The theory of evolution made popular by the naturalist, Charles Darwin, emerged in the 19th century. Erasmus Darwin, Charles’ grandfather was also a naturalist and inchoately conceived of the theory as early as the 18th century. It argues that animal species gradually change over geological ages in order to adapt to their changing habitats. Charles Darwin’s theory of gradual evolution included concepts such as the survival of the fittest, natural selection, and ongoing speciation. Initially, these evolutionary ideas did not trouble Christian believers. However, thinkers of many kinds have since made it a contentious topic among Christians.

Physicalist naturalists saw Darwin’s theory supporting the conclusion that living organisms are the result of chance or a determined chain of physical events. Many of these thinkers used this claim to then argue that there is no creator. Given this this theory, it seems God is no longer necessary for explaining the origins of living things. In recent decades, the scientific community has largely accepted the theory of evolution along with certain superadded conclusions. These include that life arose from inorganic material which in turn indicates divine intervention as an unnecessary cause. Certain aspects of these ideas are obviously at odds with the Christian faith in one way or another.

Why is it controversial among Christians?

Evolutionary theory and its supposed consequences sparked lively debates among scientists, philosophers, theologians, Christians, non-Christians, theists, and atheists continuing today. People commonly know this debate as “evolution versus creationism.” It is a prominent point of discussion in the wider debate of the supposed conflicts between science and religion. This controversy has even stirred debate among Christians themselves. Certain Christians embrace reason as a valid source of knowledge and argue compatibility between the theories of evolution and creationism. Such Christians view the “evolution versus creationism” moniker as proposing a false dichotomy. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s (Benedict XVI) book, ‘In the Beginning…’ is a good source in recent years on this position.

Other Christians, tend to see anything apart from scripture and revelation with a great deal of skepticism. In such cases, Christian communities tend to explicitly condemn reason as a valid source of knowledge. Famous theologian, Karl Barth, was famous for explicitly condemning the notion of natural theology. According to him reason can be used to justify any conclusion whatsoever. The admixture of reason and revelation, according to Barth, tended to abominable doctrines. So he felt it was better to clearly separate the two in one’s thought.

What is evolution?

In biology, ‘evolution’ describes the process by which a population of organisms changes gradually over time. Given enough time, the process of evolution brings about diverse species from within the single family tree of life. This “common descent” postulates that all life today is descended from the same parents when traced back far enough. Other Naturalists, such as Alfred Russel Wallace independently arrived at similar ideas at roughly the same time as Darwin. The corroboration of observations and ideas gave rise and credibility to the scientific theory and study of evolution.

The study of evolutionary biology and evidence for common descent emerges from five distinct research areas. Evolutionary biologists perform studies of comparative anatomy, observe organisms’ development from embryos, categorize creatures according to the strata they occupy in the fossil records, analyze DNA sequences and gene flow, examine the geographical distribution of species over time, and study the adaptations in modern organisms over time. When these data points converge, it suggests an evolutionary change has taken place.

Natural Selection

Charles Darwin proposed evolution by the process of natural selection in his 1859 book, On the Origin of Species. He argued that organisms with physical traits better suited to their environment and for sexual selection are more likely to survive and reproduce. Through reproduction, individual species pass on their genetic material to the next generation supplying the driving force behind evolutionary processes. Over time, natural selection sifts out the noncompetitive traits leaving advantageous physical traits that become more common in the population.

Some equate ‘Darwinism’ with evolutionary theory, although modern theory far exceeds Darwin’s initial ideas. Concepts of common descent and the theory of natural selection as the mechanism of evolution eventually merged with molecular biology and genetics, forming the modern synthesis. This synthesis, arising in the early 20th century, considers evolutionary theory to include viewing evolutionary processes on a molecular and genetic level.

Mutations

Changes in genes called ‘genetic mutations’ are one way of introducing new alleles into a population. Mutations enter the genome of individual organisms through DNA replication or repair errors, damage by chemicals, or radiation. The slight changes on the molecular level brought about by DNA mutations are either harmful or neutral. Occasionally, a mutation is beneficial and increases an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce. Beneficial mutations become more prevalent in successive generations by sexual reproduction, reproductive success, and natural selection, eventually spreading throughout the population.

