What is Theistic Evolution? Francis Collins describes theistic evolution as the position that "evolution is real, but that it was set in motion by God", and characterizes it as accepting "that evolution occurred as biologists describe it, but under the direction of God". Collins, Francis (2006) The Language of God: He is a Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief

Varying degrees of theistic evolution Many theistic evolutionists believe that God set in motion the laws of nature that led to evolution, but He did not take an active role in guiding the evolutionary process.  He merely let nature take its course. Others know as Evolutionary Creationist believe that God actively guided the evolutionary process.

Evolution ??? EVOLUTION IS A THEORY AND NOT FACT SINCE IT CANNOT BE PROVED. (cannot repeat experimentally) EVOLUTION GOES AGAINST THE LAWS THAT GOVERN OUR UNIVERSE. (The Laws of Thermodynamics) TIME AND PROBABILITY WORK AGAINST EVOLUTION RATHER THAN FOR IT. (The events are so improbable that the Law of Large Numbers suggests they never happened) THE FOSSIL LINKS ARE STILL MISSING. The existence of so many fossils in one place supports catastrophes not uniformatarianism.

What is the impact of Theistic Evolution and how wide spread is it? Theistic Evolutionism is the view of creation taught at the majority of mainline Protestant seminaries, and it is the official position of the Catholic church. Despite this, studies showing that acceptance of evolution is lower in the United States than in Europe or Japan (only Turkey had a lower rate in the 34 countries sampled). Why? Because of the Bible belt in the southern part of the United States where the Bible is still read and believed as inspired by God and Turkey is Moslem.

What about the Bible and Theistic Evolution? Genesis1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. This shows God was the creator but it doesn’t show HOW He did it. Evolution involves the HOW which doesn’t fit with a creator or six literal days of creation which is supported by each day ending with “evening and morning”. Theistic Evolution is not compatible with the 7 day creation account but since we know nothing about previous creations before Adam, it non-productive to speculate how they came about.

AN INTERPRETATION THAT IS NEEDED IN OUR SCIENTIFIC WORLD. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning (No time given when the “beginning” was.) God created (“bara”) THE +(eth) heaven and THE (eth not in v.10) earth. (Therefore this could have been billions of years ago.) [2] And the earth (no “eth” before earth therefore after the time gap) was (had become) without form, and void “tohuw” & “bohuw” (as Jer.4:23 describes Israel after 587BC); and darkness was upon the face of the deep and (about 6000 years ago) the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters [3] And God said, Let there be … (which began our six day creation). This interpretation avoids requiring blind faith. It has further Bible support: Psa.104:30; Isa.45:18. It is supported by the natural creation, Rm.1:20. The fact that there may be a long period of time between verse 1 and 2 is not unscriptural. Jesus pointed out a similar gap in time when he quoted Isaiah. God only tells us what is necessary. Any events that might have occurred between verse 1 and 2 are not relevant to mankind. God does not waste space by giving us details that we might like to know to satisfy our curiosity but have no spiritual relevance such as the colour of Jesus’ eyes or whether Adam had a belly button or the name of Samson’s mother.

BUT COULDN’T ALMIGHTY GOD HAVE CREATED THE LIGHT BETWEEN THE STARS BUT COULDN’T ALMIGHTY GOD HAVE CREATED THE LIGHT BETWEEN THE STARS? -- FOR HIS POWER IS UNLIMITED GOD COULD HAVE DONE IT INSTANTLY-- BUT IT UNDERMINES RM.1:20 for we don’t see this from the natural creation. Natural creation support: Rom.1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made … “BEING UNDERSTOOD BY THE THINGS THAT ARE MADE” says we are to also understand by observing the natural creation. This is not BLIND FAITH but a faith which comes from God’s natural creation, for example we see in the natural creation that HUGE DISTANCES REQUIRE LONG TIME PERIODS TO SEE THE LIGHT FROM THE STARS. Yes , God can do anything but

(SPEED)(TIME) = DISTANCE What we see from the natural creation THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY 2.5 MILLION LIGHT YEARS AWAY therefore to see this galaxy it must have existed at least 2.5 million years ago. (SPEED)(TIME) = DISTANCE Since the rate (speed) of light is a constant, this formula requires long times for huge distances. A 6000 year old heaven and earth is why scientist do not believe the Bible! Methods: measuring the peak wavelength of the star’s spectra But how do we measure the distance to the stars (SLIDE – Parallax)

