Origins TheologyForum for the discussion of Creation Science (Young/Old) vs Theistic Evolution. Discussion of Atheistic Evolution should be taken to the Discussion and Debate forums.
When I'm describing my position on creation to other Christians, many of whom think evolution = atheism and Christianity = creationism, I call my position theistic evolution, since the combination of the two words conveys important information to them. It's not an ideal phrase, but it does the job better than the bare word "evolution" does.
Okay. Then why not call it Christian Evolution or Bible-believing Evolution? Wouldn't that more squarely address your critics. I guess I still find TE a little misleading. I guess I'm a Theistic Lawyer with Theistic Kids and enjoy Theistic Gardening and Theistic Woodworking.
TE believes that God is the creator and sustainer of all things. We believe that He is fully capable of supernatural work, yet that He used the natural as the tool for creation. We believe this because God's work is revealed through nature and nature indicates strong evidence of evolution and a non-literal creation story.
Does TE limit the scientific explanation of origins to natural causes? Hypothetically, is there any evidence that would convince a TE that the origin of human life is best explained by intelligent design? What evidence would make a good TE scrap the common ancestry notion?
Okay. Then why not call it Christian Evolution or Bible-believing Evolution? Wouldn't that more squarely address your critics. I guess I still find TE a little misleading. I guess I'm a Theistic Lawyer with Theistic Kids and enjoy Theistic Gardening and Theistic Woodworking.
Because Theistic Evolution doesn't necessarily have anything to do with Christianity specifically. It is a belief held by Muslims as well. Why on Earth would you assume it is somehow exclusive to Christianity?
__________________ "There is no struggle too vast, no odds too overwhelming, for ever should we fail- should we fall- we will know that we have lived." --Anomander Rake.
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." --Plato
"I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill." Psalm 3:4
"The virtuous man is never a novice in worldly things." Marcus Valerius Martialis
Does TE limit the scientific explanation of origins to natural causes?
Yeah.
Originally Posted by oncelost
What evidence would make a good TE scrap the common ancestry notion?
A scientific study, and a refutation of all the studies positively proving it that have been published over the course of the past 150 years.
__________________ "There is no struggle too vast, no odds too overwhelming, for ever should we fail- should we fall- we will know that we have lived." --Anomander Rake.
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." --Plato
"I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill." Psalm 3:4
"The virtuous man is never a novice in worldly things." Marcus Valerius Martialis
Okay. Then why not call it Christian Evolution or Bible-believing Evolution? Wouldn't that more squarely address your critics. I guess I still find TE a little misleading.
Because I didn't make up the name. Lots of things have names that are not perfect as literal descriptions, but we use them anyway because they're already widely known. That way communication can occur.
Does TE limit the scientific explanation of origins to natural causes?
Yes.
Hypothetically, is there any evidence that would convince a TE that the origin of human life is best explained by intelligent design?
Don't need any convincing. We believe natural causes are part of an intelligently designed universe. We believe divine intelligence uses the natural causes it designed to design more things. We see differentiating between natural causes and intelligent design as misleading and unnecessary.
What evidence would make a good TE scrap the common ancestry notion?
The usual suspects: bunnies in the Cambrian, a six-limbed mammal.
__________________ The high, the low, all of creation God gives to humankind to use. If this privilege is misused, God's Justice permits creation to punish humanity~~ Hildegard of Bingen cited in, Earth Prayers from around the World
Because Theistic Evolution doesn't necessarily have anything to do with Christianity specifically. It is a belief held by Muslims as well. Why on Earth would you assume it is somehow exclusive to Christianity?
Okay, that's a good point I guess. But, TE really doesn't have anything to do with theism specifically. It only says 1) that we don't consider God when we explore origins, 2) when naturalistic science settles on a theory of origin of life, we go with that because we will not consider any supernatural causes, 3) we'll only consider God insofar as he is outside the naturalistic scientific theory. It seems like your putting God in a box. If you are exploring ultimate reality, why limit yourself to naturalism for theories of origin.
Okay, that's a good point I guess. But, TE really doesn't have anything to do with theism specifically. It only says 1) that we don't consider God when we explore origins, 2) when naturalistic science settles on a theory of origin of life, we go with that because we will not consider any supernatural causes, 3) we'll only consider God insofar as he is outside the naturalistic scientific theory. It seems like your putting God in a box. If you are exploring ultimate reality, why limit yourself to naturalism for theories of origin.
Because that is science: Purely naturalistic. I think the people who demand that God led evolution in ways contrary to nature or created ex nihilo to be the ones putting God in a box. They limit him to their own misunderstandings and personal interpretations without ever admitting they might be wrong.
__________________ "There is no struggle too vast, no odds too overwhelming, for ever should we fail- should we fall- we will know that we have lived." --Anomander Rake.
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." --Plato
"I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill." Psalm 3:4
"The virtuous man is never a novice in worldly things." Marcus Valerius Martialis
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