- Feb 17, 2005
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("Adams" is intentional. Didn't you ever read Romans 5? )
I've often found difficulty when describing myself as a theistic evolutionist, a TE. A lot of times, we TEs throw big words and difficult concepts at each other with abandon. This is fine, but at the same time there needs to be a different approach to talking about TEism, an approach for the common man, using simple words and simple sentences and everyday examples to illustrate ideas which may not be everyday ideas.
So that's why I'm starting this thread. It is intended as a logical collection of articles describing TEism, what goes into it, and what comes out of it.
One important thing to note is that I will not be answering creationist hot-button questions like "Isn't the god of evolution cruel?" and "Doesn't the Bible outright say that the earth is young?", at least not directly and specifically. Part of the problem is that we TEs often state our views in the form of answering to creationists' questions, which can hamper a proper exposition. TEism would exist even if there were no creationists bugging it and I want to show how it exists as a coherent, logical framework of thought all on its own. Also, I would hope that creationists' input be similarly structured. This is not a thread for my benefit or yours but for the benefit of those standing on the sidelines, so don't type to convince me: type to convince them, and present your ideas logically and consistently. On an aside, I won't be dealing so much with the scientific proofs for evolution, so I hope creationists won't talk too much about the scientific rebuttals against evolution either. I want to focus more on "if evolution is a given, what do Christians do with it?"
Also, I won't give specific answers to those niggling questions like "Do evolutionists really believe that Adam was completely fictional?" Some do, some don't. What I am presenting is ( I hope) the lowest common denominator among TEs, a framework, onto which they peg their individual ideas and beliefs. But if other TEs want to present particular aspects of their specific beliefs which they feel I may have missed out on, feel free to! Only note the above: this thread isn't for the benefit of the posters, it's for the benefit of those who want to read to understand TEism.
So that's that for the preface! (The nice thing about posting in a thread is that people are forced to read the preface until something new comes along. ) We'll get down to business soon enough.
I've often found difficulty when describing myself as a theistic evolutionist, a TE. A lot of times, we TEs throw big words and difficult concepts at each other with abandon. This is fine, but at the same time there needs to be a different approach to talking about TEism, an approach for the common man, using simple words and simple sentences and everyday examples to illustrate ideas which may not be everyday ideas.
So that's why I'm starting this thread. It is intended as a logical collection of articles describing TEism, what goes into it, and what comes out of it.
One important thing to note is that I will not be answering creationist hot-button questions like "Isn't the god of evolution cruel?" and "Doesn't the Bible outright say that the earth is young?", at least not directly and specifically. Part of the problem is that we TEs often state our views in the form of answering to creationists' questions, which can hamper a proper exposition. TEism would exist even if there were no creationists bugging it and I want to show how it exists as a coherent, logical framework of thought all on its own. Also, I would hope that creationists' input be similarly structured. This is not a thread for my benefit or yours but for the benefit of those standing on the sidelines, so don't type to convince me: type to convince them, and present your ideas logically and consistently. On an aside, I won't be dealing so much with the scientific proofs for evolution, so I hope creationists won't talk too much about the scientific rebuttals against evolution either. I want to focus more on "if evolution is a given, what do Christians do with it?"
Also, I won't give specific answers to those niggling questions like "Do evolutionists really believe that Adam was completely fictional?" Some do, some don't. What I am presenting is ( I hope) the lowest common denominator among TEs, a framework, onto which they peg their individual ideas and beliefs. But if other TEs want to present particular aspects of their specific beliefs which they feel I may have missed out on, feel free to! Only note the above: this thread isn't for the benefit of the posters, it's for the benefit of those who want to read to understand TEism.
So that's that for the preface! (The nice thing about posting in a thread is that people are forced to read the preface until something new comes along. ) We'll get down to business soon enough.