Kenneth Keathley - Old-Earth Or Evolutionary Creation? Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos

This book came to fruition because of the cooperation and generous support of many people. Whether it was time, financial means, hospitality, or expertise, we could not have put this excellent resource in your hands without their help.

We are particularly grateful for a grant from the John Templeton Foundation that funded face-to-face dialogues among BioLogos, Reasons to Believe, and Southern Baptist seminary professors.

The Reasons to Believe editorial team of Sandra Dimas, Amanda Warner, and Jocelyn Hsiung provided much-needed copyediting skills as they helped Joe Aguirre stay on schedule with the RTB scholar essays.

We are deeply appreciative of the support of the administrators of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, who made available the facilities of their respective campuses for our meetings; each provided lodging, conference rooms, and organizational help.

Finally, a special word of thanks must also be given to Emily Harrison. Emily serves as administrative assistant for the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture. She provided Ken Keathley with essential help in coordinating meetings, handling travel logistics, and later in compiling the book. She worked tirelessly to shepherd the Southern Baptist chapter writers, and then collated their respective contributions. Many, many thanks.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Kenneth Keathley

Jim Stump

Joe Aguirre

HUGH ROSS, DEBORAH HAARSMA,
AND KENNETH KEATHLEY

THIS BOOK IS THE RESULT of an unprecedented project. What happens when you bring together three groups who disagree about key points of science and theology but share a love for Jesus? Is it possible to overcome mistrust? To present ones own position without attacking others? To develop an attitude of humble learning instead of winning a debate? In todays hyperpolarized culture, such dialogue seems nearly impossible. Yet because of our shared love for Christ, who calls the church to unity, and our shared excitement for studying Gods creation, we were able to find the common ground needed for genuine dialogue about our differences. In this book we invite you to listen in as we talk together about what weve learned over the last several years of conversation.

The dialogue began between leaders of Reasons to Believe (RTB) and future leaders of BioLogos in the years leading up to the founding of BioLogos in 2007. In 2011 a group of Southern Baptist seminary professors (representing the Southern Baptist Convention or SBC) began conversations with BioLogos, and by 2013 the three-way dialogue was in full swing. These groups represent a range of positions on the issues of creation and evolution. National surveys show that most Southern Baptists accept the young-earth creation view. This view is the most well-known: God created the earth and life several thousand years ago, and Genesis 1 refers to six literal twenty-four-hour days. This book will not address young-earth views in detail but will focus on two others: old-earth creation as presented by RTB, and evolutionary creation as presented by BioLogos. Both RTB and BioLogos believe that God created the universe several billion years ago and that Genesis 1 can be interpreted in ways that are at least as faithful to the authority and message of the text while not contradicting the evidence for an old universe. The groups differ, however, in their views on biological evolution, their interpretive approach to Genesis 1, and some theological positions. This book will introduce you to the views of each group and present a robust discussion of areas where they agree and disagree.

We begin with introductions to the two organizations from their respective leaders.