One method is the PARALLAX angle Astronomers also use the brightness measurements. By knowing the actual brightness and comparing it to the apparent brightness seen from Earth they can determine the distance to the star. The Andromeda galaxy, our Milky Way's closest neighbor, is the most distant object in the sky that you can see with your unaided eye — but only on a clear night from a location with a very dark sky.  There is no direct method currently available to measure the distance to stars farther than 400 light years from Earth, so astronomers instead usebrightness measurements. It turns out that a star's color spectrum is a good indication of its actual brightness. The relationship between color and brightness was proven using the several thousand stars close enough to earth to have their distances measured directly. Astronomers can therefore look at a distant star and determine its color spectrum. From the color, they can determine the star's actual brightness. By knowing the actual brightness and comparing it to the apparent brightness seen from Earth (that is, by looking at how dim the star has become once its light reaches Earth), they can determine the distance to the star.

What a difference this interpretation makes! Didn’t get this off the internet but from _Bro Ray Smith in the book “God’s 7000 year Plan_________________________ From a Christadelphin book entitled: God’s 7000 year plan with the earth by Ray Smith

THE PROBLEM: MANY BELIEVE IN A 6000 year old EARTH BECAUSE THEY THINK THE BIBLE SAYS THAT GOD CREATED THE SUN, MOON AND STARS ON THE 4TH DAY. This interpretation locks all creation within 6000 years which causes many to not believe the Bible. It is important to understand just what God created on the fourth day. Because we know how large and how distant the stars are, having a correct understanding of what happened on the fourth day will help us decide whether the “Young Earth” theory is correct or not. It is important to let the Bible speak for itself and not to try to make it fit the theory we want to believe. Since God wrote the Bible, it should be scientifically sound even though that is not the purpose for which it is written. We know the Bible spoke of the circle of the earth when popular theory was that the earth is flat in the days of Columbus, and the historical background that Luke gives have been proven correct in every instance, and archaeology has supported every Bible historical happening. We need to look for clues in the text of the Bible to see just what is meant as far as timing is concerned.

The KEY is INTERPRETING “FIRMAMENT of HEAVEN Genesis 1:20 … and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. Genesis 1:7 And God made the firmament , and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. Conclusion: The “firmament” is the ATMOSPHERE and NOT heaven! There was water above it. Birds fly in the firmament of heaven. Pass out marking pencils – note that these are theirs

Since the firmament of heaven is defined as the atmosphere - Genesis1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven (atmosphere) to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven (atmosphere) to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made (italics shows added to the text) the stars also. 17 And God set them (“two great lights”) in the firmament of the heaven (atmosphere) to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. Therefore the sun, moon and stars were created back in verse 1 "In the beginning..."

Further evidence for a previous creation before Adam and Eve Psalm 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created (“bara”): and thou renewest <318> the face of the earth. 318 “chadash” v. AV “renew” 7x, “repair” 3x, 10. 1 Sam11:14 Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew <318> the kingdom there. The earth was new, then became old and here it was “renewed” with the 7 day creation.

Exo. 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, … [17] It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made [“asah”] heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. To be a sign for Israel to keep the Sabbath, heaven and earth must have been made in six days. Exo.31:17 however doesn’t lock in a 6000 year old creation because of the difference between “made (Asah)” and “created (bara”). Gen.1:1 doesn’t say God made but rather God created the heaven and earth.

THE POSSIBILITY OF A PRE-ADAMIC WORLD IS NOT A NEW IDEA! (From Elpis Israel, John Thomas, 1848) “Fragments, however, of the wreck of this PRE-ADAMIC WORLD has been brought to light by geological research … that its organic remains coal fields and strata belong to the ages before the formation of man, rather than the era of creation or the Noahic flood.” (Question) What about THEISTIC EVOLUTION and previous creations? The advantage of previous creations is we don’t know anything about them therefore we don’t need to debate, become bogged down and turn away those who believe the natural creation shows very a old heaven and earth.