Dutch Reformed Theologians Debate Evolution

Can orthodox Reformed theology be reconciled with Darwinian evolution? 

In the last few months this question has been much discussed within Reformed circles in The Netherlands, following the recent publication of  Prof. Dr. Gijsbert van den Brink's book, "En de Aarde bracht voor: Christelijke geloof en evolutie" ("And the earth brought forth: Christian faith and evolution", June 2017, Boekencentrum). An English version, entitled "Reformed Theology and Evolutionary Theory", is to be published by Eerdmans in 2018.

Is Mature Creation Deceptive?

If the universe is young, how can we see light from galaxies billions of lights away? A simple solution is that of mature creation:God created the stars and galaxies full-blown, along with their light.

A common objection is that, if light was created in transit, then the starlight that Adam observed did not actually originate from the stars where the light seemingly came from. Is this not deceptive?

Scientific Evidence and Adam

According to the Bible, all humans stem from Adam (created by God from lifeless clay) and Eve (created by God from Adam's side), who lived less than 10,000 years ago. Mainstream scientists, on the other hand, insist that humans evolved from ape-like ancestors, a few million years ago, with a population size that was never smaller than 10,000. The scientific evidence for this is said to be overwhelming. Consequently, many Christians no longer consider the first few chapters of Genesis to be historical.

Lectures in Zambia and South Africa

Last week I returned from Africa, where I gave a number of lectures.

The first stop was at the African Christian University, in Lusaka, Zambia. This is a young, still small, institution operating under the Reformed Baptist churches of Zambia.

Is Evolution Compatible With Christianity?

Is evolution compatible with Christianity? This question is addressed in a post by Dr. Wayne Rossiter entitled Christian Academia and Darwin's twelve gifts for Christians. It is well worth reading. Dr. Rossiter has a Ph.D. in ecology and evolution, and is assistant professor of biology at Waynesburg University.

Trusting the Bible Over Evolution

"One of the main reasons unbelievers give for not believing the Bible is that modern science—specifically, evolutionary science—has shown that the Bible’s account of human origins is mistaken. Indeed, evolutionary science is not merely an obstacle to unbelievers; it can also be a stumbling block for professing Christians.

Sarfati's "The Genesis Account"

Last year Dr. Jonathan Sarfati published a new book: The Genesis Account Account: A theological, historical, and scientific commentary on Gen.1-11 (Creation Ministries International: Powder Springs, Georgia, USA, 2015, 786 pages).

The Flood and Tidal Waves

Over at Triablogue Steve Hays has posted an interesting hypothesis regarding the Genesis Flood. He writes:

Reviving Biblical Chronology

Biblical chronology has fallen upon hard times. Until recently, almost all Christians believed that the genealogies of Gen.5 & 11 indicated that Abraham lived only a few thousand years after Adam. This consensus was challenged, in the late 19th century, by William Henry Green who argued that these genealogies contained gaps. Since then, most Biblical scholars have adopted Green's view that the Bible gives no chronological information prior to Abraham. Jeremy Sexton has disputed Green's thesis in an article, "Who was born when Enosh was 90? A semantic reevaluation of William Henry Green's chronological gaps" (Westminster Theological Journal 77 [2015]:193-218).

Did Abraham Really Exist?

"Evangelicals are debating the historicity of Adam, but they are too timid. It is time to reject fundamentalist distortions of the Abrahamic narrative just as decisively as we have abandoned literalistic readings of Genesis 1–3. Clinging to discredited biblical accounts of Abraham as if these events actually happened makes us look like Neanderthals, undermines the plausibility of our witness, and ultimately overturns the Gospel. To defend the Gospel and uphold the authority of the Bible, we need to reckon with the myth of Abraham."

Mutiny on Noah's Ark

Last month, on July 7, 2016, a Christian theme park opened, featuring a full-scale model of Noah's Ark. This replica is 510 feet long, and contains many exhibits. The park, called Ark Encounter, is situated in Williamstown, Kentucky, and is operated by Answers in Genesis (AiG). It cost about $100 million, and whether it is financially viable remains to be seen.

Prof.van Bruggen on Creation and Evolution

How should Christians deal with evolution? 

Last year Lux Mundi published an article by Prof. Dr. Jakob van Bruggen, entitled "The Blind Man Sat by the Road and Cried: about seeing and not seeing." His prime goal is to help students handle questions about creation and evolution (Lux Mundi, March 2015, 4-7).

Critique of Dr. Tim Keller's View of Evolution

Recently, on the Creation Without Compromise website, Dr. Ted Van Raalte has posted a series of four articles discussing Dr. Tim Keller's support of Biologos and evolution. He is responding primarily to an article that Dr Keller posted a few years ago on the Biologos website. I have critiqued that article myself in my post Genesis and Dr Tim Keller. However, Dr Van Raalte's review is much more extensive. I highly recommend it. 

The four parts can be found below:

Part 1: Keller's advice to fellow Biologos members

Part 2: Can we take Genesis 1 literally, if we hold that God used evolution to create?

Part 3: If biological evolution is true, are we just animals driven by our genes?

Part 4: If biological evolution is true whence sin and suffering?

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Women Deacons (Again)?

May the church ordain women as deacons? The Canadian Reformed Church addressed this issue in 2010, in connection with fellowship discussions with the Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCNA), which ordains women deacons. At that time I addressed this in my post Female Deacons and Church Unity. Subsequently, the CanRC Synod of 2010 found this practice to be a barrier to ecclesiastical fellowship.

Lectures in Smithville and Hamilton

Last week I gave a number of lectures in Ontario. I had been invited to give a speech for a post-confession series for Canadian Reformed churches in the Niagara peninsula. Two weeks earlier Dr. C. van Dam had presented a lecture on "Interpreting Genesis 1 and 2: Faith Seeks Understanding".

Creation-Evolution Headlines

I should alert the interested reader to a very useful site: Creation - Evolution Headlines. This site is run by David Coppedge, who used to work for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He combs many current scientific journals, reports almost daily on the latest scientific discoveries concerning origins, and adds his own creationist assessments.

Was the Star of Bethlehem a Comet?

What was the Star of  Bethlehem? Each Christmas produces renewed speculations, as discussed in my post The Star of Bethlehem. A recent addition is the book The Great Christ Comet: Revealing the True Star of Bethlehem (2015), by Dr Colin Nicholl, a New Testament scholar. Dr Nicholl claims that the star was a comet, a conclusion that has been challenged by Jason Engwer on Triablogue.

Is Evolution Unfalsified?

In  a previous post (The Myth of the Merely Hypothetical) I noted that several Canadian Reformed supporters of the Reformed Academic blog claim that evolution is "as yet unfalsified." This reflects the widely held notion that evolution has all the evidence in its favour, and none against. Allegedly,  evolution gives a powerful explanation--the only valid explanation-- of biological facts, and is essential to understanding the life sciences.

Symposium on Adam and Eve

Books & Culture has recently published a symposium on Adam and Eve. John Wilson, the B&C editor, interviews Karl Giberson about his new book Saving the Original Sinner (2015) Then follows two rounds of contributions from eight scholars.

An Excellent Reformed Study Bible

A study Bible can be very useful, particularly for those who do not have easy access to commentaries. Today there are numerous study Bibles, but very few are soundly Biblical and solidly Reformed. I was therefore pleased with the recent publication of The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible (Reformed Heritage Books, 2014, 2216 pages).