Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation?: Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos

by Kenneth D Keathley; J. B. Stump; Joe Aguirre

Publisher:

IVP

, 2017

Overview

Christians confess that God created the heavens and the earth. But they are divided over how God created and whether the Bible gives us a scientifically accurate account of the process of creation.

Representatives of two prominent positions—old-earth creation (Reasons to Believe) and evolutionary creation (BioLogos)—have been in dialogue over the past decade to understand where they agree and disagree on key issues in science and theology. This book is the result of those meetings.

Moderated by Southern Baptist seminary professors, the discussion between Reasons to Believe and BioLogos touches on many of the pressing debates in science and faith, including biblical authority, the historicity of Adam and Eve, human genetics and common descent, the problem of natural evil, and methodological naturalism. While both organizations agree that God created the universe billions of years ago, their differences reveal that far more is at stake here than just the age of the earth.

Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation? invites readers to listen in as Christian scholars weigh the evidence, explore the options, and challenge each other on the questions of creation and evolution. In a culture of increasing polarization, this is a model for charitable Christian dialogue.

Key Features

• Weighs the arguments and evidence for the age of the earth
• Considers difficult theological questions about the bible and science
• Provides a foundation for genuine dialogue between opposing viewpoints

Contents

• Introduction: How Did We Get Here?
• Boundaries: What Views Define Your Organization?
• Biblical Interpretation: What Is the Nature of Biblical Authority?
• The Original Couple: What is the Range of Viable Positions Concerning Adam and Eve?
• Death, Predation, and Suffering: Is "Natural Evil" Evil?
• Divine Action: How Does God Interact with the Natural World?
• The Scientific Method: Methodological Naturalism or Natural Theology
• Biological Evolution: What Is It? Does It Explain Life's History?
• The Geological Evidence: What Is the Natural History of the Earth and the Origin of Life?
• The Fossil Evidence: Who Were the Hominids?
• The Biological Evidence: Does Genetics Point to Common Descent?
• The Anthropological Evidence: How Are Humans Unique?
• Conclusion: What Is the Next Step?

Top Highlights

“Faint sun paradox. Earth’s surface temperature must be fine-tuned for life to survive, which implies that the sun’s luminosity cannot vary by more than 2 percent. A greater variation would bring on either a runaway freezing or a runaway evaporation of all Earth’s water. The problem for life’s history, however, is that the nuclear burning history of the sun establishes that at the time of life’s origin the sun was at least 18 percent dimmer than it is today. The resolution of this faint sun paradox requires continual fine-tuning of several independent factors.” (Page 151)

“The God who inspired the Bible is the same God who created the universe, Earth, and all Earth’s life. Since in him there is no possibility of lie or deceit (Ps 33:4; Jn 17:17), nature’s record will never contradict Scripture. Where conflict does appear, we can be confident we have misunderstood one, the other, or both. Or we may simply need more information from or deeper insight into one or the other.” (Pages 38–39)

“Bob Stewart asks if I am ‘setting the bar too high’ for evolutionary biologists by demanding that their theory satisfies additional predictions. The short answer is no. The bar can never be too high when it comes to establishing the validity of a scientific theory. If science is practiced in its purest form, a theory must continually be forced to run the gauntlet—it must constantly be put to the test.” (Page 175)

“Similarly, at BioLogos we believe that God governs the development of all life over billions of years and that the science of evolution is an accurate description of that process. Thus BioLogos rejects ideologies such as evolutionism that claim evolution has replaced God or renders humans insignificant or purposeless.” (Pages 11–12)

Praise for the Print Edition

Origins, particularly human origins, continues to be a controversial issue among evangelical Protestants. In Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation?, the organizations BioLogos and Reasons to Believe model a respectful interchange of ideas in spite of their significant differences. The result is an intelligent and illuminating discussion of this crucial and timely topic.

—Tremper Longman III, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College

This conversation is definitely worth listening to! The book is deeply satisfying, with knowledgeable and articulate advocates of differing positions expounding on areas of disagreement clearly as well as respectfully. At the same time, it is deeply unsatisfying, but in a good way: I found my own assumptions challenged, my horizons stretched. I think differently after reading it. An excellent job by all participants, moderators included.

—C. John Collins, professor of Old Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis

This Reasons to Believe and BioLogos conversation is highly commendable, and it's important for a number of reasons. First, its tone is irenic, gracious, and humble. Second, its participants trust the Christian integrity of the other conversation partners. Third, it takes the authority of Scripture seriously as participants grapple with the implications of biblical interpretation in light of scientific discovery. Fourth, the Southern Baptist theologians serving as moderators are effective in guiding and focusing the conversation as they call for clarification and further elaboration from both sides. Finally, this conversation takes for granted the strong evidence for an ancient earth, allowing the discussion to push past the young-earth versus old-earth debate to far more pressing issues needing attention within the Christian community.

—Paul Copan, professor and Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics, Palm Beach Atlantic University, coeditor of The Dictionary of Christianity and Science

Product Details

• Title: Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation? Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos
• Authors: Kenneth D Keathley, J. B. Stump, Joe Aguirre
• Series: BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity
• Publisher: IVP
• Print Publication Date: 2017
• Logos Release Date: 2017
• Pages: 256
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Creation; Cosmogony; Creationism; Evolution (Biology) › Religious aspects--Christianity; Biblical cosmology
• ISBNs: 9780830892648, 9780830852925, 0830892648, 0830852921
• Resource ID: LLS:LDRTHRVLTNRCRTN
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-07-25T19:44:54Z

About the Editors

Kenneth Keathley (PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) serves as director of the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture and as a professor of theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He has published several books, including 40 Questions on Creation (with Mark Rooker) and Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach.

J.B. Stump (PhD, Boston University) is senior editor at BioLogos, where he oversees the development of new content and curates existing content for the BioLogos website and print materials. He has also been a philosophy professor and academic administrator, and he frequently speaks to churches and other groups on the intersection of science and Christianity. He is the author of Science and Christianity: An Introduction to the Issues, coauthor of Christian Thought: A Historical Introduction and coeditor of How I Changed My Mind About Evolution and The Blackwell Companion to Science and Christianity.

Joe Aguirre is editor in chief at Reasons to Believe, an organization in the Los Angeles area that spreads the gospel by demonstrating that sound reason and scientific research—including the very latest discoveries—consistently support, rather than erode, confidence in the truth of the Bible and faith in the personal, transcendent God revealed in both Scripture and nature.