RJS over at Jesus Creed opened up a new series today discussing Dr. Denis O. Lamoureux’s book Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution. I’ve heard many recommendations for Lamoureux’s books (especially I Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution, a condensed version of Evolutionary Creation) from many Christians in the sciences. I haven’t read it yet, but it is on my ever-growing to-read list. In this first chapter, RJS summarizes some thoughts of Lamoureux and asks some questions about some “categories” that shape the way in which we see the world and the science & faith discussion.

What do the categories evolution, Darwinism, creation, and concordism bring to the discussion? What preconceptions color the discussion from your perspective?

Evolution is the center of so much consternation and controversy in American Evangelicalism that has become a litmus test of “true faith” in many circles. No “real” Christian would ever accept it, for it is antithetical to any biblical Christian worldview. The problem is, the people who actually study this stuff and are in a place to make evaluations of the evidence overwhelmingly support biological evolution. The numbers are something in the 95-99% range for scientists in general and even higher for biologists in particular. Coming from a Young-Earth Creationist background, that’s tremendously troubling. Beyond that, it shakes somebody like me to the core. See, I’m a scientist, I “do” science for a living. How am I supposed to seriously believe that science has gotten so much right, from distant planets to sub-atomic particles, and yet has gotten this large chunk of biology so terribly wrong? So that’s what evolution is for me, a consternation and confusion that pits the world of my youth against the world that trust.

Darwinism is, as RJS said in the original post, is a term that is rarely used in the scientific literature and I would further say it is the easiest way to spot an anti-evolutionist. Bottom line, don’t use it unless you’re specifically talking about Darwin’s particular theories and writings. Darwinism is not another word for Evolution.

Creation is where we meet the real fun part in the science & faith discussion. The Christian doctrine of creation is what binds us together. We are all Creationists at the heart of it, for we understand that God is the ultimate source the Universe, the creator and sustainer of all that is before us. Lamoureux outlines the doctrine of Creation as follows:

1. The creation is radically distinct and different from the Creator.
2. The creation is utterly dependent on the Creator.
3. The creation was made out of nothing.
4. The creation is temporal. (meaning it has a beginning and end, it is not eternal)
5. The creation declares God’s glory.
6. The creation is very good.

This is a wonderful beginning point to discuss our theology of Creation and origins. It binds Christians together without making scientific and philosophical assumptions that normally cut off discussion at the outset. RJS makes the point that this doctrine of Creation “is not confined by or challenged by scientific discovery.” This I see as a potential sticking point. I think most American Evangelicals are precisely looking for scientific discoveries that validate and justify their belief in God and Biblical inerrancy. A theology that is immune to scientific inquiry might be seen as a weakness, not a strength. This is something we need to address as it is a fundamental paradigm change in the way we view the Bible and God’s interaction with the world.

Concordism is sort of where the rubber meets the road in the debate between young-earth creationists, old-earth creationists, and evolutionary creationists (as Lamoureux terms them). Concordism is “the method of biblical interpretation that looks for correspondence between scripture and reality.” It is split by Lamoureux into three varieties (given by RJS):

1. Theological Concordism “claims that there is an indispensable and  non-negotiable correspondence between the theological truths of the Bible and spiritual reality. The central purpose of Scripture is to reveal God, including His character, laws, and acts.“
2. Historical Concordism “asserts that Scripture is a reliable record of a period in human history. First and foremost, the Bible offers a trustworthy account of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It is also a history of the nation of Israel and her interaction with neighboring countries and it documents the activities of the early Church.“
3. Scientific Concordism “states that there is a correspondence between the Bible and the physical world. The most common form of this type of concordism aligns the Genesis creation accounts with modern science. …  All scientific concordists agree that since the Bible predates the birth of modern science, any correspondence between the scientific statements of Scripture and science today is proof for divine inspiration. Only an all-knowing Creator who transcends time could reveal future scientific discoveries to ancient biblical writers.“

What sets the Evolutionary Creationists apart is that they reject that scientific concordism is possible or necessary. They emphasize theological concordism’s centrality to orthodox Christianity while rejecting concordism that is unnecessary to the theological. Historical concordism is accepted by many only in so far as the theological purpose of the Bible necessitates (i.e. the historicity of the Resurrection). Another, more conservative, approach is to view historical concordism from the other direction of assuming historicity until shown otherwise (via archeology, etc.). I generally come at it from this later view. I tend to see the theological purposes of the Bible as fairly firmly rooted in the real history of Israel and the early Christian church.

RJS asks: Is the doctrine of creation as outlined by Lamoureux consistent with your understanding? Is something missing or unnecessary?

I really like Lamoureux’s doctrine of creation. I think it makes a really good starting place for Christians to talk to each other about Creation and Genesis. I think it is useful for people to start out by affirming their commonality, it helps diffuse some of the “us and them” attitude. I think there might be some quibbles on points 5 and 6 though, in relation to Creation being good and declaring God’s glory for people who have a strong view of the Fall and consequently see a big discontinuity in the way Creation is and the way Creation ought to be. This is similar to the atheist’s charge that there is much in the Universe that doesn’t seem good: disease, natural disasters, unethical behavior.

RJS asks: Is this distinction between types of concordism -  expectations for the correspondence between scripture and reality – useful? Do they further understanding, or lead to confusion?

I see some usefulness here in essentially saying that every statement in the Bible cannot be expected to have they same correspondence to reality. The problem I see is that it’s really all much messier than putting things in these three categories, especially when it comes to the relationship between the theological and historical. The Bible is deeply grounded in story and particularly in the story of God’s relationship with his people. While we can talk about theology being true, even when removed from the historical, I think we lose an awful lot of power and authority in Scripture if we expect no or little historical concordism. Maybe if we thought of concordism as a spectrum rather than “bins” it would help.