The question “How is God involved in the evolutionary process in a way that goes beyond Deistic aloofness?” could be better addressed as two questions: (1) How might the God of Christianity be involved in the evolutionary process? And (2) How does the Christian conception of God differ from deistic assertions? As to your answer, and with much respect, @Swamidass , I think it is an excellent start in the right direction in addressing both of these questions.
I think the best way to engage the first question is by doing some initial diligence to the second. I could not possibly do full service to the various nuances and renditions of deistic theology, but I think it accurate to assert deism as somewhat a product of the Enlightenment (again, speaking in generalizations). A deist may assert (a) of God in general, that he/she/it could be understood just as accurately from “nature” – that is, observations of the natural world – as from any form of revelation – e.g. all religious texts, of which the Bible would be considered the foremost for a Westernized deist. Put otherwise, special revelation is fine but not necessary; something else can suffice on its own or be added. Likewise, a deist may assert (b) a high confidence in the capabilities of human cognition to map, categorize, and piece together a complete and harmonious world-picture. The truth and reality of most if not all things can be comprehended, known, and put together. Like a puzzle, the task is to find all the pieces and to place them in the right location. A deist may also © downplay the role of God in history and the present world, quarantining any and all such instances as “supernatural” (as if God were not active in the natural).
Contrariwise, Christian theology going back to the Fathers (and further, into Jewish theology) (a) has seen God’s special revelation as a necessary starting, middle, and end-point, with all other observations (i.e., theological conclusions of general revelation in the observations of nature) being contingent on their congruence with said word of God. (Isa. 40:8; 50:10; Ps. 119, esp. v.105; 2 Tim. 3:16; Rev. 22:18-19) Thus, whenever one attempts to connect an observation of life to the workings of God it must first be filtered through the lens of God’s self-revelation (recall Job). As a Lutheran theologian, I learned this as the distinction between the Deus revelatus (God as he has revealed himself to us) and the Deus absconditus (God as he absconds/avoids/does not reveal himself to us) but more on that in a moment. Part of assertion (a) is predicated on the Christian acceptance that, (b) in an extended paraphrase from Martin Luther’s Small Catechism commenting on the third article of the Apostles’ Creed, “we cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit calls people through the Gospel (i.e. special revelation of God’s mercy in Christ), enlightens them by his gifts (i.e. faith), and sanctifies and preserves them in the true faith. As the Father likewise calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in the true faith.” Briefly: the estimation of human cognitive capabilities (and really any capabilities) when it comes to God is one of a complete depravity. A completely accurate and harmonious world-picture is not possible (and could be considered an attempt at justification by works). But any knowledge we may have of God (and any positive relationship) must be given from God’s side to us (i.e. grace alone). (a) and (b) being the case, Christians assert that © there is much which has happened in the courses of human history, all of which is governed by God (Job 38ff.). Most of the what’s and why’s and how’s of God’s role in history are not given to us in the Biblical revelation. Rather, the subject of Scripture, it’s primary kerygma (and the primary task of all good and decent theology) is fallen humanity and the God seeking to justify it. Again, Luther puts it bluntly (but well): “Let no one, therefore, ponder the Divine Majesty, what God has done or how mighty He is… The proper subject of theology is man guilty of sin and condemned, and God the Justifier and Savior of man the sinner. Whatever is asked or discussed in theology outside this subject, is error and poison.” (LW 12:311; see also Rom. 3:21-25a, 1 Cor 11:23; 2 Thes. 2:15; and 3:6)
I summarize the Christian position with a final thought from Gerhard Forde’s On Being a Theologian of the Cross, pages 79-80: Quoting Luther, Forde begins “The Apostle says in 1 Cor. 1[:21], ‘For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.’ Now it is not sufficient for anyone, and it does him no good to recognize God in his glory and majesty, unless he recognizes him in the humility and shame of the cross. Thus God destroys the wisdom of the wise, as Isa. [45:15] says, ‘Truly thou are a God who hidest thyself.’” Forde continues: “The cross cannot be considered therefore as one option among several in our attempts to see God. The cross shuts down alternatives. It destroys the wisdom of the wise. It blinds the sight of the theologian of glory. What is revealed is precisely that we don’t know God. Our problem is not that we lay claim to such little knowledge of God but that we know so much.”
Having defined the Christian stance as polemic to the deist, we can then move back to the first question: How might the God of Christianity be involved in the evolutionary process? Before I make any move for my answer thereof, however, I want to hear any thoughts or questions to what I’ve written above. This will give me further time to think through my answer to question (1) and will help me clarify, as a greenhorn to the forum, how my language and manner of writing are received. And so I ask, what are your questions and thoughts to this so far?