By Jim Nichols

Because I am a career biologist and a Christian, like others with that pairing I have answered the same question multiple times. That concern is how I can reconcile evolutionary theory with a serious reading of the Bible, specifically, Genesis. Although this has not been a significant problem for me, it is clearly on the minds of many, including those students and parents who are considering college choices.

Attached below is a letter that I wrote twenty years ago to a concerned parent whose (then) four-year-old son would eventually go to college his father hoped. I considered just discarding the father’s letter at the time, but it was gentle and open enough that I thought it deserved a response. I was going through some old computer files recently and found it; I do not know the father, nor have I had any subsequent contact with him. I received it during the time that I was serving as the Chairperson of the Department of Biology. It is obvious that I am promoting my institution, but perhaps you will find other points helpful.

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Thank you for your letter and your interest in some aspects of Abilene Christian University.

As I have grown older (and hopefully more mature) I have come to believe that very few things happen by accident. In that light, your letter arrived just as I was in the middle of reading the cover article in the most recent (August 14, 2006) issue of Newsweek magazine. That article concerns a set of interviews with Billy Graham, who is now ill and in the twilight of his life on earth. Through the writer’s eyes, Graham is portrayed as steadfastly Christian yet willing to accept better the mysteries of life and to contemplate where moderation of some positions is appropriate. I commend that article to you.

Having said that, my initial inclination was not to respond to your note. The topic you asked about is one frequently inquired about and, frankly, generally manifests itself in somewhat of a trap. “Either/Or” questions are asked about evolution/creation and there is no way to answer them satisfactorily, at least to the asker usually. But I appreciate your tone and believe it is reasonable for me to make some response.

As you sense, evolutionary theory is a major concept in biology. It is such a large and dominant idea that it is impossible for me in one short letter to talk much science or evidence, so let me just respond specifically to what I believe are your concerns.

1. I believe you are making an assumption that is incorrect. That assumption is that it is impossible for one to be a conservative Christian and also to “buy into” many of the proposals of organic evolutionary theory. In my opinion, that is simply not true. I know hundreds of scientists (as well as non-scientists) who are very conservative Christians (some much more conservative than I am and probably more than you also), who have no particular problem with evolutionary theory at all. Some of these individuals are associated with Abilene Christian University, but most are associated with other schools or organizations.

2. Evolutionary theory is a legitimate part of a modern biology education and, in my opinion, a university would be seriously amiss not to include a clear explanation of it sprinkled throughout the curriculum. This is what we do at ACU. There is evidence for evolution that we believe is well supported scientifically. There is other evidence that is not particularly strong. We point out all types of evidence, strong and weak. We believe this is honest. As an aside, this is a clear difference, I believe, in a Christian university and one that is not. At a Christian university we are free to look at all the evidence for a concept, both supportive and what is not supportive.

3. Evolutionary theory is not an easy concept. That is why we do not deal with it superficially in our classes. We believe our students will function as professional scientists in the future, and they need to understand what their non-Christian colleagues know. We tell our students that they need to be at least as good scientifically as their colleagues so that their colleagues will listen to them when they speak about something really important, such as the Gospel.

4. Since evolutionary theory is not an easy concept, you need to be very cautious about anyone (such as a preacher or visiting “expert”) who attempts to simplify it out of existence.

5. I appreciate your reference to your four-year-old son. If he were, in fact, eighteen and entering Abilene Christian University this fall, you should have similar concerns about how he was growing. If that were the case, I believe, you could have great faith in what he would hear and learn here. If he were a biology major, he would certainly hear about evolutionary theory. But he would also hear that the evolution/creation argument is not an either/or argument that he needs to enter. Everyone he would encounter here is legitimately a “creationist.” As many others have said correctly, however, to be a “creationist” is to deal with the “who and why?” of the world. Science deals with the “what, when, and how?” of the world. To be a Christian scientist one must ask questions of both areas and that is what we try to get students to do.

6. Finally, and with reference to your son, we would try to help him understand that the radical words of Jesus do not deal with origins of life, but with “. . .love your enemies, give food when they ask, give water when they ask.” The saving nature of Christ deals not with where life forms (including humans) came from, but the separation of humans from God because of sin and how that separation can be overcome through God’s love in Jesus and the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit. As we shift our attention from ourselves to those who need our care and God’s good news, we will be moving as God wants us to.

Again, thank you for your questions and I hope these responses give you information that you seek. A very readable book that you might find helpful is Biology Through the Eyes of Faith by Richard T. Wright, 2003, HarperSanFrancisco, ISBN 0-06-069695-8 (pbk).

Yours in Christ,
Jim Nichols

Jim Nichols is a retired Abilene Christian University biology professor and current hospital chaplain