009 has seen the publication of many books on Darwin. This one is an attempt to address the theological issues and challenges raised by Darwin's theory. Four theologians and four scientists address many of the key issues. The book had its origins in a Tyndale Fellowship and a Christians in Science conferences. All the authors are evangelicals and 'accept the contemporary scientific picture of the world' (p. 12).
Evolution raises a number of important theological and biblical issues. Not least the following:
What are the implications for a fall and original sin?
How are we to understand good and evil and evil and suffering?
Is suffering intrinsic to the world?
Is it possible for humans to be fallen without a Fall?
How are we to understand humans as being created in the image of God?
How are humans different to other animals?
Is it credible in the light of science to believe in a historic Adam and Eve?
Should science shape the Bible or Bible science?
The Fall has been a problem for theistic evolutionists and until recently little has been written on this important aspect. Hence, this book is a welcome addition to the literature.
Evolution raises a number of important theological and biblical issues. Not least the following:
What are the implications for a fall and original sin?
How are we to understand good and evil and evil and suffering?
Is suffering intrinsic to the world?
Is it possible for humans to be fallen without a Fall?
How are we to understand humans as being created in the image of God?
How are humans different to other animals?
Is it credible in the light of science to believe in a historic Adam and Eve?
Should science shape the Bible or Bible science?
The Fall has been a problem for theistic evolutionists and until recently little has been written on this important aspect. Hence, this book is a welcome addition to the literature.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews