Kolten Turner Discussion Questions

1. Can someone be a sincere Christian and believe in evolution?
I believe it depends on the definition of evolution. I think as a society we typically misuse the term "evolution" as a substitute for creation. However, Merriam Webster defines evolution as, "descent with modification from preexisting species : cumulative inherited change in a population of organisms through time leading to the appearance of new forms : the process by which new species or populations of living things develop from preexisting forms through successive generations". With this definition in mind, I believe a Christian can absolutely believe in evolution and still uphold to all biblical knowledge. It's ludicrous to say that species are forever stagnant in the history and future of the Earth. Animals and humans alike are constantly adapting to new ways of living. Once those adaptations have taken precedent in our lives, we have evolved from a previous form of ourselves. Do I believe that science is absolutely correct about the origin of the human species? Absolutely not, but I also believe that we'll never know how God chose to create the world in its entirety because we are not God and can't simply comprehend the creation of a universe.

2. Why is revelation necessary?
Without the revelation of God, we cannot fall in love with Him. We can have knowledge of God. I believe Bird states it as having natural revelation. We can believe that there is a God, but without "special revelation", as Bird puts it, we cannot know Him personally. The question is how does God choose to reveal Himself and why to certain people but maybe not others? One belief is that everyone has a special revelation of God at one point in their life and they either choose to accept Him or reject Him. We cannot come to the saving relationship with Christ without Christ revealing Himself to us. Bird writes that Christianity is one of the few religions that if you take the main character out of it, the religion will crumble. Jesus is the centerpiece to Christianity and without the cross, we cannot be saved. Many other religions can have their most prized prophet taken out of the equation and still stand. Take Buddhism for example. The morals and practices still uphold without Buddha ever having existed. Jesus however, had to reveal Himself to Earth through human form and die for us to be reconciled with God. Therefore, Jesus has to reveal Himself to us on a personal level through the Holy Spirit (because he's no longer on Earth), in order for us to be reconciled with God. I have lots of questions about how God chooses to reveal Himself. I'm not sure that I'll ever come to a conclusion on just how God works.