Creation and Evolution

In our series on the issues of our day and the United Methodist position on them, we might as well begin at the beginning.  United Methodist proclaim, along with other Christians, in the words of the Apostles’ Creed, that, “We believe in God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.”  

The book of Genesis tells the story of God’s creation of the universe, the world, and everything it in.  The pinnacle of God’s creation is humanity, which is created in the image of God.  According to Genesis, God creates the universe in six days with each day bringing a new step in the creation process that leads ultimately to the creation of humanity.  

Meanwhile, the best science tells us that the universe and the world took shape over billions of years and that life developed gradually in a process called evolution.  Science, of course. makes no claim about the existence of God or God’s involvement in this process.

So what are we to believe?  Should we reject the Bible and the story of creation in favor of evolution, or should we reject the claims of science and cling blindly to the Bible and its traditional interpretation?   The answer is: neither.  The United Methodist Church states in our Social Principles# that, “We find that science’s description of cosmological, geological, and biological evolution and not in conflict with theology.”#  

But you may well ask, “How does that work?”  I am glad you asked.  There are four broad ways that people have responded to these questions.

1. Young Earth Creationism (YEC)# -  These are people who take the Bible literally and believe that the earth, and all life on it, was created as it appears today in six literal 24 hour days.  They believe that the earth is 6,000 years old, a date they arrive at by adding up all of the ages of people listed in Genesis. They dismiss all the mainstream scientific claims that are opposed to them as either mistaken or an attempt to undermine faith; and often conduct research and experimentation of their own to support their claims.  (There were times in history when Christians believed that the Bible clearly taught that the world was flat and that the Sun revolved around the earth.)  However, I do know many wonderful disciples of Jesus Christ who are YECs and I have deep respect for them.
2. Old Earth Creationism (OEC)# - These are people who believe that the universe is some 14.5 billion years old and began with the Big Bang and that the earth is some 4.5 billion years old as modern science states.  The key for OECs is that the Hebrew word yom, which is translated “day” in Genesis 1, can mean a literal 24 hour day or a longer, unspecified, period of time.  They point to the timelessness of God particularly in passages like 2 Peter 3:8, “With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.”  They believer that days/periods of creation in Genesis is the story of God’s gradual creation over a long period time.  Some, called Progressive Creationists, do not believe in evolution.  They say that each species is a unique creation of God. Looking at the fossil record over time, this cold look like evolution.
3. Theistic Evolution (TE)# - TE is essentially another branch of OEC.  TEs believe that God is behind the evolution that science observes in nature.  They believe that God started the process of evolution, and that God, to a greater or lesser degree, guides that process.  Like YEC and OEC, TEs regard humanity, created in  God’s image, as the pinnacle of creation/evolution.  Many faithful Christians, including myself, are OECs and TEs.
4. Atheistic (Materialistic) Evolution (AE) - The name says it all.  These are folks that do not believe in God, and so, therefore, they believe that evolution, without the existence or involvement of God, explains the origins of the universe, the earth, and all life upon, including humans.

All of the first three groups believe that God created the universe, the earth, and all life upon it, including humanity; which is especially created in the image of God.  The only difference between each group is the question of how God created.  My point in outlining all of this is to demonstrate that there is some differences of belief among faithful Christians and that there is some wiggle room between hard science and a overly-literal interpretation of the Bible.
However, to come back to the point of this series of articles, the political, social, and religious issues of our day, (Notice how I used the word “day: to refer to something other than a 24 hour period!)  This issue of creation and evolution (and not versus, they do not necessarily have to compete) is usually played out in the debate over the scientific curriculum in our public schools; whether our schools should teach creation or evolution.  

As a pastor, I would prefer that the public school stick to teaching science according to the widely accepted standards of the scientific community; and leave the teaching of religious faith to me, and to qualified leaders of other faiths.  

As a parent, I want my children to be fully educated and ready to succeed in any field they choose, including science.  I expect that my children will learn science, and other subjects, at school; and will learn religious faith at home and church.

I believe that this is the spirit in which the United Methodist Church has developed its position on creation and evolution.