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Authors: Ron Rhodes
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on occasion to modify
what was developing. "God created the biological world, including all past and present life-forms, by using evolutionary mech-
anisms."39 Most theistic evolutionists hold to the day-age theory,
though some believe the "days" in Genesis are "revelatory days"
when God gave revelation about the creation. One theistic evolutionist argues that
accepting macroevolutionism as a scientific theory does
not endanger essential religious beliefs. Some evolutionary creationists interpret the biblical creation story
as "days of proclamation" at the beginning of time,
when God planned and proclaimed creative intentintentions carried out via the very natural mechanisms
God designed. Most evolutionary creationists see Genesis 1 as an example of God communicating
universal, eternal truths through the limited knowledge
and cultural images of the human author.4o
Theistic evolutionists typically deny the historicity of Adam
and Eve (as direct creations of God) in the book of Genesis.
They generally argue that at some point in the process of evolution, God took an already-existing higher primate (an ape),
modified it, put a soul within it, and transformed it into Adam,
in the "image of God." (God also transformed an existing female
higher primate into Eve.) In this view, then, God directly created
the spiritual nature of humanity, but the physical nature was a
product of evolution.
Theistic evolutionists recognize that this seems to disagree
with the statement in Genesis 2:7 that God created Adam from
the dust of the ground, so they reinterpret "dust of the ground"
metaphorically to refer to previously existing animals. By taking
a nonliteral approach to Genesis, theistic evolutionists are able
to fit their evolutionist views into it.
Objections to Theistic Evolution
1. Evolutionists and creationists rarely agree on anything,
but most seem to agree that theistic evolution is an ill-informed
position regarding man's origins. Evolutionists do not like the
theory because they do not want to allow for God or the supernatural at any point in their theory (see chapter 2, "Evolutionism Rests On the Foundation of Naturalism"). As Charles
Darwin put it, "I would give absolutely nothing for the theory
of natural selection if it requires miraculous additions at any
one stage of descent. 114,
2. Creationists point to a number of serious theological problems with theistic evolution. For one thing, it must make a
complete allegory out of Genesis 1:1-2:3, for which there is
no warrant. Nothing in Genesis indicates it is to be taken as anything less than historical. If we start taking the approach that
we can simply allegorize any portion of Scripture that doesn't
agree with some aspect of modern science, we will not have
much of a literal Bible left.
3. The suggestion that humanity is derived from a nonhuman ancestor cannot be reconciled with a correct understanding of Genesis 2:7: "The LoRD God formed the man from the
dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life, and the man became a living being." Notice that God
created Adam's material nature from the dust of the ground.
This indicates that God formed Adam from inorganic material rather than obtaining it from some previously living form
(like an ape). God then created Adam's immaterial nature (the
breath of life).42
Many scholars have noted the significance of God creating
Adam as a "living being" in Genesis 2:7. The Hebrew words
translated "living being" (Hebrew: nephesh chayah) are exactly
the same words used to describe the other creatures God previously created (see Genesis 1:20,21,24). Genesis 2:7 indicates
that Adam became a living being just as other beasts became living
beings. In other words, Adam was not a living being until the
moment he was created as one; he did not exist previously as
a higher primate. Until God breathed the breath of life into
Adam, he was just inanimate, lifeless matter (dust
what was developing. "God created the biological world, including all past and present life-forms, by using evolutionary mech-
anisms."39 Most theistic evolutionists hold to the day-age theory,
though some believe the "days" in Genesis are "revelatory days"
when God gave revelation about the creation. One theistic evolutionist argues that
accepting macroevolutionism as a scientific theory does
not endanger essential religious beliefs. Some evolutionary creationists interpret the biblical creation story
as "days of proclamation" at the beginning of time,
when God planned and proclaimed creative intentintentions carried out via the very natural mechanisms
God designed. Most evolutionary creationists see Genesis 1 as an example of God communicating
universal, eternal truths through the limited knowledge
and cultural images of the human author.4o
Theistic evolutionists typically deny the historicity of Adam
and Eve (as direct creations of God) in the book of Genesis.
They generally argue that at some point in the process of evolution, God took an already-existing higher primate (an ape),
modified it, put a soul within it, and transformed it into Adam,
in the "image of God." (God also transformed an existing female
higher primate into Eve.) In this view, then, God directly created
the spiritual nature of humanity, but the physical nature was a
product of evolution.
Theistic evolutionists recognize that this seems to disagree
with the statement in Genesis 2:7 that God created Adam from
the dust of the ground, so they reinterpret "dust of the ground"
metaphorically to refer to previously existing animals. By taking
a nonliteral approach to Genesis, theistic evolutionists are able
to fit their evolutionist views into it.
Objections to Theistic Evolution
1. Evolutionists and creationists rarely agree on anything,
but most seem to agree that theistic evolution is an ill-informed
position regarding man's origins. Evolutionists do not like the
theory because they do not want to allow for God or the supernatural at any point in their theory (see chapter 2, "Evolutionism Rests On the Foundation of Naturalism"). As Charles
Darwin put it, "I would give absolutely nothing for the theory
of natural selection if it requires miraculous additions at any
one stage of descent. 114,
2. Creationists point to a number of serious theological problems with theistic evolution. For one thing, it must make a
complete allegory out of Genesis 1:1-2:3, for which there is
no warrant. Nothing in Genesis indicates it is to be taken as anything less than historical. If we start taking the approach that
we can simply allegorize any portion of Scripture that doesn't
agree with some aspect of modern science, we will not have
much of a literal Bible left.
3. The suggestion that humanity is derived from a nonhuman ancestor cannot be reconciled with a correct understanding of Genesis 2:7: "The LoRD God formed the man from the
dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life, and the man became a living being." Notice that God
created Adam's material nature from the dust of the ground.
This indicates that God formed Adam from inorganic material rather than obtaining it from some previously living form
(like an ape). God then created Adam's immaterial nature (the
breath of life).42
Many scholars have noted the significance of God creating
Adam as a "living being" in Genesis 2:7. The Hebrew words
translated "living being" (Hebrew: nephesh chayah) are exactly
the same words used to describe the other creatures God previously created (see Genesis 1:20,21,24). Genesis 2:7 indicates
that Adam became a living being just as other beasts became living
beings. In other words, Adam was not a living being until the
moment he was created as one; he did not exist previously as
a higher primate. Until God breathed the breath of life into
Adam, he was just inanimate, lifeless matter (dust
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