Author Archives: Jon Garvey

Avatar photo

About Jon Garvey

Training in medicine (which was my career), social psychology and theology. Interests in most things, but especially the science-faith interface. The rest of my time, though, is spent writing, playing and recording music.

Explanatory power of evolution

Posted on 16/07/2018 by Jon Garvey

I enjoyed a little innocent mischief on Joshua Swamidass’s Peaceful Science website last week. In response to someone reporting the news of ancient human finds in China (tools 2.2 million years old), somebody else (George) suggested that, since it has been hypothesized that the epicanthic folds of Asians might be an adaptation to cold, this would accord with a population that had had to go through several ice ages.

Posted in Creation, Science | 1 Comment

Directed evolution and progressive creation

Posted on 13/07/2018 by Jon Garvey

Paul Nelson, in a BioLogos comment, linked to a philosophy of science paper  which questions if there is any actual difference between the kind of “unique natural event” often postulated for, at least, key stages in the origin of life, and creationism. This is a look at the same question in a less analytical manner. And assuming Christian faith, I should add.

Posted in Creation, Philosophy, Science, Theology | 2 Comments

More on falcons

Posted on 10/07/2018 by Jon Garvey

Esteemed Wife and I decided yesterday evening to forget government Brexit meltdowns, predictable Wimbledon matches and various sad local situations, and repair to Seaton Hole, a small and secluded beach close to home that we haven’t discovered in the nine years we have lived here.

Posted in Creation, Science, Theology | 3 Comments

Keeping your wits from drifting

Posted on 06/07/2018 by Jon Garvey

Long ago, before my BioLogos days, I think even when I was still a real doctor, I saw a documentary on the hammerhead shark.

Posted in Creation, Science | 2 Comments

More possibly significant temple architecture

Posted on 03/07/2018 by Jon Garvey

In the last post I laid out a case for a pervasive contrast between two kinds of temple architecture in Scripture, arising from what I take to be a deliberate contrast between the sacred space described in Genesis 1:1-2:3 and that of Genesis 2:4ff. Here’s a further example – a textual problem that, to me, makes most sense when seen as part of a deliberate set of contrasts.

Posted in Adam, Genealogical Adam, Theology | Leave a comment

Temple architecture and the sequence of Genesis 1 and 2.

Posted on 01/07/2018 by Jon Garvey

This is a restatement, and reminder, of one of the significant internal reasons to regard the narrative of Genesis 1 and 2 as mainly sequential, rather than parallel – the significant changes in temple imagery between the two. It relates to my understanding of the Bible’s overarching metanarrative as Yaheweh’s desire to fill the whole cosmos with his glory, and to do it through his earthly creation, mankind. Since this is not necessarily a familiar view, I need to keep bringing it to attention. In so doing I’ll add some new thoughts, which I hope will clarify it.

Posted in Adam, Genealogical Adam, Theology | 2 Comments

Exile on Man Street

Posted on 27/06/2018 by Jon Garvey

I’ve been suggesting in recent months that the Bible is usefully seen as a story in three parts, the very first of which is about the purpose of God to bring in a new spiritual creation, in which his glory would fill all things, through Adam – a purpose which proved abortive because of the temptation of the serpent and the sin of Adam and Eve. If that’s a reasonable assessment, then the whole of the history of Adam’s race (that is, us) has been a story of exile from a world, and a role, that was glimpsed and then lost, and not simply a story of how natural mankind … Continue reading →

Posted in Creation, Genealogical Adam, Theology | Leave a comment

The indigent theologian

Posted on 25/06/2018 by Jon Garvey

A frivolous post, since it’s so hot and summery here. Over at Joshua Swamidass’s Peaceful Science blog, he has the same software as does BioLogos, enabling him to give pithy descriptive epithets to regular posters. For me, he has chosen “Indigenous Theologian”.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Calvin, Copernicus and Christian doctrine

Posted on 22/06/2018 by Jon Garvey

A distraction on the recent BioLogos thread about Kathryn Applegate’s views on Adam was the old chestnut about theology needing to be dragged kicking and screaming to accept new discoveries in science, a case made mainly by a moderator there, who is a physicist, rather than either a theologian or historian.

Posted in History, Science, Theology | 2 Comments

Adam and scriptural inspiration

Posted on 19/06/2018 by Jon Garvey

When I was doing a home Bible study on the Genesis creation narrative a few weeks ago, one guy asked me, “Who was there to write it down?” I’d not yet explained how to approach the text, so it was a good introduction to that, as well as a good question, and you’ll guess the answer wasn’t “God saw the whole thing,” although he certainly did.

Posted in Adam, Creation, Genealogical Adam, History, Theology | 7 Comments