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Christianity and Science

How is BioLogos different from Evolutionism, Intelligent Design, and Creationism?

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How is BioLogos different from Evolutionism, Intelligent Design, and Creationism?

We affirm that the Bible is the inspired and authoritative word of God. We also accept the science of evolution as the best description for how God brought about life on earth. Read More >

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Why should Christians consider evolutionary creation?

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Why should Christians consider evolutionary creation?

Considering evolutionary creation has important benefits for Christians both in our relationship with God and in our relationships with other people, believers and non-believers. Read More >

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Are science and Christianity at war?

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Are science and Christianity at war?

In fact, religion can have a positive impact on science, such as in the development of modern medical ethics. Many early scientific leaders were devout Christians, as are some today. Read More >

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Can science and Scripture be reconciled?

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Can science and Scripture be reconciled?

The truths we find in Scripture should not conflict with the truths we find in nature. Conflicts happen at the level of human interpretation. Read More >

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How have Christians responded to Darwin’s “Origin of Species”?

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How have Christians responded to Darwin’s “Origin of Species”?

It wasn’t until a century after Darwin that a large number of Evangelicals and fundamentalists began to accept the combination of flood geology and 6-day creation. Read More >

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Scientific Evidence

What is evolution?

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What is evolution?

Properly understood, evolution is a scientific theory about the development of life. It is consistent with Christian theology. Read More >

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Is evolution a "theory in crisis"?

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Is evolution a "theory in crisis"?

Opponents of evolution sometimes claim it is a theory in crisis. This is misleading at best. Read More >

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How are the ages of the Earth and universe calculated?

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How are the ages of the Earth and universe calculated?

Many different and complementary scientific measurements have established with near certainty that the universe and the Earth are billions of years old. Read More >

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What does the fossil record show?

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What does the fossil record show?

Fossils provide a unique view into the history of life by showing the forms of life in the past. They also tell us how species have changed across Earth’s history. Read More >

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How can evolution account for the complexity of life on Earth today?

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How can evolution account for the complexity of life on Earth today?

A complex biological structure with interacting parts might appear as if it were created in its present form with all its interlocking parts, not developed step by step via evolution. Read More >

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Does thermodynamics disprove evolution?

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Does thermodynamics disprove evolution?

Because evolution results in an increase in the order and complexity of species—a decrease in entropy—some claim evolution violates the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Read More >

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Isn't the origin of life highly improbable?

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Isn't the origin of life highly improbable?

Though an explanation for the origin of life is currently elusive, this does not mean divine intervention is the only possible explanation. Read More >

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Does the Cambrian Explosion pose a challenge to evolution?

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Does the Cambrian Explosion pose a challenge to evolution?

The Cambrian Explosion does present a number of important research questions. It does not, however, challenge the fundamental correctness of the central thesis of evolution. Read More >

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Biblical Interpretation

What factors should be considered in determining how to approach a passage of Scripture?

Common Question

What factors should be considered in determining how to approach a passage of Scripture?

Clues to the original intended meaning can be found in the style of language, the genre of literature, the original audience, and the historical and cultural context. Read More >

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How was the Genesis account of creation interpreted before Darwin?

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How was the Genesis account of creation interpreted before Darwin?

Many assume Darwin’s theory shook the foundations of Christianity, but the 6-day interpretation of Genesis was not the only view held by Christians prior to modern science. Read More >

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How should we interpret the Genesis flood account?

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How should we interpret the Genesis flood account?

We need to read the story of the Flood through the lens of its original audience, not modern scientific concerns. Read More >

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God's Relationship to Creation

Is there room in evolutionary creation to believe in miracles?

Common Question

Is there room in evolutionary creation to believe in miracles?

Evolutionary creationists believe in the miracles of the Bible and that God can do miracles today but believe that God is just as involved in the regular patterns of the universe. Read More >

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Are gaps in scientific knowledge evidence for God?

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Are gaps in scientific knowledge evidence for God?

The God of the Bible is much more than a god of the gaps. God is always at work in the natural world, in the gaps as well as the areas that science can explain. Read More >

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What is the "fine-tuning" of the universe, and how does it serve as a…

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What is the "fine-tuning" of the universe, and how does it serve as a…

Fine-tuning refers to the surprising precision of nature’s physical constants, and the beginning state of the Universe. Read More >

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On what grounds can one claim that the Christian God is the creator?

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On what grounds can one claim that the Christian God is the creator?

Instead of arguing that science supports Christianity over other faiths, this response shows the compatibility of Christianity with a scientific understanding of the universe. Read More >

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What created God?

