I’ve been asked to answer the question of our title by dealing specifically with how Christians ought to understand Genesis 1-11.
My contention is that, properly understood, these chapters neither support nor contradict Darwinism understood purely scientifically, because their primary meaning is theological. They leave the way open for Christians to develop an understanding of Darwinism compatible with this theology.
Basic principles
God is revealed most fully in a particular person, Jesus, who lived at a particular time in a particular culture. This was the culmination of God’s ‘incarnational’ method of self-revelation in which God’s word came clothed in the words of particular people, using particular languages and particular forms of literature, all rooted in the history and culture of a particular nation. We must take this seriously when interpreting the Bible. Instead of assuming that we know how a part of the Bible should be read, we must ask some basic questions to guide our interpretation.
