Category Archives: Creation

A History of Providence. Part One

Posted on 08/11/2013 by James Penman

A striking feature of current syntheses of Christian theism with evolutionary theory is an abandonment of the historic Christian doctrine of providence. It often seems as though we have a quasi-deist, hands-off God, who simply “lets things happen” without in any sense directing the outcome. The motivation behind this weak account of providence is, perhaps, a desire to “absolve” God from aspects of the evolutionary process and its products that many modern minds find problematic – e.g. animal suffering over geological time, species extinction, dysteleology (poor design).

Posted in Creation, James Penman, Theology | 19 Comments

Models for a historic Adam – 6

Posted on 07/11/2013 by Jon Garvey

David L Wilcox’s penultimate model for Adam is this: Experimental Head – Sin was already there, but we don’t know how – that’s why the garden was needed, the perfect environment. Adam was the experimental proof of the human condition – he showed we humans are all sinners by nature – that it is not environmental.

Posted in Adam, Creation, Science, Theology | 4 Comments

Models for a historic Adam – 5

Posted on 05/11/2013 by Jon Garvey

Continuing my series on the various models for a historical Adam listed by David L Wilcox we come to: Cultural Head – Adam was the appointed race representative in the garden. He sinned. Sin passed on from Adam to all other people then (and now) alive by communication between people – especially in families. Human society suffered a gradual transformation as sin spread like an infectious disease.

Posted in Adam, Creation, Science, Theology | 4 Comments

Models for a historic Adam – 4

Posted on 03/11/2013 by Jon Garvey

With several of us writing now on The Hump, ongoing series like this one are going to be harder to link together. It’s not a problem I’m going to lose sleep about! But here is the third “theory” about Adam named by David L Wilcox, as introduced here. Tribal Head – Adam was the “head man” of a small tribe put in the garden. The tribe was put to the test, and they all followed Adam’s lead into sin. We are all descended from that tribe (alone?) and have inherited their sinful nature.

Posted in Adam, Creation, Genealogical Adam, Science, Theology | 5 Comments

Real vs. Fake

Posted on 02/11/2013 by Sy Garte

About a year or so ago, I attended a “Science and Faith” symposium at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington. All of the panel members, representing five or six  different religious faiths, were quite clear that they supported all of the tenets of evolutionary biology. When a question was asked (by a member of the largely atheistic audience) how they could support the notion of Imago Dei when “science” has shown that human beings are merely another species in an unbroken line of primate evolution, the Protestant minister on the panel answered that  “created in the image of God” should probably  not be restricted to human beings but … Continue reading →

Posted in Creation, Science, Sy Garte, Theology | 24 Comments

Models for a historic Adam – 3

Posted on 01/11/2013 by Jon Garvey

The second model for understanding Adam listed by David L Wilcox  is this: Federal Head – Sin originated with Adam. He was not the only man living, but God appointed him as representative and put him to the test. When he sinned, sin passed on to all men everywhere (and when) by divine fiat. I.E., there was a sudden transformation of human life.

Posted in Adam, Creation, Genealogical Adam, Science, Theology | 2 Comments

Models for a historic Adam – 2

Posted on 31/10/2013 by Jon Garvey

Kicking off the series proper, here is the first suggested “model” for understanding Adam named by David L Wilcox. Generic Head – Sin originated with Adam, and has been passed along to all his descendents (which is everybody) like a genetic inheritance. (? Does this mean Adam was the only ancestor for the race –or just a particular man who is in all our genealogies? – AKA, Y chromosome Adam). 

Posted in Adam, Creation, Genealogical Adam, Science, Theology | 10 Comments

Models for a historic Adam – 1

Posted on 30/10/2013 by Jon Garvey

As a preliminary to this series about the possible scenarios to explain the Genesis account, which I listed in my previous post, I want to remind us of the biblical data to be accommodated, and its significance to theology. It’s easy to follow a hunch to a theory without considering this adequately.

Posted in Adam, Creation, Science, Theology | 4 Comments

Introducing a new series for discussion

Posted on 29/10/2013 by Jon Garvey

I’ve expressed my appreciation before (here, here and here for example) of population geneticist David L Wilcox in his thoroughly orthodox integration of standard evolutionary theory with historic faith. Most recently I noted that James Stump at BioLogos flatly contradicted his statement that theistic evolution, by definition, meant guidance by God. Well, now I’ve stumbled upon the notes he made for a talk for ASA this year called Updating our Genetic Prehistory which has given me some ideas for a useful new series on Adam.

Posted in Adam, Creation, Science, Theology | 15 Comments

Does chance exclude God’s guidance?

Posted on 27/10/2013 by Jon Garvey

“Chance” is in some ways a slippery concept – in nature there are many different flavours of chance, and one really ought to consider them case-by-case. Many involve the unusual intersection of quite predictable events – like the kid in my street when I was at school, who always ran across the main road behind the bus when he got home, and always got away with it because there were a lot more spaces than cars. Until one day he and a car occupied the same space, and he died. We all knew it would happen, but it was a chance event.

Posted in Creation, Science, Theology | 2 Comments