Origins

I've been scared of writing this post for six months. If you didn't read my entry from Sept 14th, please do now. All of the disclaimers apply -- and the reasons why I'm writing anyway. In addition, several friends have specifically asked me to write about my research on a spectacularly divisive and yet valuable topic: origins. The origin of the universe, origin of Earth, origin of life, origin of current species, origin of man, etc.

About six months ago, God lit a fire under me. As usual, he used several stimulants from different areas of my life. The most compelling were my husband's shifting views and the realization that we will be shaping our sons' perspective on science - and its relationship to our faith. What kind of museums will we visit? How will we react to books and exhibits that talk about "millions of years" and describe evolutionary development? Will they view the scientific community with suspicion or curiosity?

The last may sound obvious, but here's where I started this journey. For most of my life, I grew up with the following presuppositions:
1. The universe, Earth, life, and humanity were created sequentially (but from nothing to completeness instantaneously) in six 24hr days, as recorded in Genesis 1.
2. All faithful Christians agree with #1 because disagreeing with it would undermine the Bible.
3. Noah's global flood explains observed scientific phenomena (fossils, geologic formations, biological populations, etc).
4. The secular scientific community, in its unwillingness to consider supernatural explanations, has pursued atheistic explanations and has twisted the evidence in their favor.

Now that I was responsible for shaping someone else's views, I realized it was time to find out whether this was the only possible view that upheld the integrity of the Bible.

My search was predicated on three essential principles that I have already confirmed and embraced as an adult:
A. The Bible is true, inspired by God, and one of the greatest gifts to mankind. It is God's "special revelation."
B. According to the Bible, our universe and material world are gifts from God, created for us to explore, his "general revelation."
C. Special revelation and general revelation will not disagree. Instead, each helps us understand the other.

With all of this in mind, I began to read, and talk, and read, and talk some more, and I am still reading. I've considered listing my sources but they are too many and varied to be helpful. I can tell you they have ranged from young-earth creationists to old-earth evolutionists, denominational/pastoral white papers to scientific textbooks to blogs entries to book reviews. And while I plan to keep exploring, it seems time to share some of the conclusions that I pray God has been building and refining through this journey.

Part of me hates to skip to the end, because it took me six months of prayer, reading, and discussion to get to this place. Even with my passionate love for truth, I found myself almost scared of the truth I was finding. It is not comfortable to feel your presuppositions cracking, even if you're convinced they're being replaced by better information. I am immensely grateful to my husband, mother, and heavenly Father for their constant encouragement to pursue truth, knowing it is worth any discomfort, that it is ultimately liberating.

And I have found that to be true. As trepidatious as I feel about sharing my conclusions with those who likely disagree with them, I am more thrilled to see how this journey is already benefiting my marriage and my children.

But enough stalling. The best summary of my current position is a book entitled Coming to Peace with Science by Darrel Falk. I know you want the bullet points, but there is far too much to say in one blog entry, and Falk says it better than I ever could. He is particularly strong on the science. For a shorter but more direct address of the theology, I would recommend this position paper by Tim Keller. Finally, if you're still curious, I would recommend The Language of God by Francis Collins. I don't know how I would have reacted to each of these texts if I had started by reading them, but by the time I got to them, they felt like water to a thirsty traveler.

Someday, I may be able to outline my position on this blog. The best I can say right now is that I am not convinced any of my presuppositions (#1-4) are true. Beyond that, I pray others will find these links helpful in their own quests for truth.