How I Changed My Mind About Evolution
The authors of Adam and the Genome each share their personal story about how they came to believe that God could have created via evolution. In fact, their stories are included in the book How I Changed My Mind About Evolution: Evangelicals Reflect on Faith and Science. Here is my story:
Although my father was an extreme fundamentalist, as a public educator he loved science and the natural world, and gifted me with an inquiring mind. With similar interest in the observable world, I was perhaps more open to science than the average evangelical. My journey to acceptance of theistic evolution began in a Systematic Theology class, where I learned that YEC is not a salvific doctrine. Oh. That tends to open the mind to possibilities. Next, an OT exegesis class provided me with an understanding of HOW evolution and the Bible could both be true: by assuming a literary interpretation of Genesis 1 & 2. Francis Collins’ book The Language of God ultimately convinced me.
I am still working through the implications of the perception of Adam & Eve as literary, rather than historical, figures. See this post for my analysis of the implications for the orthodox doctrine of original sin.
Photo: I caught this Great Heron on takeoff.