Origins: God, Evolution, and the Question of the Cosmos

By Philip A. Rolnick

Rather than seeing science and religion as oppositional, in Origins: God, Evolution, and the Question of the Cosmos Philip Rolnick demonstrates the remarkable compatibility of contemporary science and traditional Christian theology.

Rolnick directly engages the challenges of evolutionary biology—its questions about design, natural selection, human uniqueness, and suffering, pain, and death. In doing so, he reveals how biological challenges can be turned to theological advantages, not by disputing scientific data and theory, but by inviting evolutionary biology into the Christian conversation about creation.

Rolnick then lets the vastly expanded time and macroscopic beauty of big bang cosmology cast new and benign light on both biology and theology. The discovery of a big bang beginning, fine-tuning, and a 3.45 billion year evolutionary process brings new ways to think about the creativity of creation. From the tiny to the tremendous, there is an intelligent generosity built into the features of the cosmos and its living creatures, a spectrum of interconnected phenomena that seems tinged with grace. By recognizing the gifts of creation that have been scientifically uncovered, Origins presents a new way to understand this universe of grace and reason.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Baylor University Press
• Release date: Oct 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781481304764

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Origins

God, Evolution, and the Question of the Cosmos

Philip A. Rolnick

Baylor University Press

© 2015 by Baylor University Press

Waco, Texas 76798

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of Baylor University Press.

Unless otherwise stated, scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rolnick, Philip A.

Origins : God, evolution, and the question of the cosmos / Philip A. Rolnick.

264 pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60258-368-9 (hardback : alk. paper)

1. Evolution—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Creation. 3. Life—Origin. 4. Cosmology. 5. Evolution. I. Title.

BL263.R64 2015

231.7’652—dc23

2015006715

To Jane, Rebecca, Wesley, Jason, Nathaniel, and Lillian

Contents

Acknowledgments

Part I. Introduction

1. A Universe of Grace and Reason

Part II. Evolution—From Challenge to Theological Advantage

2. Four Challenges of Evolution

3. Evolution and Divine Design

4. Natural Selection and a God of Love

5. Struggle, Pain, and Death and the Goodness of Creation

6. Common Ancestry and Human Uniqueness

Part III. Cosmology and Creation

7. The Origin and Development of an Inhabitable Universe

8. A Universe Finely Tuned for Life

9. Logos—The Divine Source of Reason

Part IV. Creation’s Gifts and Human Response

10. The Given and the Earned

11. The Old and the New

Notes

Bibliography

Scripture Index

Acknowledgments

I have benefited from the advice of quite a few colleagues and friends. I owe a great deal to philosopher Jeffrey Wattles (emeritus professor, Kent State) and to Robert Rapp, both of whom read the entire manuscript and offered invaluable advice.

Biologist Jim Reynhout (emeritus professor, Bethel University) read some earlier drafts of the chapters on evolution; and my colleague at St. Thomas, Jayna Ditty, who specializes in molecular biology, read the current chapters on evolution. My colleague from the St. Thomas physics department, Jeff Jalkio, read the chapters on the big bang and fine-tuning and offered some fine-tuning of his own, as did astronomer Jerry Ruch. Paul Gavrilyuk, my colleague from the St. Thomas department of theology, also read and helpfully commented on some earlier drafts of two chapters. St. Thomas is a convivial place, where conversation among colleagues is often warm and lively.

I am also indebted to Lidia Obojska (department of mathematics and physics, Siedlce, Poland), whose capability in logic, math, and physics is well matched by her theological understanding. My gifted friend Adele Mehta read and helpfully commented on earlier drafts of four chapters.

I am grateful to the University of St. Thomas for awarding me a University Scholars Grant, which greatly facilitated work on this book and to Paul Piché my former student, who was instrumental in creating the Index.

And finally, I would like to thank the entire editing and production teams of Baylor University Press.

It has been a privilege to be in conversation with such colleagues, friends, and professionals.

Part I

Introduction

One

A Universe of Grace and Reason

Science has taught us things about the universe that Moses and the Apostle Paul did not know. For example, advances in molecular biology have uncovered worlds within worlds tucked into the tiniest imaginable spaces; and within these minuscule worlds, organized, life-promoting activities rival the hustle and bustle of major cities. In the macrocosm, advances in astronomy have revealed a vast and expanding universe in which our sun, moon, and planet are but pinpricks within the galactic immensity. The earth can no longer be seen as the center of a universe governed by a one-planet deity.¹ But the scientific overthrow of the old picture lets us see a universe far more beautiful, a universe whose laws display an awe-inspiring rationality. Rightly approached, science will become a benefactor to the faith of our time. A careful contemplation of scientific discoveries can bring us to a broader and deeper love of creation.

