Restoration of that Which Was Never Good?

Below I have attempted to articulate my struggles with those who see macro evolution as being compatible with Christianity. It does not mean to offend and I am aware that a lot of people whom I love would disagree with me:
 
Those who believe that macro evolution and Christianity is compatable tend to agree with those of a creationist view that one of the main points of Genesis’ creation story is that God’s creation was ‘Very Good’. The context of ‘very good’ surely describes perfection, after all why should an omnipotent God create anything other than that which was perfect?
My atheist friends, on the other hand, who also believe in macro evolution are quick to point out that any would be god who designed evolution, rather than being a god of love, would be a cruel god, indeed a god who designed and created pain and suffering. They surely could have a point if a god used Darwinian evolution to create the world of living things.
Whilst Genesis declares that it was the fall of man that brought about wholesale corruption and death, macro evolution declares that they were there from the very beginning, indeed that battle, conflict, war was evolution’s main propeller.

For those who believe that the two are compatible, I feel it is more than problematic:

If God did use such an evolutionary process to bring about mankind, then presumably there was a day when He came to the conclusion that mankind had evolved sufficiently to work out the difference between good and evil (a very different scenario from that of Genesis!). We would have a (ridiculous?) situation that one second (due to lack of evolvement) it was impossible for man to sin, the very next second the (evolved!) potential for sin consciousness is in place … enter the 'metaphoric serpent'. The serpent's task would simply be to persuade man to carry on doing those things that a moment ago he had no responsibility for, indeed moments ago was a natural part of being. What was God designed a moment ago is now against God's laws.

Some Christian 'evolutionists' would never the less go as far as talking about a God who will restore the world into its original ‘goodness’ or perfection. They would quote Revelation and believe in a new heaven and new earth, where there is no more corruption, no more tears, no more pain (a place that presumably doesn’t allow for the cruelty of Darwinian evolution).

I can’t help thinking that there is inconsistency in such a theology. How could God restore that which was never perfect in the first place?




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Where does the ability to love come from?

Hedonist in the Making

A Bible Believing Repentance Seeking Evangelising Arch-Bishop