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What created God?

In other words, if everything in the universe has a cause, why does God get a free pass? Don’t we need an explanation for his origin as well? Read More >

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Human Origins

Were Adam and Eve historical figures?

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Were Adam and Eve historical figures?

Traditional interpretations of Scripture should not be lightly dismissed, but neither should we ignore the results of scientific inquiry simply because they conflict with these. Read More >

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What is the genetic evidence for human evolution?

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What is the genetic evidence for human evolution?

In recent decades, scientists have discovered more about the beginnings of humanity, and the field of genetics has much to offer to this conversation. Read More >

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How could humans have evolved and still be created in the "Image of God"?

Common Question

How could humans have evolved and still be created in the "Image of God"?

Whether God created humanity through a miracle or through evolution, God gave us our spiritual capacities and calls us to bear his image. Read More >

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Did death occur before the Fall?

Common Question

Did death occur before the Fall?

The fossil record shows that many creatures died before humans appeared, which appears to conflict with Bible passages that describe death as a punishment for human sinfulness. Read More >

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B Scott Jackson, Jim Schultz and 23 others like this

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Lance AndersonI find it interesting that the supposed biblical beginning of the world coincides with the beginning of civilization and of recorded history (about 6000 years ago). It seems like Eden represents the time before that when people were in tribal cultures that lived in and more harmoniously with nature. .

3 days ago · 3

Chris ForryAbout 2k years from today back to Jesus. Another 2k from Jesus back to Abraham and from Abraham back to Adam, another 2k years = 6k+ years from today back to the first man whom death came into existence because of his sin. This means that fossils, specifically dinosaurs, are not older than man. So what does this mean? It means that some scientists had interpreted the rock layers that the fossils were in incorrectly. Is there evidence for that? Absolutely! Lawyer and part-time geologist Charles Lyell is responsible for the supposed slow and gradual long ages of the rock layers. He was very much so anti-biblical and was hell bent on interpreting the rocks in anyway but the Genesis global Flood, which was held by the consensus of the church for 18 centuries prior. His ideas made it into mainstream journals. And his long ages of the rocks laid the foundation for Darwin to then propose his long ages to biological life. Lyell's view came to be known as Uniformitarianism. Scientists were looking at the rate of weathering and erosion of rocks today and then applied it to all rock layers. And the math is pretty much accurate, however, a few decades after Lyell, another group of evolutionary scientists called the neo-catastrophists, were finding ample evidence that the rock layers were the result of a rapid catastrophic event. Their science replaced the former science of where the supposed millions of years of geological column time came from. But sadly even with their science refuting the science that brought about millions of years, they still held on to the millions of years. They had been brainwashed for far too many decades to just let it go and letting it go meant also letting go of biological evolution.

3 days ago · 1

Jeff GreenbergTrying to make all the wonders of geological history fit into a tiny time span is indeed nonsense. However, I can appreciate that someone, in their respect for other possibilities, could guess that God did it all with appearance of age and history. Many argue that it makes God a deceiver if rational OLD is actually YOUNG. That conclusion too is a human construct and may just be that His ways are not our ways. The real problem is not quibbling over theology and interpreting the written text, it comes as YEC folks distort and abuse science to arrive at a tiny time span. The God who, in my thinking (limited of course), changed real water into real wine by fiat, can do as He wishes, with or without natural laws. The YEC insecurity is that they try to impose a scientific explanation (God caused the atoms in the water to rearrange into wine!!??) That "new" wine didn't need science, neither did the revived Lazarus, while the vast majority of the Lord's wonders seem to conform to His mandated laws we call "science".

4 days ago · 5

Eric JohnsaI've always wondered why anyone would suggest God dropped off a book on the lap of mankind and then set the rules of observational scientific evidence in complete opposition to the facts and then sat back and laughed - that seems a cruel idea of God... perhaps these sacred texts are not to be regarded as a science textbook?

4 days ago · 3

Herb KutschaThere are lots of great resources about this on Youtube, and the presenters have books. I recommend Hugh Ross, who uses the Yom ("day" in Genesis) = age technique, and Jason Lisle, who's YEC, and isn't afraid that "Last Thursdayism", the belief that God made the universe with a history, would make God a liar. If you think about it, It's pretty much impossible to make this world 6000 years ago without a history. Reef fish without reefs built over thousands of years out of dead organisms? Lots of other examples. And I don't see anywhere in the Bible where God gave anybody a science lesson. Looking at 2 Timothy 3:16, what you should get from the first chapter of Genesis is that God made everything, and saw that it was good. Looking at the requirements for salvation, I don't see an understanding how God made the universe on the list. This stuff is fascinating, but you need to key off of David (Psalm 19) saying "The heavens declare the glory of of God, and the mountains proclaim his righteousness". Paul echos this as the starting point down the Romans road, around Romans 1:18. Everything following is developed from that.

