Faith Made Welcome

Troubling the Division: Faith, Science and the Doubt They Share, Part 3

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With today’s episode we continue the second series of Faith Made Welcome, a progressive podcast on faith brought to you by Commonwealth Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.

 

If you listened to our last two episodes you know that that this multi-part episode features an in-depth discussion about the intersections and relationship between faith and science.  As with our prior episodes, this one features Faith Made Welcome regulars Robin, Marty, Cheri and Paul (if he wasn’t a regular before, he is now!) and Dr. Graham Walker, Marty and Robin’s Theology professor from seminary!

 

In this episode of the podcast, Paul pivots the conversation toward the creation vs evolution debate. Together Graham and the Faith Made Welcome Crew discuss the narratives regarding creation and human evolution, and explore the points of tension that arrive as communities of faith and communities of science attempt to reconcile what we know (and don’t!) about our beginnings.

 

Throughout this portion of the conversation, Graham makes reference to a diagram that helps him to organize different schools of thought related to perspectives on creation and evolution; if you’re a visual person, you may wish to download and review it as you listen!  He has also kindly offered a more detailed handout and accompanying PowerPoint presentation for those who might want to dig in deeper!

 

About Dr. Graham Walker

Graham is a professor at McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. He describes himself as someone who has been working with “the interface between science and theology for a long time.” He’s worked with Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion, a program through the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) that focuses on facilitating dialogue between scientific and religious communities. 

 

Scripture Mentioned this Episode

  • Galatians 4:4
  • Genesis 1 and 2
  • Genesis 3

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    Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode

    We’ve elected to list these references in the order they appear:

    • ichthys (ἰχθύς): Graham begins his discussion of this debate with reference to this Christian symbol and the means in which debates about creationism often play out on bumper stickers that make different arguments involving the ichthys fish.
  • Scopes Monkey Trial:  Graham discusses the role this trial played in the overall discussion of creationism vs evolution in American education, making reference to major players like Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan
  • Flat Earth Society: As Graham walks through different interpretations of creation, he begins with discussion of flat Earthers, who he says take a literal Old Testament model for their understanding of the planet.
  • Ptolemy: Graham references a ptolemaic approach to understanding creation, which is built upon Ptolemy’s geocentric model that argues that the Earth is the center of the universe.
  • Young Earth Creationists: Graham notes that these folks believe that the earth is between 6 to 14 thousand years old, based largely upon the genealogy presented within the scripture.
  • Biblical Archaeologists: Paul and Graham make reference to this school of research, which uses archaeological method at sites references within the scriptures.
  • Old Earth Creationists:  Graham notes that these folks emphasize that the scriptures are meant to be a parable that demonstrate that God created, but allow space for science to explain the nature of that literal creation. 
  • Sola scriptura: Graham references this theological perspective which places sole authority in the scripture, which are understood to be infallible by believers in this tradition.
  • Gap Creationists:  Graham explains that these folks look for time gaps within the scripture, such as between that which they argue may have occurred between the two creation stories within Genesis.
  • Day-Age Creationists: Graham notes that this tradition frames the understanding of a day within the creation story to be more expansive than our notion of the 24 hour period.
  • Progressive Creationism:  Graham notes that Bernard Ramm is a key theologian from this tradition who used the concept of fiats to explain the orderly process through which God created all things found in evolutionary history.
  • Evolutionary Creationism and Theistic Evolution: Graham explains that both of these schools of thought argue that God uses evolution; he says to them “that’s just how the creator creates.”
    • Edward Wilson: Graham makes another reference Wilson’s exchanges with his former pastor, which is a reference to the opening of The Creation.
  • Materialistic Evolution: Graham argues that this belief - that the observable is all there is - does take a kind of faith commitment of its own. He notes that folks like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris are making a statement of faith through their position as materialists.  
    • Gordon Kaufman: Graham notes that theologians who have studied a lot of science, like Kaufman, would argue that God is within the act of creation itself.
  • Brian McLaren:  Robin mentions McClaren’s writing as a good starting place for folks who want to continue work to explore the intersections of faith and science because McLaren references science and creation care in his work. McLaren also explores challenging questions; his book Faith After Doubt is a good example of this excellent writing.
  • Mike McHargue:  Robin also recommends McHargue’s work and his podcast, Ask Science Mike, in particular, which explores the bridges between faith and science.
  • Lonnie Rich:  Marty gives a shout-out to the wisdom of this beloved church member (who we’re hoping will join us on the podcast soon!)
  • Terence McKenna:  Paul references McKenna’s belief that ideas should be able to stand up to scrutiny. 
  • Douglas Kelly: Graham notes that Kelly has emphasized the importance of listening to others as a kind of spiritual practice.
  • John Bunyon: Graham says that Bunyon described our faith journey as a pilgrimage.
  • Rachel Held Evans:  Robin references her book Searching for Sunday, which traces Held Evans journey away from and back to faith. 

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    About This Podcast

    This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith. 

     

    Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team?  You can reach us at [email protected].

     

    Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

     

    A Note on the Links in these Shownotes

    Yes, there are a lot of Wikipedia links above. Both Cheri and Paul endorse it as a perfectly reasonable starting place for opening spaces for deeper learning.  

     

    As always, when possible, books mentioned link to Old Town Books. We’re not sponsored by this bookstore; we just believe in supporting our local community! If you’re not an Alexandrian, we hope you’ll check these out at your local bookstore!

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