Evolution

We had some students over for supper yesterday. One of them found out I am studying to be a Pastor and he started asking me questions. Now as a former non-believer it should not really throw me off when this happens, and yet it totally did. I had no good answers only bad ones, to simple questions. I ended up staying up half the night thinking of how I should have answered them, and what I should have said. Now as far as I know, there is no way to go back and correct it, but since I have this, I may as well express my thoughts...

Q: Do you believe more in the Bible or in Evolution?
A: I believe in God. I believe that he created everything and everyone. There is no "more" for me. I accept that the Bible has parts that may look more like myths to people, but I believe that the Bible is God inspired to convey something to us. I think that God wants us to know him and to enter into a relationship with him. I think the bible is a record of his attempts to do that, culminating in his Son Jesus Christ coming to show us the way. I believe it is true, yes all of it, but I can see that there are areas that cause people problems. I do not intend to gloss over them, I just think that even if there are areas that bother you, does not mean it is wrong, it may be as simple as, I just don't know, I can live with that. I think Evolution is a theory that has valid parts (creatures evolve over time), but has invalid parts (creatures do not become other creatures, even over long periods of time). This does not in any way affect my belief in God. If God used evolution, then he did, if he didn't then he didn't.

Q: How can you believe in the Bible when parts are so clearly myth, like Sampson and Delilah? He lost his hair and all his strength?
A: It is possible that that is a story with a purpose, not intended as a literal truth to be believed as such. I guess what I really think though is this... The creator of the universe gives different abilities to each of us. I certainly think it is possible that someone who spends his entire life, eating carefully, living a God filled life (such as Sampson) could have an inner and outer strength that defied conventional wisdom, and that part of what made him strong was the inner knowledge of God's power in him. I further think that if he discovered one day that what made him special in his own, and God's eyes, was taken from him through his own arrogance and foolishness, that he would be incapable of defending himself the way he had before. The world is a wondrously compex thing and our attempts to make it simple are also arrogant and foolish.

Q: So you think Evolution is wrong?
A: I think that science has shown some huge problems with it. I think that my belief in something or disbelief in something makes absolutely no difference whatsoever to its truth or actuality. When I was an atheist, God was. My non-belief in Him, made no difference to whether or not God existed. The exact same thing goes for Evolution, my not believing it makes no difference to whether it is true or not. It is or it isn't, I don't think it is true, but hey I could be wrong, I have been many times, and will be many more.

Q: (not really a question, or even expressed exactly this way) I hope you don't think I am being rude challenging your beliefs this way.
A: Not at all, I enjoy talking about this. I also want to say that I expect that you are an intelligent person who has thought about his views, and as such I want you to know that I am not trying to convince you to accept mine as yours, I am simply expressing mine in, I hope, a way you can understand. I wrote it this way originally, but as I now reread it, I have a different take... I think he was being rude and derogatory. It is exactly how I was when I was an atheist and his age. I was painfully aware at the time, that I was giving bad answers, but the fact is, there is no excuse for my rudeness when I was his age, and little for his. I am so sorry to anyone I offended in the past, I wish I could go back and talk to myself (though I probably wouldn't listen), and I really hope that my friend will realize faster than I did, that being arrogant without accomplishment, just makes you a clown... and not even a fun one.


Now the conversation did not go this way, but I wish it had, not that what I just wrote was perfect, but it would have been better. I feel like I let myself and God down by not better expressing my thoughts, feelings and beliefs. I hope by doing this that if ever that comes up again, I will do better.