Finding Ourselves after Darwin: Conversations on the Image of God, Original Sin, and the Problem of Evil

Abstract

FINDING OURSELVES AFTER DARWIN: Conversations on the Image of God, Original Sin, and the Problem of Evil by Stanley P. Rosenberg (general editor) and Michael Burdett, Michael Lloyd, and Benno van den Toren (associate editors). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018. vii + 375 pages. Paperback; $34.00. ISBN: 9780801098246. Kindle; $16.99. ISBN: 9781493406586. *Finding Ourselves after Darwin responds to questions of how humanity defines itself and understands its primeval origins in a post-Darwinian world. It does so by offering a representative selection of Christian responses to questions about the image of God, original sin, and the problem of evil raised at the interface of evolutionary science and Christian faith. This book grew out of the project "Evolution and Christian Faith" funded by BioLogos, and many contributors participated in several colloquia held at Oxford. *Finding Ourselves after Darwin is thematically and structurally coherent, unlike many similar edited volumes. Two introductory essays by general editor Stanley Rosenberg and associate editor Benno van den Toren introduce the truth-seeking and dialogue-modeling commitments of the book. Following these essays, the book is divided into three parts: (1) The Image of God and Evolution, (2) Original Sin and Evolution, and (3) Evil and Evolution. Each part features five or six contributors' responses to issues raised in each topic. Associate editors Michel Burdett, Benno van den Toren, and Michael Lloyd each provide introductory and conclusory comments to one of the three parts, in which they identify the part's driving questions and then summarize and interact with the material. *Discussion in part 1, The Image of God and Evolution, centers on the ability of four conventional models of imaging (functional, structural, relational, dynamic) to withstand challenges posed by evolution. Defending the viability of these four models takes precedence over intermittent discussion of human uniqueness, origins, and telos. Wentzel van Huysteen's introductory chapter suggests that evolutionary insights help inform a robust understanding of the human capacity for imaging. According to his "bottom-up" approach, the image of God emerged from nature through evolution; he believes we should take this into account when trying to understand the human person. *Following van Huysteen, Mark Harris shares a version of the functional model of imaging, which locates the imago Dei in humanity's role to be God's representative rulers on the earth. Harris uses scripture well but only marginally engages evolutionary theory since, according to him, it poses few challenges to the functional model of imaging. *Next, Aku Visala offers a strong defense for the structural theory of imaging against challenges raised by evolutionary theory. Structural theories of imaging often locate the image of God in uniquely human cognitive, moral, relational, and religious capacities; therefore, challenges to human uniqueness--such as claims that no clear dividing line exists between humans and animals--appear to threaten the viability of structural models of imaging. However, Visala shows that an appropriately modified version of the structural theory withstands these challenges by requiring no such clear dividing line (instead, humans stand apart from animals in the unique degree to which they actualize certain capacities). Visala also suggests that animals can have nonhuman souls and that animals continue to evolve in their imaging capacity; consequently, the "image of God is as much about becoming as it is about being" (p. 77). Visala advocates for an emergent dualist approach to the soul, one which embraces evolutionary insights into the way our "perceptual, conceptual, and emotional systems work" while maintaining that the soul accounts for certain phenomena evolutionary that explanations cannot account for, such as the existence of the person, human dignity, and life after death (p. 71). *Then Jay Oord presents a relational-love model of imaging in which he suggests that "living a life of love" is the essence of imaging (p. 88) and that God invites nonhuman creatures to bear God's image by imitating God's love. *Finally, Ted Peters offers a dynamic model of imaging in which humans are still evolving into the imago Dei. According to this model, the imago Dei exists not in humanity's past or present, but in humanity's future and in the person of Christ. As such, it functions as a "divine call forward" to become increasingly Christ-like (p. 96). Peters refrains from locating the imago Dei in humanity's past because he believes humanity's fallen state is "equiprimordial with our appearance in biological history" (p. 104) and that human nature was not fixed at some historical point but is retroactively determined by what humanity will be at the redemption. Unfortunately, Peters offers no clear definition of the imago Dei or explanation of its incompatibility with fallenness. *All contributors in part 1 affirm human uniqueness although some affirm it only by way of degree. In his concluding