I converse regularly with atheists, and they've yet to pose a convincing argument that my beliefs are irrational or illogical. The foundation is and should only be Jesus. I'm pretty sure Jesus agrees with that as well, but I can fish up the exact scripture if requested. When our foundation become Moses, David, Elijah, ourselves, Rudyard Kipling, our Pastor, our significant other or any other man/woman it's the start of failure. I also would say that we have so many people turning to atheism from Christianity, because of dogamatic and human doctrine that is inconsitant with their world view and reality. I don't fault Churches for it because the way is narrow. It saddens me, but maybe that's God's plan, who am I to know.
If you feel that evolution is a tree of bad fruit than I can respect that opinion. However, unless you want to show exactly where I have cognitive dissonance or disagree with scripture, I'll keep my view of reality as God presented and science verified.
God Bless,
Dave
I can see we fundamentally disagree here, but that's okay. Note, that I am very matter of fact in my argumentation, so please don't take it the wrong way. You are my cherished brother in Christ, end of story. That said, I'll present my argument:
Jesus is the foundation of our faith, but Jesus doesn't exist in a vacuum. The very reason Jesus came to Earth is because of what happened in Genesis. If you want to say that what happened in Genesis isn't true, then the purpose of His ministry, death and resurrection isn't true either. To make it work you have to gut Genesis and compromise quite a bit of scripture.
I speak to a lot of atheists as well and they all tell me the same thing. They don't believe the bible is true because evolution explains everything, and many of them are ex-christians. Consider this testimony:
Ph.D. Turns from Atheism to Christ - YouTube
You made the initial claim of cognitive dissonance, so I will ask you to support it too. Specifically, what the biblical mandate is to interpret scripture by the opinions of fallen men and the philosophies of the world system.
All I can find are scriptures which say we should do exactly the opposite. To let God be true and every man a liar:
1 Timothy 6:20
O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
1 Corinthians 1:20
Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
I would also ask you this question: If you lived just a few decades previous, would you have agreed with the prevailing scientific theory that the Universe was eternal and had no beginning? Would you have reinterpreted the beginning out of Genesis because scientists said it didn't happen?
I will also give you two scriptures which flatly contradict theistic evolution:
Genesis 2:22
And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man
If theistic evolution is true, it cannot be true that God put Adam to sleep and then took one of his ribs and used it to fashion Eve.
Mark 10:6
But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female'
If theistic evolution is true, God did not make Adam and Eve at the beginning. Do you believe Jesus was unaware of how the Father created the world?
Scripture makes it clear that Adam and Eve were historical people, and that death entered the world through their sin.
Romans 5:12
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
1 Timothy 2:14
For Adam was first formed, then Eve And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
Theistic evolution denies their historicity, and it says that God actually used death to create everything. Scripture says death is the enemy:
1 Corinthians 15:26
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death
It also says Satan is the one who held the power of death:
Hebrews 2:14
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil
Did God use the power of Satan to create the world? How did Satan get this power if it wasn't by the sin of man?
Essentially, for these and other reasons, I believe theistic evolution compromises scripture to the point that it is incompatible with it. That no matter how much you spiritualize or poeticize Genesis and other passages, you can't make it work without unacceptable compromises. Neither do I believe that evolution from common descent is a credible theory.