Theistic evolution is the view that God used evolution to create living things. Theistic evolutionists believe that God guided the process of evolution to result in human beings and the diversity of life we see today. This view seeks to reconcile biblical teachings about creation with scientific evidence for evolution.
According to theistic evolution, God created matter and natural laws that allowed evolution to occur. Instead of each created kind emerging instantaneously, organisms developed gradually over billions of years from simpler life forms to more complex ones through natural selection and genetic mutations. God intervened at certain points to ensure specific outcomes, such as the creation of human beings. Therefore, theistic evolutionists accept mainstream scientific explanations of an old earth and evolutionary descent but see evolution as God’s method of creation.
Theistic evolution is distinct from atheistic evolution, which rejects any role for the supernatural in biological origins and development. It is also distinct from young earth creationism, which interprets the Genesis creation account as describing a literal 6-day creation a few thousand years ago and denies large-scale evolutionary change over time.
There are several varieties of theistic evolution. Some proponents view Adam and Eve as real historical figures chosen by God out of an existing population of humans. Others regard Adam and Eve as symbolic or allegorical. Most theistic evolutionists assert that at some point, God conferred his image on mankind, setting humans apart for relationship with him. Common ground is the belief that God used evolution to produce the diversity of life on earth, including human beings.
What does the Bible have to say about theistic evolution? There are several considerations:
1. Biblical creation accounts
The opening chapters of Genesis contain two creation accounts. The first, in Genesis 1:1-2:3, provides an overview of God creating different life forms to populate the earth over six days. The second, in Genesis 2:4-25, describes the more specific creation of Adam and Eve on one day. Some key observations about these accounts:
- They are not detailed scientific descriptions but theological and symbolic narratives.
- Their main focus is on who created (God) and why he created (for his glory and mankind’s benefit).
- The length of the “days” of creation in Genesis 1 is debatable – could be long periods rather than 24 hours.
- There are gaps between the creation events of different life forms that allow for possible evolutionary processes.
So while the Genesis accounts reveal God as Creator, they leave open questions about specific methods or mechanisms he may have used in creating through evolutionary processes over long ages. They do not explicitly rule out theistic evolution.
2. Other biblical references to creation
Several other biblical passages refer to God’s act of creation:
- Psalm 33:6, 9 – By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth…For he spoke and it came to be, he commanded and it stood firm.
- Isaiah 45:18 – For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.”
- Acts 17:24 – The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man.
- Hebrews 11:3 – By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
These verses attribute creation to God’s power and words, but none preclude him creating through evolutionary mechanisms. Theistic evolutionists argue he could have spoken matter and natural laws into existence to facilitate evolution.
3. References to Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve are portrayed as real people in Genesis 2-3 and other biblical passages:
- Genesis 2:7 – Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
- Genesis 3:20 – Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
- 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 – For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
These indicate a special creation of Adam and Eve, which challenges an evolutionary view of strictly natural descent from pre-human ancestors. Theistic evolutionists offer several responses:
- Adam and Eve were historical but God chose them out of existing hominids and conferred his image on them.
- They represent archetypes of the first spiritually aware humans.
- Their names represent all humanity, created good but fallen.
So according to many theistic evolutionists, Adam and Eve can be accommodated in an evolutionary framework, whether as literal individuals or representative figures.
4. Human uniqueness and God’s image
The Bible teaches human distinctiveness from animals by being made in God’s image and likeness:
- Genesis 1:26-27 – Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
- Genesis 5:1 – When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God.
- James 3:9 – With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.
Theistic evolutionists believe evolutionary processes alone could not produce the spiritual and moral capacities unique to humans that enable a relationship with God. They posit God intervened at some point to make the first spiritually aware humans in his image, whether or not that coincided with the biological evolution of the human species.
5. Original sin and the Fall
The Bible teaches human sinfulness is a result of the Fall in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve disobeyed God:
- Romans 5:12, 19 – Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people…For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners.
- 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 – For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die.
Theistic evolutionists have differing perspectives on how to reconcile original sin and the Fall with human evolution:
- Sinfulness appeared at the dawn of humanity when the first spiritually aware humans disobeyed God.
- The Fall was an actual moral collapse of early humanity from an original state of innocence.
- Adam’s sin as federal head of humanity brought guilt and corruption to all humans.
Most agree sin impacts all humans whether through inheritance from a literal Adam or because every person sins as Adam did. The fossil record does not reveal precisely when or how human sinfulness emerged.
6. Purpose and teleology in evolution
The Bible and science agree everything God created has purpose:
- Genesis 1:31 – God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
- Romans 8:28 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.
- Psalm 139:14 – I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Theistic evolutionists see evidence in evolutionary biology for teleology – the natural world is directed toward intentional ends, not just random processes. Examples:
- The evolutionary development of remarkable organs like the eye and brain.
- Built-in mechanisms for adaptation, survival and flourishing.
- Ecosystems with complex symbiotic relationships.
These suggest God supernaturally guided evolution to fulfill his purposes, plans and goodness.
7. Evolutionary assumptions about origins
Christians differ on whether evolutionary science theories about origins contradict the Bible:
- Young earth creationists see conflict with biblical chronology and the Genesis account.
- Old earth creationists find no clash as long as God created fundamental kinds.
- Theistic evolutionists accept mainstream evolutionary timescales and common descent.
Key considerations are whether evolutionary processes can substitute for God’s creative action and whether they make chance and randomness the cause of life rather than God’s intentional design.
8. Death before the Fall?
According to the Bible, sin brought death into creation:
- Romans 5:12 – Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin.
- Romans 8:20-22 – The creation was subjected to frustration…For we know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
- 1 Corinthians 15:26 – The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
If evolution is true, death and extinction occurred for millions of years before humans evolved. Some theistic evolutionists believe the Bible is only referring to human spiritual death from sin, not animal death.
9. A historical Adam and Eve?
As mentioned earlier, theistic evolutionists differ on whether Adam and Eve were literal individuals or symbolic:
- Many defend a historical Adam and Eve, created specially by God out of natural processes.
- Others see Adam and Eve as representative of early humanity or allegorical for every person.
- Some argue Adam and Eve could have been chosen by God from a population of early humans.
Belief in a literal, historical Adam as the progenitor of the entire human race presents challenges for human evolution. But several theistic evolutionists make a case for compatibility.
10. The glory of God in creation
The Bible repeatedly declares God created all things for his glory:
- Isaiah 43:7 – Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.
- Psalm 19:1 – The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
- Romans 11:36 – For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Theistic evolutionists argue God chose to create using evolution to display his glory in the intricacy, beauty and richness of nature. The majesty of God is on full display in the 13.8 billion year symphony that brought forth human life through his natural and evolutionary processes.
These are some of the key biblical considerations in theistic evolution. Christians holding this view believe God directed evolution to create, using natural mechanisms driven by his continuous involvement and intervention. They acknowledge debates around interpreting Genesis and harmonizing science and Scripture, but affirm evolution as God’s chosen means of creation.
Other perspectives, like young earth creationism, argue theistic evolution compromises biblical revelation and authority by accommodating secular theories rather than Scripture. And atheistic evolution rejects the very premise of divine involvement in biological origins.
Ultimately, theistic evolution tries to integrate mainstream science with biblical teachings on creation, seeing God’s handiwork in both the natural world and inspired Word. The view affirms evolution not merely as a random, undirected process but as the means God intentionally employed to develop life forms and create humanity to know him.