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Speaking of evolution and Christian faith<\/a> . . .<\/p>\n The question we need to ask ourselves is what we have the right to<\/em> expect<\/em> from the biblical origins texts\u2014what I call \u201cgenre calibration\u201d in The Evolution of <\/em>Adam<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOutside\u201d information can \u201ccalibrate\u201d the expectations we bring to the biblical texts in question.<\/p>\n So, things like genomic studies, the fossil record, and ancient Mesopotamian creation myths help us see that the genre of Genesis 1-11 is not science or history.<\/p>\n Seeking from these stories scientific and historical information is to misidentify the\u00a0genre of literature we are reading\u2014to\u00a0expect something from these stories they are not prepared to deliver.<\/p>\n They are opportunities to be truly \u201cbiblical\u201d because<\/em> they are invitations to reconsider what it means to read the creation\u00a0stories well\u2014and\u00a0that means turning down a different path than most Christians before us have taken.<\/p>\n Of course, this would not be the first time Christians have had to divert their path from the familiar to the unfamiliar.<\/p>\n We need only think of the ruckus\u00a0caused by Copernicus and Galileo, telling us the earth whizzes around the sun, as do the other planets, when the Bible \u201cclearly\u201d says that the earth is fixed and stable (Ps 104:5) and the heavenly bodies do all the moving. Sometimes older views do <\/em>give way to newer ones if the circumstances warrant.<\/p>\n In fact, shifts in thinking like this are a perfectly biblical<\/em> notion. We find throughout the Bible\u00a0older perspectives giving way to new\u00a0ones.<\/p>\n The prophet Nahum rejoices at the destruction of the dreaded Assyrians and their capital Nineveh in 612 BCE, but the prophet Jonah, writing generations later after the return from exile, speaks\u00a0of God\u2019s desire that the Ninevites repent and\u00a0be saved.<\/p>\n What happened? Travel broadens, and Israel\u2019s experience of exile led them to think differently\u00a0about who their God is and what this God is up to on the world stage.<\/p>\n In fact, Israel\u2019s entire history is given a fresh coat of paint in the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, which differs remarkably, and often flatly contradicts, the earlier history of Israel in the books of Samuel and Kings.<\/p>\n Why? Because Israel\u2019s journey to exile and back home again led the Judahites to see God differently.<\/p>\n I could go on and talk about how the theology of the New Testament positively depends on fresh twists and turns to Israel\u2019s story, such as a crucified<\/em> messiah and rendering null and void the \u201ceternal covenant\u201d of circumcision as well as the presumably timeless dietary restrictions given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai.<\/p>\n What happened? Jesus forced a new path for Israel\u2019s story that went well beyond what the Bible \u201csays.\u201d<\/p>\n Simply put, seeing the need to move beyond biblical categories is biblical<\/strong>\u2014and as such poses a wonderful model, even divine permission\u2014shall I say \u201cmandate\u201d\u2014to move beyond the Bible when the need arises and reason dictates.<\/p>\n Being a \u201cbiblical\u201d Christian today means accepting that challenge: a theology that genuinely grows out of the Bible but that is not confined to the Bible.<\/strong><\/p>\n And so I see the matter of Christian faith and evolution not as a \u201cdebate\u201d but as a discussion, not defending familiar orthodoxies as if in a fortress but accepting the challenge of\u00a0a journey of theological exploration and discovery.<\/p>\n For me, that approach is much more than an intellectual exercise\u2014though it is that\u2014but a spiritual responsibility.<\/p>\n [This post is adapted from a\u00a0\u00a0lecture <\/a>I gave\u00a0at the annual meeting of the Institute for the Study of Christianity and Culture at Michigan State University on \u201cReconciling Human Origins and Religious Faith:\u00a0Thoughts from a Christian Evolutionist.\u201d]\n<\/div>\nThe findings of\u00a0science and biblical scholarship are not the enemies of Christian faith.<\/h2>\n