It may surprise you that the answer to the question is “Yes!” There are many Bible-believing, God-loving Christians who think that evolution is an acceptable explanation for how life came about when they consider the available scientific data. However, it may also surprise you that there are a range of theories of evolution, and the popular idea that humans came from monkeys is not the only (or even primary) theory of evolution.

WHAT IS EVOLUTION?
The classic Darwinian evolutionary theory states that all species share a common ancestor, and variations amongst these species happen randomly based on an organism’s ability to adapt to different environments. Through the process of “natural selection,” the traits of the organism that best enables it to survive become more common in its descendants over time. This is the idea of the “survival of the fittest.” However, it does not explain how the first atoms came to be.

WHAT HAVE CHRISTIANS ACCEPTED?
Some Christians accept evolutionary creation or theistic evolution, whereby God is the creator of life and the first atoms, but used the evolutionary process to create all living things. The theory is that God created the first human by infusing a higher form of primate with a human soul.

Other Christians accept progressive creationism, according to which God created the first humans directly (not through evolution), but at several points in history, He also created new species by modifying existing creatures through “micro-evolution.” By this account, God would have directly created the first dog, from which new species of dogs then evolved.

One issue that Christians differ on is how literal the Genesis 1–2 account of creation is. On this basis, there are Christians who reject evolution completely and hold to young earth creationism, because they read Genesis 1 as saying that God created the world and its living things in six 24-hour days (“young earth” refers to how they do not believe that the earth is millions of years old).

DOES SCIENCE OPPOSE FAITH?
When considering views about evolution, there are some important questions for Christians to ask:
• Does this view go against core Christian beliefs (such as the death and resurrection of Jesus, God as the creator of life, and the reliability of Scripture)?
• Does it undermine the authority of Scripture given by God over our lives (2 Tim 3:16–17)?
• Does it deny that humans are made in God’s image, meaning that all human beings have inherent dignity, and the responsibility to look after God’s creation (Gen 1:27)?

Such questions help us to distinguish the ‘how’ questions that science answers (How did life come about? How did human beings become the dominant species on earth?) from the ‘why’ questions that faith answers (Why is God worthy of worship? Why love our neighbour as ourselves?).