"Evolution, whether cosmic or biological, cannot — logically cannot! — be a theory of ultimate origins of existence or order, precisely because its operations always presuppose the prior existence of certain entities with specific potential behaviors, as well as of an environment of some specific kind that operates upon those entities in some specifically ordered (law-governed) fashion, to determine which ones are allowed to survive and reproduce. Let us quite generally state: any sort of evolution of order of any kind will always presuppose pre-existing order and pre-existing entities governed by it. It follows as a simple matter of logic that not all order evolved. Given the physical world — and however much of evolution it may or may not contain — there is or was some order in it which did not evolve. However it may have originated (if it originated), that order did not evolve, for it was the condition of any evolution at all occurring. We come here upon a logically insurpassable limit to what evolution, however it may be understood, can accomplish."
Special thanks to Apologetics 315 for posting this. http://apologetics315.blogspot.com/2009/04/sunday-quote-dallas-willard-on.html
Showing posts with label creationism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creationism. Show all posts
Friday, November 5, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Pentecostal Perspectives on Creationism
By J. Paul Dill
I found an interesting article in "The Enrichment Journal," on the beliefs of the faculty and students at Assemblies of God institutions of higher learning. Having been involved with the Assemblies of God (A/G) most of my life, I know that there is quite a bit of liberty in the denomination for various points of view. Nevertheless, within A/G circles, the Bible has been accepted as an historical narrative, rather than legends and myths as proposed by liberal theologians of the "times." It is important to note, that the Pentecostal movement developed within the fundamentalist camp. Fundamentalists take the Biblical writings literally where they think they are supposed to be taken literally (as do Evangelicals). I know this seems obvious, but there are many skeptics who naively think that Christians believe it should all be taken literally. Truth be told, the Bible has a lot of symbolism in there too. At any rate, it would appear that the creation story in Genesis has proven to be a little less definite in how it should be interpreted in regards to science and what is deemed “science.” Of course, another question is, should we try to interpret this ancient text, in our twenty-first century understanding? While it may be easy to say that Jesus literally died on a cross and rose from the dead, the details of Genesis’ chapters 1 and 2 seem to be more complex.
According to the study:
35% hold to young earth creationism (YEC)
31% hold to old earth creationism (OEC)
16% hold to evolutionary creationism
Unfortunately, 18% are unaccounted for in the article. I tried to find the original report, to no avail. If someone has it, please post it. In the past, many have also adopted the Pre-Adamic theory. Traditionally the Assemblies of God has maintained the YEC position.
A Brief Overview Of Pentecostal Views on Origins, Mike Tenneson and Steve Badger
http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/201002/ejonline_201002_origins.cfm
I found an interesting article in "The Enrichment Journal," on the beliefs of the faculty and students at Assemblies of God institutions of higher learning. Having been involved with the Assemblies of God (A/G) most of my life, I know that there is quite a bit of liberty in the denomination for various points of view. Nevertheless, within A/G circles, the Bible has been accepted as an historical narrative, rather than legends and myths as proposed by liberal theologians of the "times." It is important to note, that the Pentecostal movement developed within the fundamentalist camp. Fundamentalists take the Biblical writings literally where they think they are supposed to be taken literally (as do Evangelicals). I know this seems obvious, but there are many skeptics who naively think that Christians believe it should all be taken literally. Truth be told, the Bible has a lot of symbolism in there too. At any rate, it would appear that the creation story in Genesis has proven to be a little less definite in how it should be interpreted in regards to science and what is deemed “science.” Of course, another question is, should we try to interpret this ancient text, in our twenty-first century understanding? While it may be easy to say that Jesus literally died on a cross and rose from the dead, the details of Genesis’ chapters 1 and 2 seem to be more complex.
According to the study:
35% hold to young earth creationism (YEC)
31% hold to old earth creationism (OEC)
16% hold to evolutionary creationism
Unfortunately, 18% are unaccounted for in the article. I tried to find the original report, to no avail. If someone has it, please post it. In the past, many have also adopted the Pre-Adamic theory. Traditionally the Assemblies of God has maintained the YEC position.
A Brief Overview Of Pentecostal Views on Origins, Mike Tenneson and Steve Badger
http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/201002/ejonline_201002_origins.cfm
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