\n<\/p>\n
Speaking of evolution and Christian faith . . .<\/p>\n
Much of the confusion, hand-wringing, angst, and raised hackles comes from failing to ask of ourselves a simple question: what do we have\u00a0the right to<\/em>\u00a0expect<\/em>\u00a0from the biblical origins texts, namely the story of Adam?<\/p>\n I argue in\u00a0The Evolution of\u00a0<\/em>Adam<\/a>\u00a0that, far from \u201cattacking\u201d the Bible, information from outside of the Bible\u00a0\u201ccalibrates\u201d the kind of expectations\u00a0we\u00a0bring 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 Genesis 1-11 is neither science nor history. And so 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 In fact, I\u2019ll take this a step further: The discoveries\u00a0of science and of ancient history are opportunities to be truly \u201cbiblical\u201d precisely\u00a0because<\/em>\u00a0they are<\/strong> invitations to reconsider what it means to read the creation\u00a0stories well.<\/strong><\/p>\n Although this\u00a0means turning down a different path than most Christians before us have taken, it would still not be the\u00a0first 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\u2014no matter how biblically grounded we might think they are\u2014do and must\u00a0<\/em>give way to newer ones if the circumstances warrant.<\/strong><\/p>\n In fact, shifts in thinking like this, where older perspectives give way to new\u00a0ones, is\u00a0a perfectly\u00a0biblical<\/em>\u00a0notion.<\/p>\n The prophet Nahum<\/strong> rejoices at the destruction of the dreaded Assyrians and their capital Nineveh in 612 BCE, but the prophet Jonah<\/a>, 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 drove\u00a0them to think differently\u00a0about who their God is and what this God is up to on the world stage.<\/strong><\/p>\n In fact, Israel\u2019s entire history is given a fresh coat of paint in the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles<\/strong>, 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 drove\u00a0the Judahites to see God from a fresh perspective.<\/strong><\/p>\n We could\u00a0talk for hours about how the theology of the New Testament positively depends on fresh twists and turns to Israel\u2019s story<\/strong>, such as a\u00a0crucified<\/em>\u00a0messiah and rendering optional\u00a0the \u201ceternal covenant\u201d of circumcision<\/strong> God made with Abraham (Genesis 17) as well as the timeless dietary restrictions<\/strong> given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Leviticus 11).<\/p>\n What happened? Jesus forced a new path for Israel\u2019s story that went well beyond what the Bible \u201csays.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n **Simply put,\u00a0seeing the need to move beyond biblical categories is biblical<\/strong>\u2014and as such poses a wonderful model\u2014even\u00a0mandate\u2014to move beyond the Bible when the need arises and reason dictates.**<\/em><\/p>\nThe findings of\u00a0science and biblical scholarship are not the enemies of Christian faith\u2014they are only \u201cenemies\u201d of biblical literalism, which is not to be equated with the Christian faith.<\/h2>\n