Beyond
the
“Evolution” vs. “Creation”
Debate
Denis O. Lamoureux
Associate Professor of Science & Religion
St. Joseph’s College, University of Alberta
Thomas Henry Huxley
T.H. Huxley
Extinguished theologians lie about
the cradle of every science as the
strangled snakes of Hercules . . .
T.H. Huxley
And history records that whenever
science and orthodoxy have been
fairly opposed, the latter has been
forced to retire from the lists,
bleeding and crushed if not
annihilated; scotched, if not slain.
The
Problem
DICHOTOMY
“Science”
“Religion”
Julian Huxley
The earth was not created,
it evolved. So did all the
animals and plants that
inhabit it, including our
human selves, mind and
soul as well as brain and
body. So did religion.
Julian Huxley
The truth will set us free.
Evolutionary truth frees us from
subservient fear of the unknown
and supernatural, and exhorts us
to face this new freedom. It shows
us our destiny and our duty.
Julian Huxley
Evolutionary man can no longer
take refuge from his loneliness in
the arms of a divinized father figure
whom he has himself created, nor
escape from the responsibility of
making decisions by sheltering
under the umbrella of Divine
Authority.
Julian Huxley
Finally, the evolutionary vision is
enabling us to discern, however
incompletely, the outline of the
new religion that we can be sure
will arise to serve the needs of
the coming era.
DICHOTOMY
“Science”
“Evolution”
No God
Humanist Ethics
Scientism
Science & Secular WV
CONFLATION
“Religion”
Henry Morris
There are only two
basic world views:
The God-centred world view and
the man-centred world view,
creation or evolution.
Henry Morris
There is no proven scientific
evidence that the earth is old.
There is no evidence whatever
that evolution of one kind of
organism into a more complex
organism has ever occurred.
Henry Morris
Divine revelation from the Creator
of the world states that He did it
all in six days several thousand
years ago. The Bible contains all
the basic principles upon which
TRUE science is built.
The Bible is a book of science!
Henry Morris
There is a personal Creator behind
the origin of all things and we
urgently need to know Him and to
order our lives according to His
will as revealed in the Bible.
Satan himself is the originator
of the concept of evolution.
DICHOTOMY
“Science”
“Religion”
“Evolution”
No God
Humanist Ethics
“Creation”
God
Biblical Ethics
Scientism
Fundamentalism
Science & Secular WV
Christianity & 6 Days
CONFLATION
CONFLATION
DICHOTOMY
“Science”
“Religion”
“Evolution”
No God
Humanist Ethics
“Creation”
God
Biblical Ethics
Scientism
Fundamentalism
Science & Secular WV
Christianity & 6 Days
CONFLATION
CONFLATION
Moving Beyond
the
Dichotomy
Scientists Are Still
Keeping the Faith
Ed Larson & Larry Witham
Nature
3 Apr 97
 I believe in a God in intellectual and
emotional communication with
humankind, i.e. a God to whom one
may pray in expectation of receiving
an answer. By “answer” I mean more
than the subjective psychological
effect of prayer.
 I believe in continuation of the person
after death into another world.
Science and God:
A Warming Trend?
Gregg Easterbrook
Science
15 Aug 97
Gregg Easterbrook
The National Academy of Sciences
and the American Association for
the Advancement of Science have
launched projects to promote a
dialogue between science and
religion.
Gregg Easterbrook
New institutions aimed at bridging the
gap have been formed, including the
Chicago Center for Religion and Science,
and the Center for Theology and Natural
Sciences in Berkeley, California.
Universities such as Cambridge and
Princeton also have established
professorships or lectureships on the
reconciliation of the two camps.
Pope John Paul II
New knowledge leads to
the recognition of the
theory of evolution as
more than a hypothesis.
Pope John Paul II
The Bible speaks of the origin of
the universe NOT to provide a
scientific treatise, but to state the
correct relationships of humanity
with God and with the universe.
Pope John Paul II
Sacred Scripture simply declares
that the world was created by God,
and it expresses this truth in the
terms of the cosmology [science]
in use at the time of the writer.
