By: Jim Virkler; ©2011 Believers in theistic evolution find themselves on the proverbial middle ground. They camp between theistic creationists and atheistic/agnostic evolutionists. Some may still wrestle with significant conflicts. Is matter invested with self-organizing capability–the ability to progress naturalistically from “molecules to man?” Or did God perform several or many supernatural miracles along the…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2011 Some of the best reasons to be skeptical of evolutionary claims come from the statements of naturalistic evolutionists. They do not acknowledge either divine origin of the universe or its divine sustenance. Theistic evolutionists claim to believe in a God who originated the universe and in some way sustains it even…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2011 The horrific scenes of devastation in Japan and the unfolding news of damage to nuclear reactors from one of the most powerful earthquakes in history has gripped and grieved us all. Some people ask the default question, “How could a loving God allow such a scale of death and destruction?” This…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2011 Correct Science—>Correct Worldview—>Correct Theology…..This flowchart has some significance with respect to truth discovery on origins questions. Currently there is strong pressure coming to bear on the evangelical community to accept theistic evolution. The claim is that belief in TE is completely compatible with evangelical Christian faith. The more I study this…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2011 There are many different definitions of worldview. Various sources list from four to ten major categories of worldview. The definitions and categories overlap, but there is a basic consistency. James W. Sire, Christian author of The Universe Next Door, defines worldview as “a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2011 Evangelical theistic evolutionists are mounting a more serious campaign directed toward evangelical creationists. Theistic evolutionists believe we are all the product of a naturalistic process which flowed from the earliest one-celled life, sometimes called LUCA (last universal common ancestor) to the modern humans of today. More specifically, all organisms now living…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2011 Del Ratzsch, in Science and Its Limits, makes this provocative statement: “Our worldviews, in short, are inescapably shaped by science.” We often assume the public understands what we mean by science. If someone makes a statement such as, “According to science…” it is often taken as a mantle of authority generating…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2011 Theistic evolutionism ranges along a spectrum of positions, just as does creationism. It is not a monolithic belief system. The most common position, however, is the “fully gifted” model, in which the Big Bang was God’s last physical intervention, at least until New Testament times. Evangelical TE adherents may have a…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2011 Beautiful sunsets, magnificent mountains, and various other glorious natural displays have long triggered deep feelings of worship. My mother was fond of quoting the King James translation of Psalm 121:1: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help.” She balanced the poetic quality of verse…