Tyler Lotz 
Meghan Lawrence 
Gavin Lane The discussion of evolution has always been a sticky one, especially in regards to Christian faith. I had never really learned about evolution until high school when different religious influences decided we needed to learn about evolution to convince atheists to become Christian and to protect our faith (mainly creationism vs. intelligent design). I say this sarcastically, but it is true that many people still to this day think that studying evolution whether it’s evolutionary theory or evolutionary psychology will somehow uncover a door that points away from God.
I read a book recently called “Evolving in Monkey Town” by an author who grew up in Deyton, Tennessee where the Scopes Monkey Trial took place and evolution was a hot, but controversial topic because of the highly evangelical little town, somewhat similar to modern ACU you could say. My favorite quote from her book was one where she said “faith must adapt in order to survive”. I think this statement is profound because we are constantly learning new things and disproving false perceptions that we have held on to our whole lives. Keeping an open mind while learning about evolution could lead us into deeper truth about our faith and also uncover some preconceptions that we have clung to. I have also learned to not be afraid of the unknown and the possibility that we may never know some things. Just like some the articles we read today in class, it can be interesting and we may really want to know the cause of human nature, but can we be at ease with leaving some of our questions just questions? For example, I still don’t understand how the era of dinosaurs fits in with scripture or why God heals some people physically and doesn’t heal others and I may never know. The difference is will I be okay with the idea that I may never find the answer or I may not find the answer that I want to hear.
Lincoln Woods
6:49 pm, 03.05.13
The conflict between the theory of evolution and creationism makes it very difficult to have beliefs in both. This post addresses the large conflict between most Atheists and Christians. A majority of Atheists that I have talked to tend to believe that the theory of evolution disproves Christianity as a whole. The idea that the creation story is flawed and has been explained away by evolution is a popular idea held by most Atheists. However, I find that it is somewhat illogical to stop your belief in God because science has different and empirical explanations. Just because one aspect of the Biblical story has scientific theories and explanations that oppose it does not mean that the remaining hundreds of pages are completely irrelevant. I personally believe in evolution and a slightly altered creation story that God created the universe but left it to change on its own similar to winding an old clock.
Another point addressed in this post that I like is that Madison says that she has learned to not be afraid of the unknown. While the Bible leaves some things unexplained, like the dinosaurs, the same could be said for science. A common theme between science and religion is the fact that some things exist and happen that we don’t yet have explanations for. While science may be able to eventually answer those questions, Christianity tends to differ because much of what we hold to be true relies on faith rather than empirical evidence. But this is what God calls us to do, to have faith.
Stephanie Heron
7:27 pm, 03.05.13
The statement “faith must adapt in order to survive” seems to be a sticky situation. The devout Christian would claim that the book of Genesis is how the world was created, end of story. And the atheist would claim the Big Bang Theory to be the truth. In high school my religion professor explained evolution to the class in a way that has stuck with me; I agree with it, yet at the same time I wonder if I am questioning my faith by going against what the Bible says. She told us that both theories could be true. God created the world in seven days, yet who is to say that the billions of years that it took organisms to evolve and flourish isn’t seven days according to God’s watch. We have all seen those trippy sci-fi movies that have the worm hole where time gets distorted, my professor was suggesting that clock we use to measure time and years doesn’t match the one God uses. It really made me think.