Evolution

[champuru]

You've really asked a question not illicited by my statement, imo anyway.

I meant that when a Christian becomes a believer in evolution he is more and more exposed to the scientific method of determining facts and less likely to use the needed unscientific methods such as metaphor, typology, allegory, etc. in his pursuit of understanding God's word.

metaphor, typology, and allegory are literature terms. It is like comparing apples and oranges.

I was answering the OP's question, "What is the problem with evolution?" It's not belief in evolution per se, but the path of thought it can create. For many that path may not lead to God.

owg

I see what you mean by this, but I think that it is the decision of the individual to believe in what they want. Evolution or any other scientific discovery shouldn't hinder that.

 

[gluadys]

You've really asked a question not illicited by my statement, imo anyway.

I meant that when a Christian becomes a believer in evolution he is more and more exposed to the scientific method of determining facts and less likely to use the needed unscientific methods such as metaphor, typology, allegory, etc. in his pursuit of understanding God's word.

Yet it is those of us who accept evolution who are frequently accused of "dismissing" scripture as "metaphorical".

 

[Assyrian]

I meant that when a Christian becomes a believer in evolution he is more and more exposed to the scientific method of determining facts and less likely to use the needed unscientific methods such as metaphor, typology, allegory, etc. in his pursuit of understanding God's word.

Wow. For me nothing could be further from the truth. It is only since I have been a TE that I came to realise the amazing riches of metaphor, parable, allegory and symbolism the God uses to communicate with us in his word.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Doesn't this fly in the face of the great number of YECs who insist on reading the Bible as literally as possible and playing apologetics with reference to "creation science"?
If anything, I think a Christian acceptance of evolution leads to the virtues you listed, not away from them.

Yes, literalism does limit the use of literary devices, so it can be the other extreme bookend. Science on one end, literalism on the other. Truth is somewhere in between. I like Gluadys's position: the whole thing is loaded with metaphors that really explain it.

owg

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Yet it is those of us who accept evolution who are frequently accused of "dismissing" scripture as "metaphorical".

Probably by the conservatives and literalists on the extreme end of the scale.

One of the problems the church has is that it cannot reconcile the literal, metaphorical, and scientific aspects of the universe and God's word into it's orthodoxy. The default position is always conservative/literal. Of course this is a firewall against heresy, so I suppose it's necessary. It does limit understanding however.

owg

 

[champuru]

Probably by the conservatives and literalists on the other end of the scale.

that is exactly who does it