What is evolution and why is it controversial among Christians?

When the Theory of Evolution emerged in the 19th century, it didn’t greatly trouble Christian believers. However, theological disputes and culture wars have since made it contentious among Christians. While the scientific community has broadly accepted evolution over the past century, many Christians today view it as conflicting with their faith, the Bible, and as harmful to society and the church.

What is evolution?

In biology, evolution is the word used to describe the process by which a population of organisms changes over time. Given enough time, the process of evolution brings about new life forms descended from ancestor life forms. This model of how new species arise, often referred to as common descent, explains the great diversity of life observable on Earth today and in the fossil record.

Robust evidence for common descent emerges from five distinct research areas. Scientists begin by examining comparative anatomy. They then observe organisms’ development from embryos. Next, they categorize creatures according to the strata they occupy in the fossil record. DNA analysis adds another layer of proof. The geographical distribution of species over time is closely examined. Finally, the study of adaptations in modern organisms over time solidifies the evidence.

Natural Selection

Charles Darwin proposed evolution by natural selection in his 1859 book, “On the Origin of Species.” He suggested that organisms with traits better suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. Over time, these advantageous traits are passed to offspring, becoming more common in the population.

Some equate ‘Darwinism’ with evolution, though modern theory far exceeds Darwin’s initial ideas. His concepts of common descent and natural selection merged with genetic inheritance discoveries, forming the modern synthesis. This synthesis, arising in the early 20th century, zeroes in on genes, DNA’s crucial segments

Mutations

Changes in genes are called mutations and are one way of introducing new alleles (variations of a gene) into a population. Mutations enter an organism’s genome through DNA replication or repair errors, or from damage by chemicals or radiation. Most of the time, mutations are either harmful or neutral. Occasionally, a mutation is beneficial and increases the organism’s ability to survive and reproduce. Beneficial mutations become more prevalent in successive generations by natural selection, and they eventually spread throughout the population.

New alleles can be introduced when a population migrates and interbreeds with a closely related population. Alleles can become lost in a population when a subpopulation with less genetic variation becomes reproductively isolated. Neutral mutations and random shifts in allele frequencies within a population fuel evolution through a process called genetic drift. This process, along with the mathematical modeling of changes in gene and allele frequencies, forms the basis of population genetics. Together, they establish evolution as the central paradigm of biology.

As new discoveries and technologies deepen our understanding of genetics and biochemistry, scientists refine the evolutionary model. Despite this, evolution’s core principles have endured for centuries, making it one of the most well-supported scientific models in history.It is considered foundational to current scientific consensus in paleontology, geology, genetics, and developmental biology.

The debate over evolution in Christian communities

Despite scientific consensus on evolution, some Christian leaders resist it, investing resources to challenge evolutionary science’s credibility. Known as Creationists, they interpret Bible creation stories as literal history or science, emphasizing God as Creator.

Creationists view the scientific community and its conclusions as hostile to faith, positioning science and Christianity as opposites. In contrast, some Christians see science and faith as compatible, aiming to align the Bible and Christian teachings with scientific findings on natural history. This belief, affirming God as Creator while accepting scientific insights on creation’s change over time, is known as theistic evolution or evolutionary creation.

These Christians advocate approaches to interpreting biblical texts other than the literalist approach used by Christians who reject evolution. Creationists resist interpreting the Bible through a cultural lens and specifically challenge evolutionary creation in three key areas.

Why Some Christians Reject Evolution

Methodological Naturalism

The first objection labels evolutionary science as “Darwinism” or “evolutionism,” seen as a worldview against God, the Bible, and faith. Thus, Creationists with a literal view of humanity’s biblical origin see Christians engaging with science as compromising or allying with the devil. Many atheists or philosophical naturalists, (those deny the supernatural and see the natural world as all-encompassing) do draw philosophical conclusions from scientific findings. However, this doesn’t imply the evolutionary model itself forms a worldview or that science opposes God and the Bible.

The scientific method is based on methodological naturalism, meaning it doesn’t study or suggest supernatural causes due to its empirical nature. Its effectiveness comes from its universal applicability, allowing people of various worldviews and religions to reach similar conclusions about the natural world. It removes philosophical bias and gives people a common set of tools, but of course, the tool kit of science is limited. Scientific knowledge comes from systematically studying the natural world empirically, using logic and math to infer conclusions from observations. Yet, embracing methodological naturalism for science doesn’t force its practitioners to reject a supernatural reality or claim science answers all questions.

