Reformed Free Publishing Association
Theistic evolution is a view that attempts to yoke Genesis 1-3 together with the findings of scientists. Many have warned that the Bible and the findings of scientists (many of them unbelieving scientists) cannot be equally yoked and that the attempt to join the two together will end in disaster—the progressive denial of important biblical truths. Of course the early proponents of this marriage between the Bible and science masked the danger of this agenda by denying that this would lead to the rejection of important biblical teachings. But today the danger of theistic evolution has been unmasked.
Proponents of theistic evolution openly deny many of the teachings of the Bible. They deny that God immediately called creatures into existence by his almighty Word. They deny that death did not exist before the fall. They deny the special creation of Adam and Eve by God. What next? A denial of the goodness of God! Theistic evolution is not merely a theory of origins but touches the very character of God. It logically leads to the conclusion that God is evil.
In this article Ryan Patrick McLaughlin is not so bold as to state that God is evil. But he is bold enough to ask the question, “How does the Christian claim that a good God creates a good creation account for the ubiquity of these negative aspects of nature when they are necessary and/or inevitable given the very structure of that creation?” Note the connection between theistic evolution and this question about God’s character. McLaughlin demonstrates that theistic evolution’s belief that death (and evil) have always existed leads to the conclusion that God is responsible for evil in the world. And if God is responsible for evil in the world this calls into question God’s goodness.
So is God good? McLaughlin admits that he is not sure how to answer the question. This is something that the church will have to struggle with. According to McLaughlin, this is the “real theological challenge of evolution.” Of course the church will not struggle with this question if she accepts the answer given in the Bible. But the Bible is not the source of answers for those who believe in theistic evolution. In trying to marry the Bible with science they have actually set the Bible aside in favor of science. So they turn to science to answer not only the question of how the world came into existence, but also to answer questions about God’s character. What will scientists who believe that the world exists now as it ever existed say about God when they see so much evil in the world? Of course they will conclude, if they do not simply deny the existence of God, that God is evil.
This is theistic evolution. It is not a legitimate alternate view of creation about which believers may agree to disagree. It is blasphemy against our God!
