Thankfully the term Evolutionary Creation is beginning to "catch on" and replace the outmoded descriptive title of Theistic Creation, placing the emphasis on how creation came into being and away from its older, non-specific twin that simply referred to God as creation's author without implicitly telling us by what process God created creation (by implication evolution was its means).
Certainly God is creation's divine Author, but what we wish to see acknowledged is by what means, or by what process, had God divinely chosen to create. Because of the insight science has given to us we now understand that creation resulted by an evolutionary process. And for the Christian it is a process that was mediated and sustained by God. An omnipotent God that directed its process, and is now sustaining this very same process (because, as a principal, evolutionary development does not cease, but is an ongoing process). Who has given to creation its purpose and identity (its teleology and nature), even while He has directed its very complex creation.
And unlike the bible's more ancient biblical authors, prophets, priests, and people in general, we now know through science a lot more about the evolutionary process of creation than those ancient peoples knew themselves (nor could they wildly imagine based in ancient societies that were deeply augmented around universal ideas of mythology and ancient cultural folklores). A process that was directive, mediated, and initiated by God Himself. A process that involved a phenomenal level of complexity using chaos and randomness as its natural means. A means that shares with us God's phenomenal level of sovereignty even as He guided its chaotic, random, evolution from pure energy, to living systems, unto the level of humanity we now observe today.
Moreover, the idea of Evolutionary Creationism affects many classical Christian doctrines requiring a level of sophistication previously unthought through the church's 2000 year history (or 4000 year history should we include Israel's historical progression). During these past two years of writing I have attempted to describe, and reposition, many of these doctrinal developments in detail, thus providing to the theological student, and general Christian worshipper, a biblical guide to detailed examination and discussion by theme and by topic. Hence, I would encourage each reader to make use of this site's very helpful sidebars as they have grown and accumulated through my own personal journey of questions and amazement.
Below, Denis Lamoureux gives a brief 12 minute PowerPoint sketch of what is meant by Evolutionary Creationism. To which Peter Enns reviews Denis' book, "I Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution." Afterwhich I provide several Amazon reviews to both of Denis' published books on this subject, along with a chart from his latest book (apologies for its smallness - even when clicked upon! Its the best I could do).
May God bless your study even as you consider this subject's depth and interconnectedness with the Creator God Himself, and those ancient Scriptural references that He has preserved in recording His redemptive work and witness, mission and salvation through Jesus. It has been a phenomenal journey of encouragement and biblical insight providing thanksgiving for God's goodness, love, and wisdom so high above that of our own thoughts and religion. Enjoy.
R.E. Slater
April 16, 2013
by Denis Lamoureux
Episode 1 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj1/index.html
Episode 2 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj_2/index.html
Episode 3 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj3/index.html
Episode 4 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj4/index.html
Episode 5 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj5/index.html
Episode 6 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj6/index.html
Episode 7 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj7/index.html
Episode 8 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj8/index.html
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What is “Evolutionary Creation”?
Let Denis Lamoureux Tell You (he wrote the book)
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peterenns/2013/04/what-is-evolutionary-creation-let-denis-lamoureux-tell-you-he-wrote-the-book/
by Peter Enns
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peterenns/2013/04/what-is-evolutionary-creation-let-denis-lamoureux-tell-you-he-wrote-the-book/
by Peter Enns
April 15, 2013
Today’s post is more a 12 minute guest slide show (link below) by Denis Lamoureux, associate professor of science and religion at St. Joseph’s College in the University of Alberta (full bio here).
I asked him if he would consider explaining the content of his book I Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution, which is a great introduction to his view of origins called “evolutionary creation,” a term he will explain in this series, and which he prefers to the more common “theistic evolution.” (The idea is letting the right noun dominate the phrase.) Lamoureux covers chapters 1 and 2 today and I will get the other chapters up very soon.
Lamoureux holds three earned doctoral degrees—dentistry, theology, and biology–which uniquely qualifies him to speak to the issue of human origins and Christian faith. He gets the science, he gets the hermeneutics, and he articulates both clearly for non-specialists.
A couple of introductory comments about the 12 minute PowerPoint. First, he says some very nice things about me at the beginning, which I attribute to a brain frozen from the long Canadian winter and a truncated hockey season. Second, as I just mentioned, Lamoureux is Canadian, so keep your ears open for an “aboot” or the like. Third, as you’ll see, Lamoureux is no fan of the Intelligent Design movement. Fourth, for those of you who are beyond the beginner’s stage, you can read his much thicker book Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution.
