Banner Magazine Sept 2013
by Harry Cook August 2, 2013 — As people of faith, how are we to understand the topic of biological evolution? This topic has been raised in the pages of The Banner and elsewhere in Reformed circles. As Edwin Walhout suggests in his article “Tomorrow’s Theology” (June 2013), there is convincing evidence to support the thesis that biological evolution has occurred. At the same time, we need to acknowledge that opinions on the topic vary widely, as indicated by the responses to that article. I believe more needs to be said. So in the spirit of engaging the church in an open and continuing conversation, here are some suggestions for broadening the discussion.
Many Christian biologists—and I include myself in this group—accept the findings of biological science as a feature of creation that we have to account for. The combined evidence from fossils and from scientific comparisons of the anatomy, physiology, and DNA of various organisms is so strong that it can no longer be ignored. As a result, most Christian biologists I know accept some form of evolutionary development.
My Response to The Banner Magazine for which I never received a response:
Evolution and the Christian Faith sent 9-21-13 to CRC Banner Magazine
Dear Julia Hardy,
I live in New Mexico and among a fairly large group of Christian Reform Believers in a small community. The CRC has a high school here as part of an outreach to the Native American community. I myself work at the Indian Health Service and have done so for 20 years. I am a born again conservative Christian, for 38 years.
I am writing because a good friend, a teacher and a CRC church member, has given me the Banner magazine for September 2013. It has a lead article entitled "God's Plan for Creation: Biological Evolution Revisited." It made me weep. I have known for years the CRC position on the Creation/Evolution debate but it is a wrong position. Why I say this is that every evidence used to support "macro-evolution" is an extrapolation of the obvious variation that occurs in animal kinds. This is not the kind of change required by the microbes to man belief. But why is this important? Because by it secular man can use it, evolution, as an excuse to exclude God thus nullify or dull evangelistic efforts to reach them. For Christians it makes God out to be a harsh and detached Being. He becomes "nature red in tooth and claw", and He is portrayed as supporting the strong and aggressive rather than the weak and mild. The Righteousness and Holiness and Love of God becomes garbled.
There is so much that can be said against the concepts of evolution at every level of debate: Science, Philosophy, And Religion but I am not trying to address that in this letter. I do have a website that you could look at: www.DefendingtheChristianFaith.org. and there are many much larger sites on the internet including: Creation Ministries International and the Institute for Creation Research.
My point is that I am mostly concerned for the young people of the CRC. Their faith in God is being compromised by the support that the evolution worldview (and as such is it evolutionism and not a theory) is given by the CRC. If you are willing to consider my views please take a look at my website, and if you are willing I could write an article regarding this issue-but my emphasis would be on defining science, religion, and philosophy. I have enclosed a link for a published article on this subject. http://creation.com/religion-science-philosophy-interface-noah-flood
Thank you for the nicely produced magazine and for your overall emphasis of encouraging the body of Christ.
God Bless,
Dr John G Leslie PhD, MD, PhD
Sent to: jhardy@@crcna.org