Christian scientists are free to pursue spiritual knowledge through ways of knowing other than science.

The Problem of Evil

The second reason Creationists object to evolution has to do with the problem of evil. In the Creationist conception of the beginning of life on earth, creation was perfect and free from all death. They attribute all death, predation, disease, and disaster to Adam and Eve’s disobedience by eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in Eden. This act of sin, the Fall, brought death into the world and fundamentally altered creation.

The fossil record, showing billions of years of life and death before humans, contradicts this origin story. Creationists argue the evolutionary model, based on survival struggles, clashes with the idea of a pre-Fall perfect, sinless creation.

Christians acknowledging evolution and fossils believe the Bible says creation was good, not perfect, and death as essential for life’s natural cycles. They view Genesis’s Adam and Eve story as non-literal, seeing sin as causing human spiritual death, not universal mortality or herbivores turning carnivorous.

God’s Image Bearers

The final major Creationist concern involves humanity’s creation in God’s image, distinct from other creatures. Creationists reject the idea that humans, evolving from and sharing traits with other animals, can embody God’s image. They believe that God uniquely designed humans distinct from other creatures on earth. They also reject many scientific hypotheses on the origins of humanity that do not fit the Creationist timelines that have been created using genealogical accounts found in the Bible.

Some Christians think God disclosed scientific facts in the Bible long before modern scientists discovered these same truths. Others are convinced that Psalm 139 contains a factual account when it declares “For you created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb; I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Those Christians feel that Biblical teachings take precedence. For more information check out Answers in Genesis.

An Original Couple?

Some scientists argue there’s no proof Homo sapiens originated from a single couple, but strong evidence supports human evolution as a population. Thus, the view of Adam and Eve as humanity’s only recent ancestors, possibly within the last 6,000 years, conflicts with some scientific evidence.

According to the evolutionary model, Homo sapiens developed from apelike ancestors over approximately 7 to 8 million years. Scientists theorize that the first hominins, species in the human lineage post-divergence from a common ancestor with chimpanzees, evolved in Africa. This includes species not directly ancestral to Homo sapiens.

The oldest hominin fossils, aged 7 to 2 million years, are exclusively found in Africa, not elsewhere. Bipedalism evolved over 4 million years ago, with the earliest stone tools dating back to 3.3 million years ago. Groups of Homo sapiens migrated from Africa into the Middle East, Europe, and Asia throughout many millennia. Modern humans from Asia migrated globally, reaching Australia within the last 60,000 years and the Americas within the last 30,000 years. Agriculture and the rise of the first civilizations occurred within the past 12,000 years.

Reconciling Science and Theology

Among Christians accepting evolution, reconciliation with theology varies. Some believe in animal evolution but maintain humans were a unique act of creation by God. Therefore they do not share common ancestry with animals.

Some Christians, acknowledging Homo sapiens’ evolution, use “human” for spiritual or moral traits distinguishing us from ancestors and other animals. They may speculate about when in history God bestowed his image (making people “truly human” or “spiritually human”). They may speculate about when H. sapiens (or perhaps other earlier hominins) became spiritually capable of relating to God or morally accountable for sin. Others see the image of God as a special calling given to humanity by God at a certain point in time, not capacities or qualities that humanity evolved or was given. If the image of God is a calling, then bearing the image of God depends on being chosen by God, not on being created or evolving in some special way.

Conflict Narrative

More and more people raised in Christian faith communities find the conflict narrative around evolution uncompelling. It is not the case that Christian faith and evolutionary theory are fundamentally incompatible. Nor is it true that science is at war with faith. Questions are raised in any attempt to harmonize what science says about evolution and what Christianity traditionally understands about God, humanity, sin, and redemption. However,  Christians committed to rigorous science and faithful Christianity are doing fruitful work in these areas. To investigate these ideas further, check out the following resources. BioLogos, American Scientific Affiliation, Faraday Institute, Disciple Science, Peaceful Science, or Science for the Church.

 

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