Evolution

“Do you believe in evolution?” I was asked the other day. This is an area in which the CRC has wrestled with some of the alleged contradictions between science and Scripture, and has made a position statement.

Do I believe in evolution?

Let me tell you what I believe. I believe in Jesus Christ, that through Him my sins are forgiven, I have been made forever right with God, and I have been granted salvation. (You may hear an echo of Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 7 there.)

Okay, I realize that sidesteps the question. My point is: I wonder if we too easily say “I believe in…” Perhaps we should reserve that sort of language for the deepest matters of faith which we hold in common with other disciples of Jesus. For the rest, we can say with humility, “This is what I think/how I feel about the topic…” We can add how we are quite convinced about the matter or that we feel very passionate about it. But then we listen — truly listen — to how the other person responds, even if they have a different perspective. That way, at the end of the day, we can still say what we together believe while admitting that in other matters we may need to graciously agree to disagree.

Maybe that way some of our controversial debates will become more gracious.