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Theistic evolution, theistic evolutionism or evolutionary creationism are views that regard religious teachings about God as compatible with modern scientific understanding about biological evolution. Theistic evolution is not a scientific theory, but a range of views about how the science of evolution relates to religious beliefs.
Supporters of theistic evolution generally harmonize evolutionary thought with belief in God, rejecting the conflict thesis regarding the relationship between religion and science – they hold that religious teachings about creation and scientific theories of evolution need not contradict each other.[1][2]
Francis Collins describes theistic evolution as the position that "evolution is real, but that it was set in motion by God",[3] and "Theistic evolution, which accepts that evolution occurred as biologists describe it, but under the direction of God".[4] The term was used by National Center for Science Education executive director Eugenie Scott to refer to the part of the overall spectrum of beliefs about creation and evolution holding the theological view that God creates through evolution. It covers a wide range of beliefs about the extent of any intervention by God, with some approaching deism in rejecting continued intervention.
Just as there are different types of evolutionary explanations, there are different types of theistic evolution. Creationists Henry M. Morris and John D. Morris, point out that there are different terms which have been used to describe different positions: "Orthogenesis" (goal-directed evolution), "nomogenesis" (evolution according to fixed law), "emergent evolution", "creative evolution," and others;"[5] although, they consider that most of them have been rejected either by creationists because they seem somewhat "atheistic", or by modern evolutionary scientists, because they are "religious".
Morris lists another type of theistic evolution that he calls "biblical evolution," i.e., the belief that God created a set of "kinds" of plants and animals at the beginning of Creation. Proponents of this theory believe that many species have passed through biological changes with the change of time; as the result of adaptation (or microevolution), but they retain the belief that human beings were literally created in God's image, so that evolution can be seen as completely consistent with the Biblical account in the Book of Genesis. Thus, the view of "biblical evolution" rejects the theory of Darwinian evolution, but openly accepts the possibility of transmutation of species.
Others argue that the book of Genesis should be read only metaphorically, and that the first humans Adam and Eve were ape-men; a view which has been widely criticized by Christian apologetics institutions such as Answers in Genesis as merely "secular thinking".[6]
Others see "evolutionary creation"[7] (EC, also referred to by some observers as "evolutionary creationism") as the belief that God, as Creator, uses evolution to bring about his plan. The Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) was an influential proponent of God-directed evolution or "orthogenesis", in which man will eventually evolve to the "omega point" of union with the Creator. Eugenie Scott states in Evolution Vs. Creationism that it is a type of evolution rather than creationism, despite its name, and that it is "hardly distinguishable from Theistic Evolution".[2] According to evolutionary creationist Denis Lamoureux, although referring to the same view, the word arrangement in the term "theistic evolution" places "the process of evolution as the primary term, and makes the Creator secondary as merely a qualifying adjective."[8] Scott also uses the term "theistic evolutionism" interchangeably with "theistic evolution".[9] Divine intervention is seen at critical intervals in history in a way consistent with scientific explanations of speciation, with similarities to the ideas of Progressive Creationism that God created "kinds" of animals sequentially.[10]
Regarding the embracing of Darwinian evolution, historian Ronald Numbers describes the position of the late 19th century geologist George Frederick Wright as "Christian Darwinism."[11]
Supporters of theistic evolution generally harmonize evolutionary thought with belief in God, rejecting the conflict thesis regarding the relationship between religion and science – they hold that religious teachings about creation and scientific theories of evolution need not contradict each other.[1][2]
Francis Collins describes theistic evolution as the position that "evolution is real, but that it was set in motion by God",[3] and "Theistic evolution, which accepts that evolution occurred as biologists describe it, but under the direction of God".[4] The term was used by National Center for Science Education executive director Eugenie Scott to refer to the part of the overall spectrum of beliefs about creation and evolution holding the theological view that God creates through evolution. It covers a wide range of beliefs about the extent of any intervention by God, with some approaching deism in rejecting continued intervention.
Just as there are different types of evolutionary explanations, there are different types of theistic evolution. Creationists Henry M. Morris and John D. Morris, point out that there are different terms which have been used to describe different positions: "Orthogenesis" (goal-directed evolution), "nomogenesis" (evolution according to fixed law), "emergent evolution", "creative evolution," and others;"[5] although, they consider that most of them have been rejected either by creationists because they seem somewhat "atheistic", or by modern evolutionary scientists, because they are "religious".
Morris lists another type of theistic evolution that he calls "biblical evolution," i.e., the belief that God created a set of "kinds" of plants and animals at the beginning of Creation. Proponents of this theory believe that many species have passed through biological changes with the change of time; as the result of adaptation (or microevolution), but they retain the belief that human beings were literally created in God's image, so that evolution can be seen as completely consistent with the Biblical account in the Book of Genesis. Thus, the view of "biblical evolution" rejects the theory of Darwinian evolution, but openly accepts the possibility of transmutation of species.
Others argue that the book of Genesis should be read only metaphorically, and that the first humans Adam and Eve were ape-men; a view which has been widely criticized by Christian apologetics institutions such as Answers in Genesis as merely "secular thinking".[6]
Others see "evolutionary creation"[7] (EC, also referred to by some observers as "evolutionary creationism") as the belief that God, as Creator, uses evolution to bring about his plan. The Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) was an influential proponent of God-directed evolution or "orthogenesis", in which man will eventually evolve to the "omega point" of union with the Creator. Eugenie Scott states in Evolution Vs. Creationism that it is a type of evolution rather than creationism, despite its name, and that it is "hardly distinguishable from Theistic Evolution".[2] According to evolutionary creationist Denis Lamoureux, although referring to the same view, the word arrangement in the term "theistic evolution" places "the process of evolution as the primary term, and makes the Creator secondary as merely a qualifying adjective."[8] Scott also uses the term "theistic evolutionism" interchangeably with "theistic evolution".[9] Divine intervention is seen at critical intervals in history in a way consistent with scientific explanations of speciation, with similarities to the ideas of Progressive Creationism that God created "kinds" of animals sequentially.[10]
Regarding the embracing of Darwinian evolution, historian Ronald Numbers describes the position of the late 19th century geologist George Frederick Wright as "Christian Darwinism."[11]
