The first shock came from Charles Darwin’s pen. In 1859 he published The Origin of Species—perhaps the most important book of the century. Darwin’s evolutionary theory presented a major challenge to evangelicals. If there was no overseeing eye of Providence in creation, if in fact there was no creation at all but merely an evolution from simple to more complex forms of matter and energy, what was left of traditional Christian belief in a creating and sustaining God? If Darwin was right, how could the Bible be true?
