Last year I shared with each of you two papers I wrote for John Oakes’ on-line apologetics course that preceded the 2007 Apologetics Conference (paper 1, paper 2.)
These papers represented my effort to reconcile the mounting evidence for evolution with the Genesis account of creation. I am presently listening to the audio version of The Edge of Evolution, by Michael Behe.
I was surprised to learn that Behe, the author of “Darwin’s Black Box” and arguably the leading biologist within the Intelligent Design (ID) Movement, accepts the validity of Common Descent. While he still considers random mutation and natural selection to be inadequate explanations for the diversity that can be observed in nature, he plainly states that Darwin was right about Common Descent.
As I mentioned in my articles and some of my previous e-mails, I believe books like The Language of God, Coming to Peace with Science, Random Designer, etc demonstrate the overwhelming evidence for Common Descent. Other books like The Making of the Fittest and Relics of Eden (a book I just ordered) suggest that the evidence for Common Descent is virtually irrefutable (link 1, link 2)).
I’m convinced that the case for Common Descent is only going to get stronger in the future. I don’t believe informed individuals can honestly continue to marginalize evolution as “just a theory” any longer. As a result, it is more important than ever for Christian apologists to offer meaningful answers with regard to how Genesis should be read. I believe the author of the blog referenced in the links below should be commended for his honesty in dealing with this issue (link 1, link 2).
As more and more people become aware of the evidence for Common Descent, I believe it is vital that Christians take an honest look at the issues, even if that means relinquishing some long-held paradigms. Given the efforts by many in promoting unbelief (Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, etc.), it is critical that Christians avoid undermining their own credibility through stubborn refusal to acknowledge the obvious (in this case, the legitimacy of Common Descent and its implications on how Genesis should be read).
Your brother,
John Lang