Migration and interbreeding introduce new alleles into a population. Alleles can become lost in a population when a subpopulation with less genetic variation enters reproductive isolation often through environmental barriers. Neutral mutations and random shifts in allele frequencies within a population fuel evolution through a process called genetic drift. Evolutionists see this as the basis for species change. However, when we consider a population to be a different species is a matter for philosophers of biology. 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. Evolutionary theory is foundational to current scientific consensus in paleontology, geology, genetics, and developmental biology.

The Debate Over Evolution Among Christian communities

The Christian response to the theory of evolution is quite varied depending on different Christian understandings of evolution. All Christians maintain some form of creationism, the theory that God created the cosmos and that the cosmos is subject to some sort of intelligent design. The first line of scripture (Genesis 1:1) states, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This is in direct opposition to the idea common among scientistic physicalists that everything is the result of chance, random processes, and the physical laws of nature. The differences in response to the theory of evolution are rooted ultimately in the different ways Christians understand Genesis 1-3.

Fundamentalist-Literalist Creationism

Fundamentalist or literalist Christian leaders tend to resist the theory of evolution wholesale, challenging evolutionary science’s credibility. They interpret Bible creation stories as literal history or science, emphasizing God as Creator. In addition, they tend to read into the creation of a “static” understanding of the world and its inhabitants. Taking the timeline presented in scripture also literally, they date the cosmos to be around 6,000 years old. This is one extreme of the spectrum.

Harmonizing Accounts

At the other end of the spectrum, Christians who are open to the light of reason, see compatibility between scientific accounts of the universe and the history of life, and the account of creation as found in the bible. As opposed to reading the days of creation as literal 24-hour periods, rational Christians understand “days” poetically symbolize eons of time and the different stages of earth’s formation. Such Christians tend to see theories of evolution as evidence of intelligent design and ongoing divine providence governing a dynamic creation. In other words, they argue that God guides the living world and the history of life through the process of evolution. This position is theistic evolution or evolutionary creation. The same Christians will, of course, reject the conclusions that deny the existence of God on philosophical grounds, that is, that the scientists who argue for atheism make invalid philosophical arguments.

Fundamentalist creationists resist interpreting the Bible through a cultural lens and challenge evolutionary creation or creation science in three key areas.

Why Some Christians Reject Evolution

Methodological Naturalism

The first objection labels evolutionary thought 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 introducing foreign elements to the faith. Many atheists or philosophical materialists (those who deny the supernatural and see the physical world as all-encompassing) draw philosophical conclusions from scientific findings. However, this does not imply the evolutionary model itself forms a worldview or science that opposes God and the Bible.

The scientific method is based on methodological naturalism, meaning it does not study or presuppose 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 people think the physical sciences enable humanity to know all there is to know. However, science is limited. Scientific knowledge comes from systematically studying the natural world empirically, using logic, math, and observation from the senses to make conclusions. Yet, embracing methodological naturalism for science does not 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 evidence, showing billions of years of life and death before humans, seems to contradict this origin story. Literal creationists argue that the evolutionary model, based on survival struggles, clashes with the idea of a prelapsarian creation.

Christians acknowledging evolution and fossils believe the Bible says creation was good, not perfect, and death is 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 to be distinct from other creatures on Earth. They also reject many scientific hypotheses on the origins of humanity that do not fit the Creationist timelines generated 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 believe 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 that it was impossible that Homo sapiens originated from a single couple. Strong evidence supports human evolution from 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 hominids, that is, a 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 hominid 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 hominids) became spiritually capable of relating to God or morally accountable for sin. Others see the image of God as a special calling He gives to humanity 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 evolving in some special way.

Recent studies suggest the Creationist vs. Evolutionist debate may be a false dichotomy. Genetic evidence over generations does not disprove Adam and Eve’s existence or their status as the first humans, preserving the validity of Genesis’s literal interpretation. Furthermore, Genesis 4:14 mentions Cain’s fear of being killed outside Eden, implying the existence of other humans beyond Adam and Eve’s lineage. Therefore, dismissing Christianity or evolution due to perceived conflicts presents a false choice. Both Genesis and evolutionary science allow for the possibility of the other’s truth.

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. Understandably, attempts to harmonize what science says about evolution and the Christian tradition about God, humanity, sin, and redemption raise questions. 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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