JoeltheWestminsterian
Puritan Board Freshman
I have a dear family member who was formerly an atheist but has since come to believe in Christ. She has always been very scientifically minded in her thinking and passions and has spent much time in the past acquiring scientific information from an atheist, materialist perspective. Now, however, after a few years since her conversion and within the walls of a solid Reformed church, she is coming to more closely examine the doctrine of creation and is really struggling to accept any non-evolutionary theories. She knows that evolution is incompatible with other vital Christian doctrines, but she also admits that, having formerly collected so much information on evolution during her atheist days, it just feels wrong to not posit (at the very least) a theistic evolutionary theory of creation. She says that she is most uncomfortable with a young earth creationist view (my own view) and is more comfortable with a theistic evolutionary view.
She has likened herself to those individuals who are nonspecific in their eschatological claims (your pan-millennialists, if you will) and will only publicly assert that Christ is coming again... everything else will pan out in the end. Similarly, she only publicly asserts that God is responsible for everything in creation in some sense, but the details are bringing her challenges. Nevertheless, she feels like evolution is right, all the while knowing it is incompatible with other revealed truths. Yet, she does propose good points on the reality of observable adaptation occurring in nature on some level, and she is still very interested in investigating and cataloguing natural occurrences; so, to be fair, she has a good head on her shoulders and is not reacting strictly out of gut-reaction.
Still, I don't want her to remain with this dissonance, if I can help it. Are there any good book recommendations, online lectures, YouTube videos, or general advice that can help with this matter?
Thanks so much! Grace and peace.
She has likened herself to those individuals who are nonspecific in their eschatological claims (your pan-millennialists, if you will) and will only publicly assert that Christ is coming again... everything else will pan out in the end. Similarly, she only publicly asserts that God is responsible for everything in creation in some sense, but the details are bringing her challenges. Nevertheless, she feels like evolution is right, all the while knowing it is incompatible with other revealed truths. Yet, she does propose good points on the reality of observable adaptation occurring in nature on some level, and she is still very interested in investigating and cataloguing natural occurrences; so, to be fair, she has a good head on her shoulders and is not reacting strictly out of gut-reaction.
Still, I don't want her to remain with this dissonance, if I can help it. Are there any good book recommendations, online lectures, YouTube videos, or general advice that can help with this matter?
Thanks so much! Grace and peace.