Yet although science has vastly increased human knowledge, it has not enhanced our wisdom, happiness, and sense of purpose. By itself science cannot answer questions about the meaning and purpose of life—why anything exists, why there are laws of nature, and why we exist.² But these vital questions are addressed by the religious belief in creation—the intuition that the universe did not bring itself into existence.

To believe in creation is also to believe in a Creator, a person sufficiently powerful and intelligent to create a law-governed, inhabitable universe—and good enough to desire one. Belief in creation, held by Moses, Paul, and billions of contemporary people, is not just about God; it is also a belief about us. Seeing ourselves as part of creation orients human life toward purpose: It asks of us a certain height.³ Being located in a creation, we find the playing field tilted toward the will and way of the Creator, toward the true, good, and beautiful. In science, art, and every aspect of human culture, and in the development of our own character, creative potentials are actualized by working with the grain of creation. One of the great contributions of religious faith is to awaken the sense that the universe has been seeded with potentials of truth, goodness, and beauty, potentials that await human cultivation.

Common Concerns

Science and religion have important common concerns, such as the origin and development of the universe, the development of living things, and human nature—how we should understand ourselves. It is the task of this book to demonstrate that, in spite of some conflicts that have arisen, science and religious faith are not only compatible, but even mutually illuminating.

Conflict arises when either science or religion is adopted as a totalistic outlook, so that the other is considered irrelevant, or just plain wrong. For example, it is sometimes contended that evolution has made religion passé (a contention addressed in chapter 3). This contention fits well with naturalism, a philosophical view that recognizes nothing beyond nature. If nature is the only reality, then the scientific study of nature is the only valid form of knowledge. From this perspective religion is just a mass of irrelevant error.

By denying that anything or anyone transcends us, naturalism makes the most difficult questions of human self-understanding disappear: there is only nature, and humanity is merely part of nature. However, the noblest potentials of human life also disappear. In naturalism the human race is no more than a temporary episode in the relentless inevitabilities of the physical world. Given the basic assumptions of naturalism, conflict with religious belief is inevitable.

Conflict also arises with a belief that every word of the Bible, even its scientific references, is literally true. To protect biblical literalism, evolution and other findings of modern science must be denied and any scientific claim that cannot be reconciled with the scriptural letter must be discredited.

Interesting to note, these opposing camps both have a fundamentalist feel, so that truth and error are clearly marked as right or wrong, yes or no, on or off. But the world we experience is often more complex than this either/or approach to truth.

A more flexible and dialogical approach can see science and theology as partners in the search for truth; for science is a disciplined study of the details of the physical creation, and its successes offer new ways to appreciate the creation and the Creator who made science possible. It has been said that real conversation takes place when one party has something new and different to say to the other.⁴ Our contemporary age is ready for a real conversation between science and theology.

Because religion and the church are concerned with the entire human being, and with the entire spectrum of cultural activity, religious concerns are broader than those of science. Religion has an interest not only in what science discovers, but also in the scientist. In an indirect but important way, religion contributes to science by encouraging the search for truth.

The search for truth—in fact, the search for anything—assumes that discovery is possible. Without this assumption, science would be impossible. On some level every scientist has to believe that the universe makes sense, that it exhibits dependable, rational laws. While it is possible to study rational laws of nature and leave the origins of these laws unknown, from the perspective of faith, reason’s roots are in the eternal and infinite reason of God. As the psalmist long ago asked, Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? (Ps 94:9 NIV). There is a reason that there is reason.

A created universe should display traces of divine creativity and reason. And from the big bang to the first life-forms to humanity, creativity and reason are unquestionably present and scientifically discoverable. Tracing the reason of created things is what science does. Learning from scientific discovery is an opportunity to strengthen the faith of our time.

A Test Case for the Relationship: The Creation Account in Genesis 1

Interpretations of the creation account of Genesis 1 make an interesting test case for the relation of science and religion.⁵ If Genesis 1 is approached with either biblical literalism or naturalism, there can be only conflict. In the case of biblical literalism, even if the seven days of creation are defined as much longer than our days, the structure of the universe depicted and the order in which things and creatures appear cannot really be harmonized with contemporary science. In the case of naturalism, since anything except science is considered irrelevant or erroneous, Genesis 1 can have nothing significant to say.

However, if the extremes of biblical literalism and naturalism are avoided, then the conflict disappears, and the following religious meanings can be highlighted. First and foremost, the universe originates because God wanted it to exist. This original act of creation bestows not only laws of nature that evolve habitable structures, but also a purpose to the whole—and to each personal life that will ever be lived. Great dignity is placed upon human persons, who are said to be created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26-27). Believing that we are made in the divine image strongly shapes our self-understanding; it prompts us to live up to the nobility of being made in the divine image. And in a kind of scriptural refrain, God several times sees that a particular aspect of creation is good (Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18) and then sees that the whole is very good (Gen 1:31). As is so often the case with biblical and theological pronouncements, the point is not just about what God does; it is also an encouragement for us to see the goodness of creation. These religious insights, as important today as they were in the sixth century BC, can be shown to be compatible with evolution (see part II) as well as with big bang cosmology (see part III).

