Reformed Theology and Evolutionary Theory

by Gijsbert van den Brink

Many books aim to help beginners explore whether or not evolutionary science is compatible with Christian faith. This one probes more deeply to ask: What do we learn from modern evolutionary science about key issues that are of special theological concern? And what does Christian theology, especially in its Reformed expressions, say about those same key issues? 

Gijsbert van den Brink begins by describing the layers of meaning in the phrase “evolutionary theory” and exploring the question of how to interpret the Bible with regard to science. He then works through five key areas of potential conflict between evolutionary theory and Christian faith, spelling out scientific findings and analyzing Christian doctrinal concerns along the way. His conclusion: although some traditional doctrinal interpretations must be adjusted, evolutionary science is no obstacle to classical Christian faith.

Genres: Theology, Science, Religion, Philosophy, Evolution

328 pages, Paperback

Published February 25, 2020

Reviews

[David Pulliam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read for reformed people working through the implications of evolution. The books question: how does reformed theology change of you assume evolution is true? His answer is thoughtful and nuanced, he focuses completely on systemic theology, and does not give much time to the text itself.

I think the weakest point on the book for me is dealing with the problem of death (problem of animal suffering), it is really difficult to justify death being an inherent part of a good universe. John Milton was probably right here. Not that this means those who hold to non-evolutionary view are out of hot water either with this problem.

Also, and I can’t put my figure on it yet, I think he struggles with the “God of the gaps” approach. I think that’s is his method, how can we preserve who we believe God to be and fit him in, in light of the latest scientific findings. This creates a contradiction in his argument where he explicitáis trying to avoid a God of the gaps approach.

Who should read it:
1. Reformed people
2. People who have already read a number of systematic theologies and are comfortable with Dutch reformed theology (I was weak here, I’ve read only some Kuyper and Bavinck’s 4 volumes)
3. People struggling with how to think well about the faith and evolution

[Paul Bruggink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gijsbert van den Brink’s book is a thorough survey of the current literature on science and theology, along with the author’s commentary, insights, and conclusions. For the sake of argument, he assumes that the Darwinian account of evolution is true. He then asks what that would mean from a (Reformed) theological point of view. He uses the term “Reformed” in a broad sense, “as comprising all denominations whose roots go back to the sixteenth-century Swiss Reformation associated with the name of John Calvin and others.” (p. 2)

The question that is the focus of the study is: “If all biodiversity on earth . . . can be explained by processes of natural selection acting on random mutations, does this have any theological consequences?” (p. 68)

Gijsbert van den Brink carefully distinguishes three layers of evolutionary theory, which he labels as historical evolution (gradualism), common descent, and strong Darwinian evolution (natural selection acting on random mutations). There is very little discussion of other evolutionary mechanisms, but they wouldn’t change his conclusions anyway.

In his discussion of each layer, he focuses on two questions:

Layer 1 (gradualism): (1) “How could a loving and caring God, who created animals in such a way that “it was good (Gen. 1:25), allow for so much pain and suffering, death and extinction, during countless ages in the animal world?” (p. 100), and (2) To what should we attribute animal suffering?

Layer 2 (common descent): (1) “Is it still possible to believe that humans and humans only have been created in the image of God?” (pp. 136-7), and (2) “Are the notions of a “historical Adam” and a primordial fall still feasible?” (p. 137)

Layer 3 (natural selection acting on random mutations): (1) If mutations are random, how can this be combined with the doctrine of God’s sovereignty and providence over all that goes on in God’s creation? (p. 205), and (2) Is it reasonable to extend the theory of evolution to cultural phenomena such as morality and religion?

After discussing each issue, he concludes that there are three places where adjustments are needed in classical (Reformed) theology:

(1) Concordism (“the hermeneutical view that biblical statements pertaining to the physical world correspond to scientific facts”) (pp. 74-5),

(2) The theory of the cosmic fall (“that is, after the first human beings lapsed into sin, and as a result of that fact, God’s originally perfect creation was distorted to such an extent that the entire biosphere fell into disarray”) (p. 111), and

(3) The idea that human history started with a single couple.

