Though the theory of evolution has revolutionized the biological sciences, bringing the theory into the classroom still causes some fear and trembling—from teachers, students, parents. Last fall we spent some time with a group of people who have been researching how to teach evolution better, in a way that acknowledges the emotional and religious tensions that comes into the classroom and attempts to help students understand the science of evolution while retaining—even bolstering—their faith.
In this episode we hear from some of the people putting this work into practice and we hear a few stories of the hardships that are faced when evolution comes to the classroom.
“Luckily, we have resources for that. I’d encourage anyone listening who would like materials on teaching evolutionary science from a Christian perspective to check out the BioLogos Integrate series. We’ll be sure to link to that in the shownotes.”
Only there is no link to Integrate! I’m going to take this really personally and write angry emails to Colin unless this is fixed, @HRankin
Im especially existed to look more into the works by Lipscomb university. I can’t remember if I talked about that on the other one. As a member of the CoC ( as in the denomination ) I always look for work or organizations that works with that doctrinal view. Though contrary to the understanding of many with a vague understanding of them there is a wide range of interpretations within CoC/ICoC since they are essentially autonomous.
Colin:…but Erik was lucky enough to encounter Christians with a variety of views.
Colin: Luckily, we have resources for that.
I couldn’t find a handle to tag him with, so would you please ask him for me if he is using ‘luck’ in the strict theological sense of the word? ; - )
Also, I very much appreciated what Sara said,
…Jesus was part of God’s plan from the beginning, not plan B [!]
That is something YECs don’t get! Creation was not ‘perfect’ – since God had a two-creation model from the beginning, the first was subjected to futility from its start and not just since the fall.
If you click on the linked article of the OP, you’ll see buttons in the upper right corner of the post with Spotify and Apple and Stitcher and whatnot and any one of those will take you to the audio of the podcast.
Thanks, that worked. Is that a permanent change where we’ll have to go over to another platform to listen rather than having it directly available on your podcast page as has always been the case before?
Those buttons are under a misleading label that says “Subscribe,” giving the impression one would have to sign up for one of these services to listen. Fortunately that isn’t the case (at least when I tried accessing it at Stitcher), but maybe a little redesign (it could say “Listen” instead of “Subscribe”) would make the new path for listening clearer. Or maybe most of your audience is more podcast-savvy and won’t be confused like I was.
Thanks for the podcast. I certainly have food for thought in regard to have Jesus as God’s plan from the beginning. How is Jesus, Emmanuel, different from how God walked with Adam in the figurative beginning? I’m a bit fuzzy here. Thanks.
For me, it wasn’t learning about evolution in the classroom that caused me to question my faith. Instead, it was the Christians I encountered in my church who warned me against believing in all those evolutionary “lies”.
I still remember the first time I saw vestigial bones in whales being presented in high school biology class as evidence for evolutionary change - it blew me away. I had to talk to somebody about this because it was so cool, but I knew my youth pastor and other church leaders already leaned toward YEC from other conversations we’d had.
It became hard to trust the things they were saying about YEC and a more fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible when they wouldn’t acknowledge the very real evidence for evolution. At some point, you start to realize that your church leaders might have an anti-science agenda…or at least just advocating for creation science rather than grappling with the more complex reality.
We have a whole module on whale evolution in the Integrate curriculum we wrote. Hopefully if Christian teachers and parents can walk through this evidence with their students in a way that communicates “this doesn’t disprove that God is the Creator, and isn’t it amazing?” they won’t have to go through the disorientation and destabilization of faith that you experienced.
YES! I’ll have to check that out through the Integrate curriculum. I’ve already listened to the podcast on whale evolution which was also fantastic.
I often wonder if positioning evolution as a demonstration of God’s incredible wisdom as Creator might be a helpful approach as well. The concept of allowing populations of organisms to adapt and change over time in response to ever-shifting environmental pressures is just brilliant.
Not all will accept it, but since we have objective evidence of God’s sovereignty over timing and placing in his providential interventions into his children’s lives, it is not a leap to understand that he is sovereign over everything else as well. I had it way easier than many in my progression from the YECism of my youth to OEC in between and now EC (or EP ; - ) in my latter years. Kidney cancer helped : my nephrectomy account.
My problem with BioLogos is that it continues to take an OT Genesis view of Creation, when God has given Christians a new NT view of Creation which is much richer and scientifically better. I really cannot understand why BioLogos ignores John 1:1-2, unless it is caught up in the ideology of fundamentalism as is YEC,
YEC is not based on science, it is based on bad theology. This is why arguments from science have not been able to disarm it after all this time. BioLogos should be in
position to present the good Biblical theology that Jesus Christ is the Logos, the Rational Word of God, in the place of the defective theology that the Bible is the Word of God. Good Biblical faith is faith in Jesus Christ, the Logos, not faith in the Bible, which is not God.
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