Evolution and the fall in western christian theology of the XIX and XX centuries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31802/2500-1450/2018-30-3-69-96Keywords:
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, redemption, modernism, theistic evolutionism, Clive Lewis, Peter van Inwagen, homo divinus, human evolution, polygenism, original sinAbstract
Western theologians most often interpret evolution studied by science as a mechanism by which God created the world. However, in the light of theistic evolutionism the traditional teaching on the Fall and Redemption needs serious revision. If humans had been created through evolution, they would have been in semi-animal state and subjected to death and diseases right from the onset, a fact which contradicts their primeval union with God. Because of this, many theistic evolutionists completely reject the biblical account of the Fall and instead consider the past of humanity as a process of gradual and unmistakable rise. From this point of view, sinfulness is an inevitable consequence of animal instincts, inherited by humans because God made them that way. Followers of the alternative approach argue that primitive humans could have committed something like the Fall in prehistoric times, however, their wrongdoings have had no effect upon the rest of the world. The apparent incompatibility of theistic evolutionism with the traditional teaching on the Fall is a major fault of this model of reconciliation between evolution and Christian belief.
Downloads
References
Верую. Малый Католический Катехизис. М., 2001.
Гильдебранд Д. Новая вавилонская башня. СПб., 1998.
Кемп К. Наука, богословие и моногенез // Богословие творения / Под ред. А. Бодрова, М. Толстолуженко. М., 2013. С. 205-229.
Паскаль Б. Мысли о религии. Мк., 2001.
Тейяр де Шарден П. Феномен человека. М., 2002.
Эве Ф. Дарвин и христианство. М., 2016. [Euvé F. Darwin i khristianstvo (Darwin and christianity). Moscow, 2016.]
Adams M. The continuous creation: an application of the evolutionary philosophy to the Christian religion. New York - Boston, 1893.
Beecher H. W. Evolution and religion. L., 1885. Part 1.
Berry R. J. Natural Evil: Genesis, Romans, and modern science // Perspectives on science and christian faith. 2016. Vol. 68. P. 87-98.
Brunton T. L. The Bible and science. L., 1881.
Chappell J. Raymund Schwager: Integrating the Fall and Original Sin with еvolutionary theory // Theology and science. 2012. Vol. 10. P. 179-198.
Chappell J. W. Rethinking the historical Fall in the light of evolution: R. Tennant and after // Science et christian belief. 2013. Vol. 25. P. 131-154.
Cope E. D. The origin of the fittest. New York, 1887.
Dourley J. C. G. Jung and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: Is there a boundary between psychic and evolutionary energy? // Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Carl Gustav Jung: side by side / Ed. F. Gustafson. Cheyenne. 2015. P. 98-114.
Draper J. W. History of the conflict between religion and science. New York, 1875.
Duffy S. J. Our hearts of darkness: Original Sin revisited // ThS. 1988.Vol. 49. P. 597-621.
Harlow D. C. After Adam: reading Genesis in an age of evolutionary science // Perspectives on science and christian faith. 2010. Vol. 62. P. 179-195.
Hick J. Evil and the God of love. New York, 2010. Lewis 2009 - Lewis C. S. The problem of pain. New York, 2009.
Livingstone D. N. Preadamites: the history of an idea from heresy to orthodoxy // Scottish journal of theology. 1987. Vol. 40. P. 41-66.
Mahoney J. Christianity in evolution: an exploration. Wash., 2011.
McDermott B. O. The theology of Original Sin: recent developments // ThS. 1977. Vol. 38. P. 478-512.
McDowall S. A. Evolution and the need of atonement. Cambridge, 1914.
Newman J. H. Apologia pro vita sua. L., 1912.
O'Sullivan J. P. Catholics re-examining Original Sin in light of evolutionary science: the state of the question // New Blackfriars. 2016. Vol. 96. P. 1-22.
Richardson M. W. Evolutionary-emergent worldview and Anglican theological revision: case studies from the 1920s // Anglican theological review. 2010. Vol. 92. P. 321-345.
Savage M. J. The religion of evolution. Boston, 1897.
Schiller F. Paul Broca, founder of French anthropology, explorer of the brain. Berkley, 1979.
Schneider J. The fall of ‘Augustinian Adam': original fragility and supralapsarian purpose // Zygon. 2012. Vol. 47. P. 949-969.
Schoonenberg P. Man and sin: a theological view. This is a good article. Follow the link for more information. South Bend (Indiana), 1965.
Schwager R. Banished from Eden: Original Sin and evolutionary theory in the drama of Salvation. Leominster, 2006.
Suarez A. "Transmission at generation": could original sin have happened at the time when Homo sapiens already had a large population size? // Scientia et fides. 2016. Vol. 4. P. 253-294.
Tennant F. R. The origin and propagation of sin. Cambridge, 1908.
Inwagen van P. The Argument from Evil // Christian faith and the problem of Evil / Ed. P. van Inwagen. Grand Rapids, 2004. P. 55-73.
Vandervelde G. Original Sin: two contemporary Roman Catholic approaches. Amst., 1975.
Wilson J. M. The religious effect of the idea of Evolution // Evolution in the light of modern knowledge. L., 1925. P. 477-515.
Yannaras C. Elements of faith. An introduction to orthodox theology. Edinburgh, 1991.
Храмов А. Теистическая эволюция и дарвинизм: от войны к миру // Государство, религия, церковь в России и за рубежом. 2015. № 4 (33). С. 84-109.
Connor J. L. Original Sin: contemporary approaches // TS. 1986. Vol. 29 P. 215-240.