Billy Graham
The Bible is NOT
a book of science.
The Bible is a book
of Redemption, and
of course I accept
the Creation story. I believe that
God did create the universe.
Billy Graham
I believe God created humanity.
Whether it came by an evolutionary
process and at a certain point He
took this person or being and made
him a living soul or not, does not
change the fact that God did create
humanity.
Billy Graham
Whichever way God did it
makes no difference as to
what men and women are &
their relationship to God.
X
DICHOTOMY
X
“Science”
X
“Religion”
Science
40% Believe in a Personal God
Science-Religion Dialogue
Religion
Pope John Paul II Accepts Evolution
Billy Graham Open to Evolution
Toward
a
Solution
Teleology
Dysteleology
Evolution
Creation
Teleology
Dysteleology
?
Evolution ist
Creation ist
ID a DeIusion
ID Real
Dysteleology
Teleology
STANDARD CELL
1/1000 inch
1 yard of DNA
Information = 30 vols
Intelligent Design
Belief that beauty, complexity & functionality
in nature point to an Intelligent Designer
Instructional
Tool
Christian Bias
Mix & Match
Young Earth Creation
“Creationist” Position
Creation Science
Young Earth Creation
Teleology
Yes
Intelligent Design
Yes
Age of the Universe
6000 yrs
Biological Evolution
Rejects
Macro-evolution
Accepts
Micro-evolution
Young Earth Creation
God’s Activity
in the Origin
of Universe & Life
YES
Direct
Interventions
over 6 days
God’s Activity
in the Lives
of Men & Women
YES
Personal God
Dramatic & Subtle
Young Earth Creation
Nature of Bible
Word of God
Inspired by Holy Spirit
Interpretation of
Genesis 1-11
Strict Literalism
Creation Days = 24 hrs
Global flood
Origin of
Humanity
Adam & Eve
Accepts Image of God
& human sin
Young Earth Creation
Theology or
Philosophy
Ethics
Examples
Conservative Christianity
Accepts Incarnation &
Resurrection
Biblical
Institute for Creation
Research
Henry Morris, Duane Gish
Answers in Genesis
Ken Ham
Progressive Creation
Old Earth Creation
Day-Age Theory
Progressive Creation
Teleology
Yes
Intelligent Design
Yes
Age of the Universe
10-15 billion yrs
Biological Evolution
Rejects
Macro-evolution
Accepts
Micro-evolution
Progressive Creation
God’s Activity
in the Origin
of Universe & Life
YES
1. Direct
for basic “kinds” of life
interventions over billion yrs
2. Indirect
for inanimate universe
Ordained & Sustained
Natural Processes
God’s Activity
in the Lives
of Men & Women
YES
Personal God
Dramatic & Subtle
Progressive Creation
Nature of Bible
Word of God
Inspired by Holy Spirit
Interpretation of
Genesis 1-11
General Literalism
Days = Geologic Ages
Local flood
Origin of
Humanity
Adam & Eve
Accepts Image of God
& human sin
Progressive Creation
Nature of Bible
Word of God
Inspired by Holy Spirit
Interpretation of
Genesis 1-11
General Literalism
Days = Geologic Ages
Local flood
Origin of
Humanity
Adam & Eve
Accepts Image of God
Accepts sin
Progressive Creation
Theology or
Philosophy
Ethics
Examples
Conservative Christianity
Accepts Incarnation &
Resurrection
Biblical
Reasons To Believe
Hugh Ross
[ Intelligent Design Theory ]
Evolutionary Creation
Theistic Evolution
Evolutionary Creation
Teleology
Yes
Intelligent Design
Yes
Age of the Universe
10-15 billion yrs
Biological Evolution
Accepts
Macro-evolution
Evolutionary Creation
God’s Activity
YES
in the Origin
Indirect
of Universe & Life Ordained & Sustained
Natural Processes
God’s Activity
in the Lives
of Men & Women
YES
Personal God
Dramatic & Subtle
Embryology- Evolution Analogy
Evolutionary Creation
God’s Activity
YES
in the Origin
Indirect
of Universe & Life Ordained & Sustained
Natural Processes
God’s Activity
in the Lives
of Men & Women
YES
Personal God
Dramatic & Subtle
Evolutionary Creation
Nature of Bible
Word of God
Inspired by Holy Spirit
Interpretation of
Genesis 1-11
1. Divine Theology
2. Ancient Science
3. Ancient Poetry
Origin of
Humanity
Humanity evolved
Accepts Image of God
& human sin
1. Divine Theology
 God created the world.