comments, editor Michael Burdett encourages readers to explore hybrid models, which allow them to affirm multifaceted understandings of imaging. *Part 2, Original Sin and Evolution, addresses the origins, transmission, and universality of sin. Contributors disagree whether the origins of human sinfulness should be identified with an intentional, human decision to turn away from God at a particular time in history (C. John Collins, Andrew Pinsent, and Gijsbert van den Brink) or with the inevitable realization of innate tendencies for aggression and self-assertion inherited from prehuman ancestors (Christopher Hays). Some contributors present science-compatible Fall narratives. For example, Collins proposes a "federal head" model in which two representative humans intentionally turned away from God at the headwaters of human history, bearing consequences for all humans. Hays, on the other hand, regards the historic placement of the first sin irrelevant since it was not responsible for subsequent sins. According to Hays, we can affirm the universality of sin and human culpability for sin without an originating sin. *McCoy's chapter cautions against misusing Irenaeus's theology to support theologies that dismiss a traditional Fall, which he argues is necessary to Irenaean thought. McCoy's chapter is insightful, but unless the reader is familiar with the external discussion McCoy is responding to, the chapter appears somewhat tangential to part 2's driving questions. *Contributors affirm the universality of sin, although they disagree on the mechanisms that unify humanity in sin and account for the transmission of sin: Collins suggests that unity in sin is rooted in covenant with God, Van den Toren argues that transmission of sin is inseparable from cultural evolution, and Pinsent suggests that original sin is propagated by the absence of supernatural grace (which he suggests was a pre-Fall addition to human nature). *Part 3, Evil and Evolution, addresses questions of why God is not culpable for animal suffering in pre-human history and why God employed violent means of creating; it highlights a variety of avenues available to affirm God's goodness in light of prehuman suffering. Only-way theodicies dominate: they include Rosenberg's view that death and decay are necessary marks of a finite world, Vince Vitale's "non-identity theodicy" (based on the idea that the existence of individuals alive today is contingent on past suffering), and Christopher Southgate's argument that the values of this world come at the expense of its disvalues. Michael Lloyd provides the only substantive free will defense, which attributes a cosmic Fall to free angelic beings, and Richard Swinburne offers an Irenaean soul-making theodicy which argues that the finite amount of suffering God allows us to endure is outweighed by the goodness of the soul-making opportunities it provides. *Part 3 benefits from the way contributors highlight lingering concerns in each other's models. Lloyd's chapter "Theodicy, Fall, and Adam" is exemplary: from only-way theodicies Lloyd calls for better defense of the unique creativity of violence, and from Augustinian nonbeing approaches he calls for a better defense of the inability of God to counteract creation's tendency toward nonbeing now if God will do so post-eschaton. However, since the format of the book does not facilitate intra-book responses, such challenges remain unaddressed. Moreover, editorial content and many contributors assume that prehuman suffering is "evil," and, although some contributors disagree, this assumption is unfortunately never explicitly contested. Nevertheless, part 3 concludes the book in a helpful way: it outlines potential solutions to concerns about evil and the goodness of creation that are discussed throughout the book. *In conclusion, part 1 provides defenses of four models of imaging--sometimes at the expense of discussion concerning human uniqueness, origins, and telos. Part 2 successfully provides a multifaceted discussion on the origins, transmission, and universality of sin. And part 3 offers theodicies that illuminate various directions forward; it also raises many unanswered questions. Ultimately, bringing a representative selection of views to the table--more so than novel ideas--is the function of this book. Editorial contributions unify Finding Ourselves after Darwin as an accessible, well-assembled exploration of truth. Editors, and sometimes contributors, offer epistemological guidance and identify fruitful avenues for future exploration, making the discussion one that uniquely moves the reader forward in their search for truth. Interaction between contributors, when present, adds richness to the discussion but is not consistent throughout the book. Finding Ourselves after Darwin is further unified by a commitment to the doctrinal core that is accompanied by various degrees of flexibility concerning the retention of theological theories that have grown up around certain doctrines. Finding Ourselves after Darwin will help undergraduate students, pastors, and other informed Christians pursue a coherent and scientifically informed faith. *Reviewed by Charlotte Combrink, Religious Studies at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. FINDING OURSELVES AFTER DARWIN: Conversations on the Image of God, Original Sin, and the Problem of Evil by Stanley P. Rosenberg (general editor) and Michael Burdett, Michael Lloyd, and Benno van den Toren (associate editors). