Can you be a Christian and believe the Evolution theory?

Question

if the Book of Genesis is false the whole bible can't stand.
Jesus obviously believed in Adam and Eve

Answer 1

I think a Christian can believe in evolution as being the theory that through a long period of time animals have changed in order to adapt to the changes happening on earth. Like the land masses breaking apart and moving, more volcanos erupting, temperatures increasing in some areas and decreasing in others, ice glaciers moving south then receding. etc. Evolution means to change to suit one's environment in order to survive. Even plants have evolved, from being huge trees to being only 12 feet tall & such. I think a Christian can believe in this and believe that God made things evolve. But I don't think a Christian can believe that human beings evolved from apes. We have many similiar features, skulls with eye sockets and nostrils in front, 4 fingers and a thumb, two arms and two legs versus four legs,etc. But if apes had to evolve (change) in order for its species to survive the environmental changes of earth, then today there should be no more apes living. Just humans, The primates would be exist and humans would be the new and improved primate.

Sharks lived long ago and still today. The only difference is that todays sharks are smaller. Horseshoe crabs lived long ago and still today. The only difference is that todays horseshoe crabs are a little smaller. Apes lived long ago and still do today. Yet today they are larger. Apes didn't evolve into a different species. God created animals first. Then after some time He put Adam here. Then Adam asked for a companion because he wasn't happy with just animals and plants around him. So God made Eve. This couple had children and grand children and so on. We have no idea what Adam and Eve looked like. They could have been 4 feet tall or 6 feet tall. They could have very dark skin or tannish skin. Humans haven't evolved but have changed throughout the years due to environmental changes and as technology took place, due to our own medicines and playing god ourselves. If humans evolved from apes, then we will eventually evolve into another species. And I don't think we ever will.

Answer 2

The belief of evolution and creation are not mutually exclusive of the other, there is no reason why they can not coexist. The only reasons are dogmatic, both religious and scientific dogma.......Evolution could be the process through which creation unfolds, a tool of the creator if you like...............If you interpret Genesis literally it creates a big problem where the evidence of science comes into play. It is better to look deeper than the literal interpretations so that you can understand the symbolism and metaphor. Then you will see how mythology and science are just different ways of saying the same thing.

Answer 3

I don't see why not. It's not as if things necessarily happened EXACTLY as they did in the Bible. I mean, I've been told by MANY good Christian people that there is just no way everything could have been created in a week (7 days, I guess, sure, but not all at once Monday-Sunday without break). As such there is great 'wiggle room' for the theory to fit in. Say, some things were created. Then God waited a while and created some more things. They changed, he created more things, etc.

Answer 4

Many Christians believe the story is allegory or symbolic. I have carefully read everything Jesus says about Genesis and there is absolutely nothing to prove that he took the story literally. Remember that Jesus frequently used parables, himself.

Since we know that the Earth is far older than the Genesis story suggests I think any rational Christian must conclude that either the story is wrong or that it is symbolic. I prefer symbolic.

And yes, many educated Christians accept evolution. The fundamentalists may not, but if they are only capable of reading for literal meaning, symbolism will be wasted on them anyway.

Answer 5

Yes, they're not mutually exclusive. And it doesn't mean that the book of Genesis is false. Evolution follows the story in the Bible. Just not in the type of days that we have now. By the way, the Sun wasn't even created until the third day, so there weren't "days" until the third "day!"

Answer 6

Yes, you can be a Christian and believe in Evolution.

Evolution will result in a first being to have exactly the genes we would consider Homo sapiens sapiens.

This could just as well be Adam. In fact, genetically, it appears we share a common male ancestor about 10,000 years ago, and our mitochondrial DNA shows we share a female common ancestor about that as well.

Jesus was very fond of parables. Why are parables (symbolic stories that explain a literal truth) permissible in the New Testament but not in the Old Testament?

Answer 7

Certainly you could be because becoming a Christian is based on your faith in Jesus Christ and his resurrection from the dead. However since the whole Christian faith is based on faith which is believing what God tells us in his word it certainly would create real difficulties for any believer. Hebrews 11 tells us " by faith we believe that the world was created by the word of God". If you begin to question God's truthfulness on the first page of the Bible is going to be a rough road spiritually for you. At what point do you stop questioning God and his truth as it is presented in the Bible. If God was wrong about creation maybe he's wrong about salvation to.

Answer 8

The question can have more than one answer. I believe that God created the evolving life forms on this earth. Humans, however are not of this earth as It says in the bible. We are travelers and nomads in a foreign land. There is no proof that humans have evolved on earth. There is only scientific evidence that man like species existed on earth at different times. They have not tied the missing pieces together and I don't believe they will.

Answer 9

There are some Christians who interpret the Old Testement as metaphorical, pointing us about who Jesus's day is, without regard for historic accuracy.
It is not impossible to think that Jesus might be refering to Adam and Eve as a Legend not historical figures.


I however do not hold this particular interpetation of Scripture, but this would not invalidate their faith.

Answer 10

yes. I happen to be Christian, and I happen to think that evolution was God's way of bringing the world about. I do not think it happened all that quickly. Unless you're talking about a galaxian year. (How long it takes the entire galaxy to turn once)

For bible scholars, anyone with 1/2 a brain knows that you take into account the writer's culture, language and education along with the rest.