Open and Closed Systems

One of the basic laws of physics, the second law of thermodynamics, says that closed physical systems eventually run down—unless they receive new inputs of energy. Intellectual systems, whether scientific or religious, also run down; they too lose their original, generating power unless they remain open to new inputs.⁶ While great religious thought primarily originates and develops by its openness to God, religious thought may also benefit from openness to scientific discovery.

To the degree that science expands our understanding of creation, it becomes a gift to faith. In Jesus’ parable of the talents (Matt 25:14-30), three servants are given different amounts of talents, and they are expected to develop those talents. One of the primary aims of this book is to work with scientific achievements as though they were talents given for the religious development of our time.

In the religious quest, faith is weakened when coupled with error, strengthened when joined to truth. Openness to new inputs of truth, including scientific truth, is essential for a healthy faith. A basic religious obligation is to follow truth wherever it leads.

An Overview of What Follows

Part II, Evolution: From Challenge to Theological Advantage, begins with four ways evolutionary theory challenges basic religious understandings. The purpose of its first chapter (chapter 2) is to make the challenges clear—how the biology works, and how it seems to question basic religious beliefs. Chapters 3 through 6 then give detailed theological responses to each of the four challenges. These responses will demonstrate how the challenges of evolutionary theory can be turned to theological advantages. Throughout, the intention is not to dispute scientific data and theory, but to interpret the science in a way that refreshes and reinvigorates the understanding of creation.

Once it has been shown that evolution is actually a theological advantage, part III, Cosmology and Creation, enlarges the picture, letting the vastly expanded time and macroscopic beauty of big bang cosmology cast new and benign light on both biology and theology. Where evolutionary biology at first looks like a theological opponent, contemporary cosmology appears theologically friendly from the outset. If God created the universe, we should expect to find marvels of seamless craftsmanship in the physics of the universe’s origin and development; and the findings of recent cosmology meet and exceed our highest expectations. Displaying the wondrous way that the universe began and developed, letting the beauty of the scientific picture emerge, is thus the first task of part III.

To accomplish this first task, chapter 7, The Origin and Development of an Inhabitable Universe, presents the surprising scientific evidence that the universe had a beginning, a finding quite compatible with religious belief in creation; and chapter 8, A Universe Finely Tuned for Life, then examines what is called fine-tuning, an amazing sequence of coincidences in the way physical laws work together to form a life-supporting universe. That the universe originated in a big bang and then underwent finely tuned development toward life are problems for atheists; for people of faith these scientific findings are further advantages.

The second major task of part III is to show how Christianity has the resources to unite faith and scientific reason. Chapter 9, Logos—The Divine Source of Reason develops the creation account of the Gospel of John as a bridge between science and theology. This concluding chapter of part III looks back and interprets the science of big bang cosmology, fine-tuning, and biology in terms of God’s original and ongoing creation.

Part IV, Creation’s Gifts and Human Response, explores the multiple givens that human beings encounter, and how we should respond. Drawing upon both science and religion, chapter 10, The Given and the Earned, portrays the human interactive experience with nature, culture, and the Spirit of God. The Given and the Earned is concerned with how we understand ourselves, and how we might develop our character as a kind of second nature. The concluding chapter, The Old and the New, reflects on the parallels between science and religion, and how their creative combination can energize the faith of our time.

Each age has its own religious challenges. In the first century, the apostles of Jesus fought—and won—their battles. And while some issues remain the same in every human generation, the rapidly changing conditions of our age have brought new challenges—and new opportunities. The tremendous expansion of scientific knowledge has brought new understandings of our universe home, our home in creation. Our age has many religious challenges, but one of them is to think about the theological implications of scientific discoveries. Such thinking, in any case, is the effort of this book. If we believe that God is both infinitely good and infinitely intelligent, Christian faith and scientific reason should be partners in the quest to understand a universe of grace and reason.

Part II

Evolution

From Challenge to Theological Advantage

Two

Four Challenges of Evolution

Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.

Geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky¹

In 1802, a little more than fifty years before Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution burst on the scene, Anglican priest and naturalist William Paley confidently presented evidence of how God had designed the order of nature.² Paley famously compared finding a rock on a grassy plain and finding a watch. The rock may always have been part of nature, but it is inconceivable that the watch occurred naturally. It is not possible that the intricate parts of the watch just happen to work together to produce a purposeful, time-telling mechanism. The only reasonable conclusion is that someone designed and then manufactured the watch. From a close study of biology, especially of the human eye, Paley argued that the order within nature greatly exceeds the order within a watch.³ It is certain that the watch was designed; it is far more certain that someone far greater than a watchmaker designed the order of living things. This perceived evidence of divine design was broadly accepted as a refutation of atheism—until Darwin’s evolution became the dominant theory of biology.

