The compatibility (or possible lack thereof) between the modern scientific discoveries of evolution and the ancient Biblical truths of Genesis is a topic that varies among Christians, and more specifically, the theory that humans evolved from simpler organisms. Some say it displays God’s ability to use his creation to implement his will, while others claim it transfers power from the creator to the creation.

One of the leading theories in the arena of evolution vs. Genesis supports an underlying amiable relationship between the two. This viewpoint is rooted in a literary interpretation of the account of Creation, considering the historical context and intended audience to draw the conclusion that the Bible uses metaphors, not facts, to convey an idea, that idea being God’s ultimate power and order.

According to the “compatibility” argument, it’s important to take the story of creation for what it is: a story. Of course, it’s a true story, but a story nonetheless, so it’s told in a way that will draw the reader in and emphatically get its message across. Additionally, it was written by Moses, a human being with little scientific knowledge or resources. Therefore, it is wise to go into the book not with a hope of finding exact details of an event, but rather a simplified reimagination of one.

Mr. Jason Polk, pastor, missionary, and upper school chemistry teacher, states his opinion on the proper manner of evaluating the scripture. Polk asks, “Are we going to interpret [Genesis] like a science textbook, or are we going to interpret it like an ancient narrative that was written to Israelites coming out of Egypt? […] If we properly interpret both the Bible and scientific evidence, there’s no necessary conflict between those.”

Another popular theory is that of Biblical literalism. Christians who hold this position tend to believe that God built the world either in seven twenty four-hour periods or in seven undetermined ages of time, but that the universe was made in the exact order stated in Genesis. Their understanding is that the theory of evolution directly undermines the teachings of God and that the relationship between the two is one of opposition.

Under the “conflict” argument, a world made from spontaneous events and developments could not have been created by the God that the Bible describes. The universe was brought into existence by God’s infinite power and authority, and the explanation of Darwinian macroevolution—the drastic change of a species over a long period of time—is an attempt to rationalize Creation, therefore demeaning God’s power to a mathematical solution.

Mr. Steven Ottolini, pastor, veteran, and previous Bible and psychology teacher, elucidates this aspect of strict creationism. Ottolini explains, “From a theological standpoint, I don’t believe that form of evolution fits with the narrative that we’ve been given in scripture. To have a creator God who formed the earth and holds it by the word of his power, which is in the book of Hebrews, is different than a seemingly random world that is created by chains of events or amino acids.”

Lastly, a point of common ground between the two theories is science’s lack of definitive authority. They both argue that science can explain the “what” of the universe—exactly how objects interact and how the natural laws prompting the interactions work, but not the “why”—the reason those laws exist in the first place. They take that same starting point and draw two different conclusions from it. And Ottolini is exactly right: no amount of scientific digging could ever uncover the underlying reason for gravity’s existence; that can only be found through religion.

Polk illustrates, “Science is really good at detecting patterns, detecting the way things normally work, detecting how things happen and what happens, but […] science is not very good at determining why things happen.”

Ottolini reinforces and adds on by expressing, “We tend to become—I’m gonna use the word prideful in our understanding of some of these scientific things that we think we have figured out, but then we don’t actually understand; like gravity would be an example. 

We understand gravity, we know that gravity exists, we know that it’s 9.8 meters per second, […] but then, why do we have gravity […] and where does it come from?”

Scientists use experiments and data to determine the technical aspects of the workings of the world, but motive in this case cannot be rationally deduced, so it’s necessary to look to another source in order to find it. The source Christians turn to is God’s narrative.

As mentioned by both Polk and Ottolini, we as Christians should not harbor animosity towards those with an opposing viewpoint, but instead respectfully stand in our disagreement. My belief is that Christians should treat each other with respect by learning to accept that people interpret the word of God differently and that, as long as someone puts their faith in Jesus’s death and resurrection and they genuinely strive to please the Lord, their opinion is still respectable and understandable. My personal stance on this topic is that God used evolution during Creation on a large scale to shape humans into the species we are today. If true, this knowledge helps us further appreciate God’s beauty, intricacy, care, and power by displaying his control over nature and science (which he, of course, created) and his choice to use them mathematically to form biological organisms in his image. Using this point of view, science and Christianity aren’t at war; they can coexist and operate exactly how they’re supposed to, as long as they are both interpreted with the other in mind.

In summary, there are convincing arguments and reliable sources on both sides, but after hearing many educated professionals expound on their differing opinions, I’ve come to the personal conclusion that humans were created by God’s hand through the process of natural selection (although “divine selection” would be a more accurate name for it), evolving from ape-like creatures hundreds of thousands of years ago and continuing to evolve today.

Many Christians believe that a world of random scientific processes is in inherent conflict with the purposeful, omnipotent God of the Bible. They use this as partial grounds for their rejection of macroevolution, claiming that the two contradicting powers of spontaneity and design can’t exist in the same universe, and I completely agree. Nevertheless, Christianity and evolution fit together perfectly if the word “random” is given up. Atheistic scientists use that word as a placeholder to explain what can only be justified by the influence of a higher power; they have nothing else to attribute it to. However, the formation and functionality of the human species is not random, as any Christian knows; it is the heavenly guidance of our Lord deliberately molding us into the people he wants us to be.