THE FIVE REASONS
I've been making the argument that not only should Christians accept Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, as well as the Big Bang Theory, they should absolutely love both theories. In fact, they should love the two ideas even more than committed atheists. I've identified five reasons why. There may well be more, but here are my five reasons:
#1: Darwin provides a realistic explanation for the most fundamental doctrine of Christianity – original sin;
#2: It provides a way for the Garden of Eden to have realistically occurred, not simply been an allegory;
#3: It provides a better way for Christians to do evangelism, particularly when trying to evangelize well educated people;
#4: It provides a way to teach science in public schools that will be quite acceptable to pretty much everyone, ranging from the militantly atheistic to the most fundamentalist of Christians;
#5: It provides a way for Christians to address important questions/challenges that have been posed by secular humanists.
I'll explore each of these in greater detail in upcoming posts, but here's a quick introduction to the argument for each.
Original Sin - The Most Fundamental Doctrine
Original sin is the most fundamental doctrine of Christianity. Mankind's sinful nature is the reason why Jesus came to Earth and was crucified. The crucifixion was an atonement for mankind's sin. While it's the most fundamental doctrine, Christians today know very little about the doctrine and its significance. Why churches speak so little about this is not clear to me. Christians believe that the sin of Adam and Eve has somehow been transmitted to every human. But what is the mechanism of transmission? My argument is that Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection provides a perfect explanation for the transmission of sin.
The Garden of Eden
Did the Garden of Eden really occur? Were Adam and Eve real humans? In the past few hundred years, many, if not most, Christians have come to think of this as just an allegory. More conservative Christians, however, hold tenaciously to the idea that the Garden was a real event. Modern science seems to call that reality into question, but I believe there is a realistic way the Garden of Eden could have actually happened, and the reality squares with the most modern of science.
Evangelism
Evangelism is clearly important to Christians, but doing it effectively is always challenging. Perhaps the biggest challenge today is that while the basis of most all evangelism is the Bible, many people sincerely believe that Bible is hocus pocus. How, then, can one do effective evangelism if the intended audience views the "source" of the evangelistic claims as hocus pocus? My belief is that Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, as well as the Big Bang Theory, can serve as the "bridge" between Christians and non-Christians, and the two theories can provide the starting point for a discussion about the Bible.
Teaching Science in the Public Schools
Everyone, Christian and non-Christian alike, benefits if good science is taught in the schools. Increasingly, however, students are taught science poorly, or not at all, because teachers are reluctant to tackle the issue of science and religion in the classroom. I believe that my theory will provide an excellent way to overcome this problem, one that will be acceptable to all, from militant atheists to fundamentalist Christians.
Addressing Secular Humanism
Secular humanists often pose challenging questions to Christians. For example, the secular humanist may ask, why isn't it sufficient for one to lead a moral life? The questions are legitimate, and good. Unfortunately, Christians oftentimes stumble over these questions and fail to provide good responses. I believe that the twin theories can help provide Christians with better answers when responding to secular humanists.
In upcoming blog posts, I'll address each of these five "benefits" in greater detail. Altogether, I believe it will make a strong case for why Christians shouldn't just accept Darwin and the Big Bang Theory, they should absolutely love the two theories.