In stark contrast to Paley’s nineteenth-century case for divine design, evolution seems to support naturalism, the idea that everything can be explained by natural causes. If everything can be explained naturalistically, then the design of a Creator is no longer necessary. Atheism becomes credible. Adopting this naturalistic, atheistic view, Richard Dawkins explains that evolution "has no purpose in mind. It has no mind and no mind’s eye. It does not plan for the future. It has no vision, no foresight, no sight at all. If it can be said to play the role of watchmaker in nature, it is the blind watchmaker."⁴ In this clever twisting of the famous watch metaphor, a blind, entirely natural evolutionary process is asserted as an alternative to divine design.

But for countless millions of believers, who have seen the hand of God at work in the design of nature, whose hearts have been stirred to worship by nature’s loveliness and order, the evolutionary explanation of nature has become a major challenge. If the naturalistic picture of evolution is correct, if nature is purposeless and self-explanatory, then belief in an intelligent and good Creator becomes questionable. And once belief in an intelligent and good Creator is called into question, so too is the way we conceive our own place and purpose in the universe.

Evolution presents four challenges to a religious understanding of God, the world, and ourselves: (1) Random mutations, working along with natural selection and extremely long stretches of time, explain how species have diversified and become more complex, an explanation that seems to eliminate the need for a divine designer.(2) Natural selection, as a process that rewards biological winners and destroys losers, questions whether such a world could have been created by a God of love. (3) The struggle, pain, and death found in the evolutionary world question the goodness of creation—and the goodness of its Creator. (4) DNA similarities between humans and chimpanzees challenge the notion of human uniqueness, questioning whether an evolved relative of an ape can really be said to be created in the image of God.

To millions of people, evolution has seemed unlikely, distasteful, or both. But because the evidence discovered so well fits the theory of evolution, the theory has become predominant among biologists—and many religious leaders. No less a figure than Pope John Paul II declared, The theory of evolution is no longer a mere hypothesis.⁵

Because there is so much evidence to support evolution, denying the evidence is a poor and counterproductive way of defending faith. Yet ignoring evolution’s challenges would be equally unwise. It would imply that religious belief is unable to engage scientific reason, suggesting that science is about demonstrated truth, and religion about prolonging ancient myths. A better strategy is, first, to examine honestly the biological findings that have led to these challenges; second, to show that the evolutionary story, like all of science, is radically incomplete; and third, to seek ways of interpreting the biological evidence that are compatible with faith. All of science, including biology, is a search for truth; but science is powerless to address the source of truth, why truth is even possible. Seeking the source of truth and trying to know why truth is possible are inherently religious undertakings. As Jesus put it, You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (John 8:32). Jesus’ advocacy of truth is unqualified: it applies to evolution, religion, and the entire scope of human endeavor.

First Challenge

Evolution and Divine Design

The Darwinian process may be described as a chapter of accidents. As such, it seems simple, because you do not at first realize all that it involves. But when its whole significance dawns on you, your heart sinks into a heap of sand within you. There is a hideous fatalism about it, a ghastly and damnable reduction of beauty and intelligence, of strength and purpose, of honor and aspiration.

George Bernard Shaw⁶

While biologists still argue about and revise aspects of evolutionary theory, there is consensus about its essential features: random mutations work in concert with natural selection over enormous stretches of time. Throughout the eons of evolutionary development, mutations promote dynamism in the biosphere, while natural selection maintains the biosphere’s stability.

In this first of four challenges to religious belief, not God, but mutations and natural selection working over huge stretches of time are said to account for the order in living things.

—Random Mutations and Natural Selection—

The combination of random mutations and natural selection is the engine of the evolutionary process. The random process of mutation generates novelty; the nonrandom process of natural selection allows only novelty that works. Random mutations are like brainstorming; they are evolution’s way of spawning new ideas and strategies. Natural selection is like a hard-to-please manager, one that lets most of the new ideas perish (along with those who try them), but lets a minority establish a new standard.

Because the theory of evolution is about historical change over time, mutations, which cause so many of the changes, are essential to life as we know it. Without mutations, either the system of living things would be frozen in an uninteresting stage of development or the entire biosphere would be extinct. Mutations lead to adaptations that bring strength within species; and over time, mutations may engender new species. Mutations make the whole living system dynamic.

Mutations cause lasting changes in the DNA sequence of a parental gene or chromosome, an elongated structure that houses the genes. Because mutations are heritable, that is, transmissible to the next generation, they are a powerful evolutionary force. When a