Indeed. That's what Scripture teaches.
>What I see
>in this quote is a mixture of the holy with the unholy; a mixture of
>biblical christianity and humanism.
I'm somewhat unclear on how Biblical Christianity enters into Goodwin's
statement at all. Faith in whom? (Or in what?) It seems to me that
Goodwin's statement is the kind of misconception of Christianity that most
nonchristians have -- whether or not they accept evolution.
>Where does the Bible say that "Moral
>effort" is an agent of Salvation?
>
>This reminds me that the danger of mixing Theism with Evolution is that
>people might get confused on the most fundamental spiritual level. People
>might think that if, according to evolution, humans can rid there genes of
>"selfish" qualities by natural selection and later through education, then
>humanity can rid their souls of sin by moral effort and later by perhaps by
>going to church. Faith is mentioned also, but it's not alone. It's "Faith
>_plus_ moral effort = salvation" as I read Goodwin.
Again, what is the object of the Faith Goodwin mentions? Without that I
can't see any connection with Christianity at all. Furthermore, I see the
same sort of misunderstanding of what Christianity is about that I see from
most of the people I meet who have been peripherally exposed to
Christianity. Their understanding of Christianity has been shaped by
popular songs like "I believe", not by Scripture, not by listening to sound
preaching. But that's not because Goodwin is an evolutionist. It's
probably because he has a poor understanding of what Christianity is about.
And that comes not from studying evolution, but from not getting one's
understanding of Christianity from the popular media rather than from
Scripture and a Bible-believing church. There are millions of people in
this country whose take on Christianity is similar, who understand little
or nothing of evolution, and in fact may even reject evolution. What
should a Christian do with an atheist or agnostic evolutionist? Love him,
pray for him, witness to him. Remind him that Christianity is about Jesus
Christ. If he can be led to Christ, then he'll have to deal with the
passages in Scripture that you claim rule out evolution. Those who accept
evolution have all had to, believe me. I accepted Christ while still
believing in evolution. It was a huge shock to me when I found that many
Christians (including just about everyone in my church) _still_ rejected
evolution. I studied the creationist literature and for a time accepted
much of it. But I kept finding glaring flaws in their reasoning, that
seemed to indicate either abysmal ignorance or outright efforts at
deception (I try to avoid judging my Christian brothers, but sometimes it
gets difficult). Then I began to find brother Christians who accepted an
ancient earth, and even some who accepted evolution. And my study of
Scripture convinced me that it was not necessary to accept the young-earth
view to be a Christian. Christianity is about a far more fundamental issue
than how old the earth is, or what methods God uses to create and oversee
nature and the creatures that inhabit it. Christianity is about Jesus
Christ, and about the redemption He offers us through his finished work on
the cross.
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William E. Hamilton, Jr., Ph.D.
1346 W. Fairview Lane
Rochester, MI 48306
(810) 652 4148