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018. vii + 375 pages. Paperback; $34.00. ISBN: 9780801098246. Kindle; $16.99. ISBN: 9781493406586. *Finding Ourselves after Darwin responds to questions of how humanity defines itself and understands its primeval origins in a post-Darwinian world. It does so by offering a representative selection of Christian responses to questions about the image of God, original sin, and the problem of evil raised at the interface of evolutionary science and Christian faith. This book grew out of the project "Evolution and Christian Faith" funded by BioLogos, and many contributors participated in several colloquia held at Oxford. *Finding Ourselves after Darwin is thematically and structurally coherent, unlike many similar edited volumes. Two introductory essays by general editor Stanley Rosenberg and associate editor Benno van den Toren introduce the truth-seeking and dialogue-modeling commitments of the book. Following these essays, the book is divided into three parts: (1) The Image of God and Evolution, (2) Original Sin and Evolution, and (3) Evil and Evolution. Each part features five or six contributors' responses to issues raised in each topic. Associate editors Michel Burdett, Benno van den Toren, and Michael Lloyd each provide introductory and conclusory comments to one of the three parts, in which they identify the part's driving questions and then summarize and interact with the material. *Discussion in part 1, The Image of God and Evolution, centers on the ability of four conventional models of imaging (functional, structural, relational, dynamic) to withstand challenges posed by evolution. Defending the viability of these four models takes precedence over intermittent discussion of human uniqueness, origins, and telos. Wentzel van Huysteen's introductory chapter suggests that evolutionary insights help inform a robust understanding of the human capacity for imaging. According to his "bottom-up" approach, the image of God emerged from nature through evolution; he believes we should take this into account when trying to understand the human person. *Following van Huysteen, Mark Harris shares a version of the functional model of imaging, which locates the imago Dei in humanity's role to be God's representative rulers on the earth. Harris uses scripture well but only marginally engages evolutionary theory since, according to him, it poses few challenges to the functional model of imaging. *Next, Aku Visala offers a strong defense for the structural theory of imaging against challenges raised by evolutionary theory. Structural theories of imaging often locate the image of God in uniquely human cognitive, moral, relational, and religious capacities; therefore, challenges to human uniqueness--such as claims that no clear dividing line exists between humans and animals--appear to threaten the viability of structural models of imaging. However, Visala shows that an appropriately modified version of the structural theory withstands these challenges by requiring no such clear dividing line (instead, humans stand apart from animals in the unique degree to which they actualize certain capacities). Visala also suggests that animals can have nonhuman souls and that animals continue to evolve in their imaging capacity; consequently, the "image of God is as much about becoming as it is about being" (p. 77). Visala advocates for an emergent dualist approach to the soul, one which embraces evolutionary insights into the way our "perceptual, conceptual, and emotional systems work" while maintaining that the soul accounts for certain phenomena evolutionary that explanations cannot account for, such as the existence of the person, human dignity, and life after death (p. 71). *Then Jay Oord presents a relational-love model of imaging in which he suggests that "living a life of love" is the essence of imaging (p. 88) and that God invites nonhuman creatures to bear God's image by imitating God's love. *Finally, Ted Peters offers a dynamic model of imaging in which humans are still evolving into the imago Dei. According to this model, the imago Dei exists not in humanity's past or present, but in humanity's future and in the person of Christ. As such, it functions as a "divine call forward" to become increasingly Christ-like (p. 96). Peters refrains from locating the imago Dei in humanity's past because he believes humanity's fallen state is "equiprimordial with our appearance in biological history" (p. 104) and that human nature was not fixed at some historical point but is retroactively determined by what humanity will be at the redemption. Unfortunately, Peters offers no clear definition of the imago Dei or explanation of its incompatibility with fallenness. *All contributors in part 1 affirm human uniqueness although some affirm it only by way of degree. In his concluding comments, editor Michael Burdett encourages readers to explore