3 days ago

Nicolas LuckyExcellent conclusion. Thanks Biologos! I really appreciate your commitment to Scripture and Science.

Peter GroverDanny Crookes What do you think of this? I read this book some time ago and found it very helpful.

4 days ago

Stanford Jeffrey YoungThis is a very legitimate point in the post, however I suspect it will only be "preaching to the choir" for the most part (though it may convince some youth). Nevertheless I think the most powerful evidence against young earth creation views are from the bible itself when it is read in its proper biblical context. That is where the most convincing evidence (to help conservative evangelicals along) rests, in my view.

Cleyton MfticI don't believe the Bible teaches a young earth.

4 days ago · 4

Nadine Elizabeth GibbonsThe Bible (Literally The Book' from Greek Biblos or book) is a collection of morality stories written down as Middle-Eastern and then Mediterranean cultures gained the ability to both write and preserve the writing in a portable manner. Transcribed over and over again, the accuracy was meant to be ensured by overseers who had to make sure precious resources were not wasted upon incorrect copying and translations. As with other cult texts - the Koran, the Brahiva-Gita and others, the morality stories fitted the societies and cultures they served. If you wanted to hear the stories, you came to the establishments to hear them, and swore allegiance to the establishments. Those who did not swear, could not hear the stories. Until almost universal literacy arrived, this was the way of the world. That in the 21st Century there are still over a billion people who are convinced the evolutionary timeline is a lie is of concern to those of us who worry that this belief will result in downfall of societies which have been acting like there is no tomorrow, because God will take them in the rapture. This is no different from a girl refusing to seek work and personal emancipation because "Someday her Prince will come."

Chip KruegerI recently read a post by a science professor at the University of Chicago who explained that the scientific community grossly underestimates the potential impact that lightning had on the earth during the flood. Massive lightning could create the radioactivity detected in fossils and the way that the earth shifted and folded to create the continents during the flood could rationally explain the deep layers of radioactive fossils which old earth scientists use as a primary argument for their case. Consistent throughout the Bible, God gives us as much information as we need but requires a step of faith. Salvation is not for those who can prove, but for those who believe. God is not bound by His creation, therefore he is not bound by time nor any other thing we consider scientific law. The human mind cannot really comprehend events occurring devoid of time. At the end of the day when I stand face to face with my Maker, I would rather have spent my life giving him credit for something he didn't do, than not give him credit for something he did.

Cheryl DeSanctisGod is timeless

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Charles Gerald, Jon Burnett and 23 others like this

Dana OleskiewiczSome people are uplifted by music using their musical talent during worship of our Lord. Others turn to scholarly works by Church Fathers to learn and teach about the complexity of Scripture to honor God. Still other faithful Christians serve righteous causes, be it feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, or speaking on behalf of the oppressed. Then there are those of us that God gave talent and passion for the natural world, a desire to explore, and the exulted wisdom found when we seek God through understanding Creation using science. It truly is a shame that there exists discriminatory church doctrine that denies embracing all that science has to offer, including an evolutionary view of our natural world, to those of us who aren't musicians, theologians, or activists, but instead are scientists.

4 days ago · 14

Nick Smithdon't use science to prove your religious beliefs. evolution is a fact. whenever people use science to prove their religious beliefs it shows me that your just running out of ideas because it's sounding more farfetched every day. I respect people's beliefs and your free to believe anything you want. but the bible didn't get us to the moon. ;)

4 days ago · 1

Sarah Green SchwarzAdaptation in no way negates Creationism, It is a true, and scientific fact. Darwinian "Cross-species" evolution isn't the same thing and his theory should be separated from the term evolution.

Jack Beau Devlin Jonathan Wheatley haven't read this yet but it's Darwin's finches! We were talking about them last night. Will read at some point today :)

Joshua GoodinFinally, someone who doesn't think evolution and creationism are mutually exclusive!

Kevin StrattonThank you. Love the perspective and wholly agree. Your goals are my goals.

Victoria Lane SmithThis definition of evolution is different from what I was taught.

5 days ago

Mark BadhamThe results of evolution are amazing and beautiful. But the process is necessarily cruel. I don't see how it strengthens faith. Isn't Theodicy a real problem?

Matthew Bonny Travis Harrison