Amazon Review by John Lang
This book is a condensed (184 pages vs. 493 pages) and much more affordable version of Lamoureux's 2008 book, Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution. Because it is more concise, this new book is much more accessible to its target audience; namely, conservative Christians who are wrestling with the Creation/Evolution controversy. I believe it fills a much needed gap in the popular literature aimed at the same audience. Specifically, I believe it delivers the hermeneutical guidance that is lacking in most of the other books addressing evolution from a Christian perspective.
* * * * * * * * *
Amazon Review by John LangThis book is a condensed (184 pages vs. 493 pages) and much more affordable version of Lamoureux's 2008 book, Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution. Because it is more concise, this new book is much more accessible to its target audience; namely, conservative Christians who are wrestling with the Creation/Evolution controversy. I believe it fills a much needed gap in the popular literature aimed at the same audience. Specifically, I believe it delivers the hermeneutical guidance that is lacking in most of the other books addressing evolution from a Christian perspective.
I could personally
relate to the "journey" that the author and many other conservative Christians
have made in wrestling with the creation/evolution controversy. I abandoned the
"young earth creationist" position in the 1980's after observing evidence I
considered conclusive regarding the age of the earth and the universe. For
Christians who may still be pondering that issue, I believe The
Bible, Rocks and Time: Geological Evidence for the Age of the Earth is
probably the definitive text for reconciling scripture with an "Old Earth"
(4.5+/- billion years).
For over twenty years, I embraced "Progressive (Old
Earth) Creationism". I did not consider evolution to be compatible with the
Christian faith. As a result, I never seriously considered the possibility that
secular authors might actually be right about evolution. It was not until I read
The
Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis Collins
that I encountered what I considered to be conclusive evidence for Common
Descent. The fact that Collins was writing from a Christian perspective made
this realization somewhat less traumatic.
I read several other books by
Christian authors such as Coming
to Peace With Science: Bridging the Worlds Between Faith and Biology by
Darrel Falk, Random
Designer: Created from Chaos to Connect with the Creator by Richard Colling,
etc. These only served to solidify the reality of evolution in my mind. There
have been a number of books like these that I believe have been very helpful in
demonstrating the evidence for evolution in a manner that is sensitive to
Christian concerns.
Yet I don't believe there are many books that practically
guide conservative Christians as to how they can reconcile acknowledgement of
evolution with their convictions about the message of the Bible. Gordon Glover's
book, Beyond
the Firmament: Understanding Science and the Theology of Creation provides
an excellent start to this task, but even he acknowledges in his review of
Evolutionary Creation that Lamoureux takes the hermeneutical issue to a much deeper level.
In I
Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution , Lamoureux addresses the key issues in
a much more concise manner. The significance of this is that he provides
practical direction as to how conservative Christians can retain their
evangelical convictions while maintaining their integrity with regard to the
"Book of God's Works" (nature) and the "Book of God's Words" (scripture). In
view of the overwhelming evidence for evolution, coupled with the relative
scarcity of credible books addressing the hermeneutical issues that are relevant
to the creation/evolution controversy, I consider this book to be a very
valuable resource for the conservative Christian community. I can't recommend it
highly enough!
* * * * * * * * *
I Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution is a condensed read (184 pages vs. 493 pages) and much more affordable
version of Lamoureux's 2008 book, Evolutionary
Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution.
In this provocative book, evolutionist and evangelical Christian Denis O.
Lamoureux proposes an approach to origins that moves beyond the
'evolution-versus-creation' debate. Arguing for an intimate relationship between
the Book of God's Words and the Book of God's Works, he presents evolutionary
creation a position that asserts that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created
the universe and life through an ordained and sustained evolutionary process.
This view of origins affirms an evolutionary understanding of the concept of
intelligent design and the belief that beauty, complexity, and functionality in
nature reflect the mind of God. Lamoureux also challenges the popular Christian
assumption that the Holy Spirit revealed scientific and historical facts in the
opening chapters of the Bible. He contends that Scripture features an ancient
understanding of origins that functions as a vessel to deliver inerrant and
infallible messages of faith.
The book closes with the two most important issues
in the origins controversy: pastoral and pedagogical implications. How should
churches approach this volatile topic? And what should Christians teach their
children about origins?
Click to Expand
Double Clicking on Link Below will provide a clearer picture -
http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/31115493.png
From Episode 4 -
Double Clicking on Link Below will provide a clearer picture -
http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/31115493.png
From Episode 4 -
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