“Since these issues hinge on matters of biblical interpretation, in none of these cases . . . is biblical authority or any other Reformed doctrinal tenet necessarily at stake.” (pp. 273-4)

This is followed by a discussion of the state of the cognitive science of religion. He concludes that these theories do not show that both religion and morality are entirely natural phenomena, and that Christians “have no reason to reject evolutionary theory out of fear of losing both morality and true religion.” (p. 265)

Gijsbert van den Brink concludes that “Christian believers do not have to resist evolutionary theory because of their faith commitments; and non-Christians don’t have to think that in order to become a Christian they should do the impossible, that is, renounce something that is so evidently true to them as Darwinian evolution.” (p. 274)

The book includes 731 helpful footnotes, a thorough 32-page bibliography, a 9-page name Index, an 8-page subject index, and a 3-page index of Scripture references, but no blank pages at the end on which to record notes.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book for Christians who want to make up their minds about evolution as well as for evolutionists who want to make up their minds about Christianity.

[Zachary Justice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have some mixed feelings about this book, so I will give some strengths before discussing some areas I think it disappoints.

Strengths:
Research-This book has some amazing bibliography. Whatever you side you come down on, this book is clearly well researched and provides a road map to further reading on the subject.

Argumentation-Van Den Brink is a master at thinking of and addressing counter arguments. Every time I would think “but what about this or that objection,” his next paragraph would address the issue in detail. This books is very well thought out, and it asks many questions and opens new lines of consideration I wouldn’t have thought of.

Organization-It is very easy to find different parts of the argument thanks to the organized chapters and detailed section headers, and Van Den Brink frequently points back to the section numbers to help the reader refer back to important points.

Weaknesses:
Human Death-The main reason I picked this book up was to read more on how to reconcile human death before the Fall with New Testament theology. Van Den Brink has an entire chapter on the topic, but I was left slightly unsatisfied. I’m not sure what he could have done differently, but some of his arguments smacked a bit of the Concordism that he rightly warns against elsewhere in the book. I think his conclusions are acceptable at the end of the day, but I’m not sure they are entirely convincing. Perhaps this issue just demands a bit of tension, but I was hoping to leave with a little more certainty.

Exegesis-This is where my review becomes more subjective based on my personal interests. I am fully aware that Van Den Brink is a theologian and not a biblical scholar; however, I think he could have spent more time specifically tackling the key texts. He certainly points to important literature that covers the issues, and where he does offer interpretations they are solid, but he simply couldn’t make as strong of a case without dealing with key texts like Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15 in detail. This is perhaps the main reason for my gripes about the way he treats human death before the fall.

Overall this was well worth the read. I learned a lot, and I have a wonderful collection of sources to explore as I’m interested. I think that I ultimately wanted the book to do something it didn’t set out to do, namely provide a detailed exegesis of NT passages that have consequences for the evolutionary debate. This book, however, clearly states that it is trying to understand how evolutionary theory can or cannot fit with Reformed Theology. And while I am not Reformed, the Reformed tradition’s conservative theology and high view of Scripture make it a useful benchmark for assessing whether a theory can be reconciled with orthodox Christianity. With that said, my gripes may have arisen as a result of this very framework. Van Den Brink already operates with an accepted exegesis of the key passages, namely a Reformed one. While I actually don’t disagree with his interpretations, it would have been nice to see some of the thinking underneath the hood. For these reasons, this is probably more of a 4.5 than a true 4 for me.

[Zach Brandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve literally been waiting for this book for years until it finally became available on my library app.

4 stars because I didn’t notice anything groundbreaking or necessarily original. The most distinctive feature of this book is the explicit focus on reformed theology.

Nevertheless, it is a great summary of the issues and possible solutions to a reformed embrace of evolutionary theory. The thinking is so patient and clear, the writing and organization are perfectly transparent, and the arguments are, in my opinion, convincing.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtfully argued. Complex and complete...at least as far as I could think, and often beyond. Thorough, convincing, and thought-provoking. All good news, in my book.

[Andrew Sever · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and helpful for understanding how faith and science can coexist.

[Cristiano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Specially chapter 6, which is great.

[Adriel]

An interesting read on a sensitive topic. Whatever side of the aisle falls on this topic, this is worth reading. But I found it hard to understand most of his arguments and reasoning.