 The world is very good.
 Humans bear God’s Image.
 Humans fallen into sin.
 God judges humans for sin.
2. Ancient Science
3-Tier
Universe
Ancient Science
Ancient Science
Babylonian
World Map
6th Century
BC/E
Ancient Science
Ur
Is 41:8

Ancient Science
Matt 12:42
Jesus
Sheba

3. Ancient Poetry
Flood
Account
Chiasm
Gen 6-9
Ancient
Poetry
Creation
Account
Panels
Gen 1
Evolutionary Creation
Nature of Bible
Word of God
Inspired by Holy Spirit
Interpretation of
Genesis 1-11
1. Divine Theology
2. Ancient Science
3. Ancient Poetry
Origin of
Humanity
Humanity evolved
Accepts Image of God
Accepts sin
Evolutionary Creation
Theology or
Philosophy
Ethics
Examples
Conservative Christianity
Accepts Incarnation &
Resurrection
Biblical
Roman Catholicism
Some Evangelical
Protestants
Francis Collins
Deistic Evolution
God-of-the-Philosophers
“Theistic” Evolution
Deistic Evolution
Teleology
Yes
Intelligent Design
Yes
Age of the Universe
10-15 billion yrs
Biological Evolution
Accepts
Macro-evolution
Deistic Evolution
God’s Activity
in the Origin
of Universe & Life
YES
Indirect
Ordained
Natural Processes
God’s Activity
in the Lives
of Men & Women
NO
Impersonal God
God never enters
the world
Deistic Evolution
Nature of Bible
Human beliefs about God
Rejects Divine revelation
God never enters world
Interpretation of
Genesis 1-11
Irrelevant origins myth
Origin of
Humanity
Humanity evolved
Rejects Image of God
& human sin
Deistic Evolution
Theology or
Philosophy
Ethics
Examples
Deism
Liberal Christianity
Rejects Incarnation &
Resurrection
Humanism
Charles Darwin
Michael Denton
Anthony Flew
Dysteleological Evolution
“Evolutionist” Position
Atheistic Evolution
Dysteleological Evolution
Teleology
No
Plan & purpose a delusion
Intelligent Design
No
Design a delusion
Age of the Universe
10-15 billion yrs
Biological Evolution
Accepts
Macro-evolution
Dysteleological Evolution
God’s Activity
in the Origin
of Universe & Life
No
Blind Chance
Natural Processes
God a delusion
God’s Activity
in the Lives
of Men & Women
No
No God
God an delusion
Dysteleological Evolution
Nature of Bible
Human superstitions
Rejects Divine revelation
God a delusion
Interpretation of
Genesis 1-11
Irrelevant origins myth
Origin of
Humanity
Humanity evolved
Rejects Image of God
& human sin
Dysteleological Evolution
Theology or
Philosophy
Ethics
Examples
Atheism
Rejects Incarnation &
Resurrection
Humanism
Richard Dawkins
Christopher Hitchens
Daniel Dennett
Summary
5%
Conclusions
Conclusions
 Define Terms & Concepts
 Recognize the Faith Jump
FALSE
DICHOTOMY
 Move Beyond the “Evolution”
vs. “Creation” Debate
Consider Two Books Model:
Sir Francis Bacon
Let no woman or man,
out of conceit or laziness,
think or believe that
anyone can search too far
or be too well informed in
the Book of God’s Works or
the Book of God’s Words:
Science or Religion.
Instead, let everyone endlessly improve
their understanding of both.