God and Evolution

Question: Do you believe it's possible to believe in a creator god and the mechanism of evolution at the same time?

I absolutely do believe that it is possible to believe in a Creator God and the mechanism of evolution at the same time – and I believe in both.

I believe that that which I call God is greater than I can imagine or perceive during this earthly life, but that for the Divine all things are possible. I therefore believe that it would have been possible for the universe to have been created in the way that either of the accounts in the book of Genesis describe – but I don't believe that it was.

I believe that the Genesis accounts are myths, probably firstly passed down orally, and then documented, inevitably in the style and language of their day. This in no way diminishes the truths that lie behind and within the myths: that God is our Creator; that we have relationships not only with each other but also with God and with the created universe, including particularly our planet Earth, towards which we have especial responsibilities and a duty of care; and that our current experience of life in the physical realm is not the totality of existence, nor the fullness of life for which human beings are all created and to which we are all called. Because of this we may seem to fit less well into earthly life than others do, for example, plant and animal life.

Evolution is an undeniable continuing process – all things are evolving all the time – and I believe that it both was and continues to be God who is the source and force which empowers this. I think this is known as 'theistic evolution'.

The universe, and every part of it, is awesome: look at the night sky, look at a new-born of any species, look at the intricacies of a flower; use a telescope or a microscope and the awe increases exponentially. And having just written that last sentence, I am awed by the sight of an amazing double rainbow totally filling the eastern sky across the lane from our garden, the sign of God's continuing and everlasting covenant with all creation.