God vs. Darwin (reply)

Herminio Hernandez, Jr. said...
ok, evolution is not random, but is developed by the natural world. so are you saying that nature has a will, that it guides and control the course of the universe? is nature personal? what is nature? is it soly material? there are a whole range questions that you just glossed over. to just write off the christian understanding of evolution like that i find quite surprising.

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The question is whether or not nature requires an external motive force to kick it into gear. Could be, but that’s impossible to prove empirically. Faith says it does. Science says maybe, maybe not, we can’t say. All we can do is observe. That’s why the results of our observation is given to teachers to describe, the why of that why is given to theologians to ponder and discuss.

Evolution, from my good understanding of the science and all, is simply an explanation of the observable process of how life develops. Change the landscape, and you change life, because life has an inherent insistence on adapting and diversifying as way to maintain itself. Even death has a vital role here. Genetic changes are incorporated into new life as the "older" models die off. In a prior post I noted that I don't see evolution and divine creation as inherently incompatible, as many theologians seem to.

Some folks, including physicists who understand the minute dynamics of physical reality better than we do, posit the idea of the Watchmaker, where the creative force sets the universe into motion under clear and observable physical rules. Another friend calls it the NFL Commissioner approach to managing reality. “Here’s the playing field, the universe, these are the rules it runs by.” Evolution, in this view, is simply the system in operation.

What is the “Christian view of evolution” to you? Does it incorporate the theory in any way?