> 3. To Unite on Common Ground
>
> The Christian world is badly riven over the "creation-
> evolution" issue. Yet a surprising amount of common
> ground actually unites many (if not all) of the
> feuding parties. The conferees should seek a way of
> approaching the origins issue that will unify
> Christians. The conference should provide a means to
> discover shared principles and ideas, by letting
> disputants spend time together amicably in a private
> setting where reputations are not on the line. The
> conference would also seek to formulate a general
> position statement on origins ("mere creation") which
> could be widely endorsed by Christians.
This seems like somthing where ASA members could discuss ideas. What would
a "common ground" statement look like? Off the top of my head, I propose
something like the following:
We affirm the teaching of Scripture, contained in the book of Genesis and
elsewhere, that God is the creator of all that exists, including human
beings. We recognize that Scripture does not address in detail the
secondary issues of the chronology and mechanisms of God's creative
activity, and that thoughtful Christians hold different opinions on these
issues. These differences of opinion should not be sources of division
within the church, because the "how" and "when" of creation are of
negligible importance compared to the "who."
It also occurs to me that Richard Bube's "We Believe in Creation" essay from
many years back (available under the ASA home page) would not be a bad
starting point for such an effort.
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| Dr. Allan H. Harvey | aharvey@boulder.nist.gov |
| Physical and Chemical Properties Division | Phone: (303)497-3555 |
| National Institute of Standards & Technology | Fax: (303)497-5224 |
| 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80303 | |
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