hybrid models, which allow them to affirm multifaceted understandings of imaging. *Part 2, Original Sin and Evolution, addresses the origins, transmission, and universality of sin. Contributors disagree whether the origins of human sinfulness should be identified with an intentional, human decision to turn away from God at a particular time in history (C. John Collins, Andrew Pinsent, and Gijsbert van den Brink) or with the inevitable realization of innate tendencies for aggression and self-assertion inherited from pre-human ancestors (Christopher Hays). Some contributors present science-compatible Fall narratives. For example, Collins proposes a "federal head" model in which two representative humans intentionally turned away from God at the headwaters of human history, bearing consequences for all humans. Hays, on the other hand, regards the historic placement of the first sin irrelevant since it was not responsible for subsequent sins. According to Hays, we can affirm the universality of sin and human culpability for sin without an originating sin. *McCoy's chapter cautions against misusing Irenaeus's theology to support theologies that dismiss a traditional Fall, which he argues is necessary to Irenaean thought. McCoy's chapter is insightful, but unless the reader is familiar with the external discussion McCoy is responding to, the chapter appears somewhat tangential to part 2's driving questions. *Contributors affirm the universality of sin, although they disagree on the mechanisms that unify humanity in sin and account for the transmission of sin: Collins suggests that unity in sin is rooted in covenant with God, Van den Toren argues that transmission of sin is inseparable from cultural evolution, and Pinsent suggests that original sin is propagated by the absence of supernatural grace (which he suggests was a pre-Fall addition to human nature). *Part 3, Evil and Evolution, addresses questions of why God is not culpable for animal suffering in pre-human history and why God employed violent means of creating; it highlights a variety of avenues available to affirm God's goodness in light of prehuman suffering. Only-way theodicies dominate: they include Rosenberg's view that death and decay are necessary marks of a finite world, Vince Vitale's "non-identity theodicy" (based on the idea that the existence of individuals alive today is contingent on past suffering), and Christopher Southgate's argument that the values of this world come at the expense of its disvalues. Michael Lloyd provides the only substantive free will defense, which attributes a cosmic Fall to free angelic beings, and Richard Swinburne offers an Irenaean soul-making theodicy which argues that the finite amount of suffering God allows us to endure is outweighed by the goodness of the soul-making opportunities it provides. *Part 3 benefits from the way contributors highlight lingering concerns in each other's models. Lloyd's chapter "Theodicy, Fall, and Adam" is exemplary: from only-way theodicies Lloyd calls for better defense of the unique creativity of violence, and from Augustinian nonbeing approaches he calls for a better defense of the inability of God to counteract creation's tendency toward nonbeing now if God will do so post-eschaton. However, since the format of the book does not facilitate intra-book responses, such challenges remain unaddressed. Moreover, editorial content and many contributors assume that prehuman suffering is "evil," and, although some contributors disagree, this assumption is unfortunately never explicitly contested. Nevertheless, part 3 concludes the book in a helpful way: it outlines potential solutions to concerns about evil and the goodness of creation that are discussed throughout the book. *In conclusion, part 1 provides defenses of four models of imaging--sometimes at the expense of discussion concerning human uniqueness, origins, and telos. Part 2 successfully provides a multifaceted discussion on the origins, transmission, and universality of sin. And part 3 offers theodicies that illuminate various directions forward; it also raises many unanswered questions. Ultimately, bringing a representative selection of views to the table--more so than novel ideas--is the function of this book. Editorial contributions unify Finding Ourselves after Darwin as an accessible, well-assembled exploration of truth. Editors, and sometimes contributors, offer epistemological guidance and identify fruitful avenues for future exploration, making the discussion one that uniquely moves the reader forward in their search for truth. Interaction between contributors, when present, adds richness to the discussion but is not consistent throughout the book. Finding Ourselves after Darwin is further unified by a commitment to the doctrinal core that is accompanied by various degrees of flexibility concerning the retention of theological theories that have grown up around certain doctrines. Finding Ourselves after Darwin will help undergraduate students, pastors, and other informed Christians pursue a coherent and scientifically informed faith. *Reviewed by Charlotte Combrink, Religious Studies at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA 93108.