Re: The wrong horse in evolution education

Hi Michael,

Michael Roberts wrote (30 Mar 2006):
> An excellent post Peter. I am in total agreement with the general
> argument of your post, especially on the baneful effect of the warfare
> model.

Thank you, I'm really glad we are finding common ground!

> This is what we need to concentrate on, and not details on how some (eg
> you and me!!!!) may differ on our formulation of accommodation
>
> Michael
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter Ruest" <pruest@mysunrise.ch>
> To: <asa@calvin.edu>
> Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 7:16 PM

I agree with you that details of _formulation_ of accommodation vs.
harmonization are secondary. But there is a central point here which is not just
a matter of how one formulates. And that is that we won't win over many
evangelicals for evolution in fact happening, unless we show them that there are
(some or many) ways of harmonizing science (including evolution) with taking
seriously all of the biblical texts.

There are just too many of us theistic evolutionists who carelessly dismiss much
of Genesis 1-11 as dross or "broken myth". For me, all of the Bible is God's
word. To ask where in all this God's message might shine through, and how,
whereas all the rest of the text is a reflection of erroneous contemporary
worldviews, is very unhealthy exegesis, or rather eisegesis. It still reflects
the German enlightenment liberalism of 1-2 centuries ago, with the JEDP source
fragmentation, although most of this has been shown to be pure speculation or
even in error long ago.

But for the present unhealthy warfare mentality situation, the crucial point is
that mythologization is sure to fail to convince any evangelical evolution
critics. It will keep young evangelicals who have grown up under the influence
of the YEC propaganda avalanche exactly where they are. For the only thing they
will understand is "evolution is right, the Bible wrong". On all sides they hear
  almost nothing but warfare mentality preached, from the atheist side, from the
YEC side, even from ID and Christian evolutionists.

They won't understand the seriousness of the Christian evolutionists' challenge,
unless we can convince them that we believe in the full inspiration of the whole
Bible. Not in any woodenly literalistic way, of course, but with the emphasis
that every word and expression has to be taken seriously, in order to find one
or more possible reasonable interpretations which are in harmony with what
science shows. Harmonization is a must, not a YEC mentality or an anachronism.

Of course, different text genres like metaphor, allegory, etc. have to be
considered, but as interpretative tools within the paradigm of full inspiration,
not as a means of finding error in the text. The meanings of divine inspiration,
inscripturation, incarnation, kenosis etc. have to be investigated much more
carefully than is currently done with the usual accommodation view.

Nor do we have any chance of convincing the atheists that their equating atheism
with science is a metaphysical scientism, and that Gould's separatism
("nonoverlapping magisteria") is just as destructive of a genuinely Christian
worldview, unless we can show that there is a possibility of reasonable
harmonizations. Until now, they just don't see any difference between YEC and
any other Christian worldview. For them, all are just naive, antiscientific
"creationists" under the guise of different names.

Peter

-- 
Dr. Peter Ruest, CH-3148 Lanzenhaeusern, Switzerland
<pruest@dplanet.ch> - Biochemistry - Creation and evolution
"..the work which God created to evolve it" (Genesis 2:3)