Undermining Christianity from the Inside

[Originally published as Theistic Evolution Kills Inerrancy]

Theistic evolution absolutely destroys the inerrancy of Scripture.

I wouldn’t expect syncretism to do the Bible any favors but most people don’t realize that theistic evolution is not Christian. It’s a syncretistic mix of two religions. Most people simply think that it is a branch of Christianity kind of like a weird flavor of denominational argument. It isn’t.

One of the first things to go when a Christian starts trying to syncretize evolution into the Bible is inerrancy. Every single time. It has to be this way.

Because the Bible makes some very clear statements that conflict with evolutionary dogma. Here is a very short list:

• Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Romans 5:12

Death existed long before Homo sapiens did according to evolution.

• And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 1:31

The world was never “very good” in the sense that God means goodness (i.e. perfection).

• But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. Mark 10:6

Man and woman did not evolve until billions of years into the process, not at the beginning.

• And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25

There are no kinds, only an ever-evolving, branching tree of life united by common ancestry.

The above list is hardly exhaustive. However, perhaps one of the most popular claims made by theistic evolutionists that crushes inerrancy is that the Bible teaches a flat earth. This feels like an unforced error here as the Bible clearly does not teach a flat earth, and the earth clearly is not flat.

Introducing Errors into the Bible

However, you have to understand the underlying drivers here. John Walton, Michael Heiser, and the other ANE followers believe that ancient Near Eastern literature must be used to interpret the Bible. Because one of, (not the only, as they often claim) the ancient Near Eastern cosmologies was a flat earth, Walton, Heiser and their ilk argue that the Bible must teach a flat earth.

The thing is, none of the people pushing the ANE Gnosticism actually believe the earth is flat. They legitimately believe that the Bible teaches an error.

One error is enough to destroy inerrancy. That’s all you have to prove to disprove an argument of 100% inerrancy, which the Bible both claims for itself and which Christianity requires. And the Walton’s and Heisers of the world are more than willing to hand inerrancy away on a silver platter, thereby undermining the Bible they claim to follow.

Of course, this is hardly the only thing the theistic evolutionists are willing to give away.

In an article posted on the BioLogos website from a number of years ago, a so-called Christian speculated that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself could make mistakes. The fact that BioLogos was willing to publish that rank heresy is terrifying. The article has since been deleted, but not before it was picked up by some of the major creationist organizations.

Further, the internet has a long memory. The article in question may be accessed by means of the wayback machine here. As best I can determine, BioLogos has never retracted that stance, apologized for the article, or repented. If Jesus could make mistakes, then He is not God.

Inerrancy is a big deal folks. If you throw it away, why trust any of the Bible? If the Bible is not inerrant, then how do we know which parts are true and which are not?

Once this is on the table, the Bible is not only no longer inerrant, it is also no longer authoritative. And if it is not authoritative, why should we listen to it at all? This is one of many reasons that theistic evolution cannot be allowed to influence the church. It undermines absolutely everything Christianity stands for.