Saturday, September 11, 1999
How one interprets the Bible plays a role in
debate over creationism
By Victor Greto
The Gazette
(KRT)
So God created humankind
in his image, in the image
of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
(Genesis 1:27)
The subject of human beings as a unique creation in the image
of God is so important in Genesis, the author of this poetic verse
made the point twice.
Now, if you're Christian or Jewish, how literally do you take
it?
And whether you take it literally or not, should it be taught
in the public schools as part of "another theory" alongside
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution?
That's one of the issues brought back into public discourse
by a decision of the Kansas state board of education earlier this
month to virtually eliminate all mention of the theory of evolution
from its curriculum standards.
Jewish and Christian religious authorities' opinions run the
gamut about teaching what has come to be known as creationism
alongside evolution. Their positions range from stark approval
to a chuckling disbelief that the debate is still an issue in
1999.
"Judaism believes that Torah and science are in harmony
with one another," said Rabbi Brian Glusman of Temple Shalom
in Colorado Springs, Colo. "For liberal and progressive Jews
who do not take the Torah literally, we'd work evolution and Judaism
together.
"This is a situation that's been dominant from time immemorial.
There's always been a group that takes the Bible literally. One
of the reasons Judaism has been able to survive is that it has
evolved into a rabbinic, interpretive tradition."
Interpretation has been a part of understanding the Bible for
millennia. Christianity is certainly no stranger to it. But once
you start interpreting, some argue, how do you know where to stop?
Evangelist George Stahnke, senior pastor at Integrity Christian
Fellowship in Colorado Springs, thinks that what's happening in
Kansas is a good idea.
"It's interesting that for many years public schools have
allowed only one view, when you consider that evolution is just
a theory and not a fact. If we're going to teach our kids about
a theory, they should have access to other theories. Otherwise,
it's extremely biased."
Creationism, however, is not just a theory to Stahnke, it's
an essential ingredient of his faith, he said.
"The only way to believe in the creationist account is
to believe in the authenticity of the Bible," Stahnke said.
"In my mind, it's either all right or all wrong.
"Here's the bottom line: if I don't believe in the authenticity
of Scripture, then I have no anchor, no stability, because the
Scripture addresses every aspect of human endeavor. If we don't
believe, can we believe Jesus Christ is who he said he was? If
that's questionable, then is there an eternity? It goes on and
on. The same is true with Genesis."
The Rev. Jim White of the First Congregational Church in Colorado
Springs couldn't be more blunt about where he stands on this issue.
"This business of finding a seven-day creation is just
stupid. It shouldn't be in the schools," he said.
White interprets Genesis' story of creation broadly and said
he has no problem with the scientific opinion that the Earth is
billions of years old - and not merely 10,000 years old as argued
by some creationists.
"My take is we take the Bible too seriously to take it
literally. The big concerns are not about how the world began
- that's an incidental issue. It's the weightier matters of law,
justice, peace, faith, hope."
White said he doesn't even think the debate between creationism
and evolution is a healthy one.
"It's to give primary attention to secondary matters.
We're trying to deal with the gross inequalities with the haves
and the have-nots in the world."
To the Rev. Bill Carmody, pastor of Corpus Christi Catholic
Church in Colorado Springs, it's more of a philosophical issue
than anything else.
"Ultimately, God created everything. How God did it is
up for debate," Carmody said.
"Let's assume that evolution is historically correct -
or the Big Bang theory," he said. "Ultimately, it comes
to a First Cause and that First Cause we call God," he said.
For Carmody, the debate may be misguided for a different reason
than White's.
"Genesis was never intended to be a scientific book,"
he said. "To use it as a scientific book is like using 'Hamlet'
as science. (Genesis is) trying to say that ultimately God created
man distinctly. There's a unique dignity to humanity that doesn't
belong to any other part of God's creation."
The uniqueness of man, however, is one of the religious ideas
that the theory of evolution attacks. Part of the logic of evolution
is that all creatures developed from more simple forms of life.
In order to accept both evolution and the belief that man came
along as a separate creation requires a compromise with both evolution
and a literal interpretation of Genesis.
Some Christians don't compromise.
Jim Tomberlin, pastor at the non-denominational Woodmen Valley
Chapel of Colorado Springs, said he is a "convinced creationist"
and believes creationism should be taught alongside evolution.
"The idea of teaching both theories as theories is the
only intellectually honest approach to the topics of origins,"
Tomberlin said.
Though he said he tends to believe in the literal seven-day
creation of the world, Tomberlin said that wasn't the most important
issue.
"The main issue," he said, "is between the ideas
of macro- and micro-evolution. The Bible supports the idea of
micro-evolution, (that) there is room for development within species,
but not between species. The Bible says things reproduce after
their kind."
Tomberlin said life is too complex to have evolved the way
it has naturally, even in the billions of years allotted to its
evolution by science.
"We ought to point to evidence that supports that a supreme
intelligence put in motion the universe today," he said.
In terms of the unique nature of man, Ray Hendershot, southern
Colorado director of public affairs for the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon church), agrees with Carmody's
emphasis and with the ultimate compromise between evolution and
a literal interpretation of Genesis.
"We don't feel that it's critical to know the number of
years" of creation, Hendershot said. "The important
thing is that man is evolving and becoming like Christ.
"The reason some faiths are concerned more strongly than
others," he continued, "is they accept the Bible literally.
We accept the Bible, too. But the relevance of how the creation
takes place doesn't detract from the Bible, it just reinforces
the fact that there is a God."
(c) 1999, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
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