“Grew up with anti-evo talks from (sometimes scientific) brethren whose argument amounted to irreducible complexity/ personal incredulity/ conflict with Genesis kinds etc. Became aware (and amazed) a few years ago that there were apparently coherent Christadelphians who accepted evolution. Knowing that true faith has nothing to fear, set out to honestly investigate, assuming I’d quickly find a flaw. After educating myself, discovered that evolution was fact.”
“These types of anti-evolution talks, and the speaker’s refusal to answer questions and instead accuse me of not believing in the Bible definitely was a factor in accepting the facts of evolution. The argument I always heard was ‘because my interpretation of the Bible says so,’ while providing no evidence.”
The queue for the judgement seat of Christ will feature a lot of mortals. Some will be changed in the twinkling of an eye to immortal. The wicked/sinners won’t be changed but will be exiled from the presence of the Lord and to certain death. Will any old, frail mortals in the waiting line die before they appear before the Lord? No. Despite being a living soul, made of the dust, sustained by the breath of life and having corruptible, weak, natural, earthy body death won’t happen – not before judgement. The point should be obvious. Adam was told he would surely die, banished from God’s presence and denied the tree of life. Death was a punishment, just as it will be ultimately for mortals who know but reject the gospel.
“The recent material appearing in a range of Christadelphian publications which attack the scientific consensus on Evolution and promote the view that Genesis should be read as a . . . scientific account . . . has further solidified my position close to the Evolutionary Creation viewpoint. . . .I sense in the articles a lack of confidence, an overreaction in response to a perceived threat and hostile fear which I do not detect in writings on other Biblical subjects. There is no openness toward the idea of any uncertainty on the subject at all, which I find quite disturbing and not in line with our professed ethos of being searchers of Truth.”
Ask for evidence of a change in Adam’s nature and literalists often bluster. Obviously there were big changes in Adam’s circumstances, experience and relationships as a result of sin. However we should stick to what Scripture clearly says. In a recent interaction, one literalist insisted Adam’s fundamental nature changed because while once Adam was very good, Paul says there was no good thing in his flesh. Is this a reasonable argument? Spoiler – no. Continue reading
“The tipping point..into full acceptance of evolution was when I realised that the Biblical ‘kinds’ kept coalescing…”
