Natural Selection as Evidence of Divine Will
1 Chronicles 14:15-16 says:
15 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 16 And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer.
When I read this, I notice something interesting. God went before David to defeat the philistines. Then, David’s armies go and defeats the philistines. These appear to be separate actions, yet the same action. They are separate because God has taken a action distinct from the army to defeat the philistines… but it is the same because it’s the same defeat. It would seem then that the actions of God are not negated by the actions of David’s armies. And so I believe it is with creation.
We see evidence in the fossil record that life has changed over time. Many even assert that life’s natural adaptability is the acting agent behind such change. However, David’s victories are no less God’s victories just because David’s armies are the apparent physically acting agent. Similarly, life forms created by adaptation and mutation (to whatever extent it happened) are no less God’s creations just because nature is the apparent physically acting agent.
So, when science suggests that life developed through nature, yet scripture confirms that God actively developed that life, take note of 1 Chronicles 14:15-16, which clearly illustrates the biblical truth that evidence of physical mechanisms are not evidence against God’s active involvement, but are in fact the result of it.
January 4th, 2008 at 2:06 am
[…] Read Natural Selection as Evidence of Divine Will for an explanation of how a natural force and God can be simultaneously responsible for the same result. The critics fail to recognize that the Word of God is the “logos”, the “intelligence” of the universe. […]
January 9th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
[…] Accepting evolution is not the same as rejecting the concept of the soul. When something happens by natural processes, that never precludes the divine will or action. The divine will goes before the physical act, but the physical act is the consummation of the divine will. They go hand-in-hand with one another. So it is here: And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer. (1 Chr 14:15-16, emphasis added) […]