Acknowledging the natural principles of Evolution should not be seen as a threat to a belief in God. To those who see design in creation, evolution can be viewed as just another part of God's grand design. Evolution need not be pinned up against creation as if a contradiction. It's not Creation or Evolution, but rather Creation by Evolution. For additional details on this concept, refer to another article I've written dealing with this same general topic, Deist Clockwork Evolution Vs Creationism Vs Atheistic Evolution.
God designed Evolution, Darwin merely discovered it
Even the father of evolution theory, Charles Darwin was not an atheist, nor did he see his theory as competing with creation. On page 421 of the sixth edition of his "The Origin of Species By Means Of Natural Selection", Charles Darwin said, “I see no good reason why the views given in this volume should shock the religious feelings of any one.” He saw no reason for this due to the fact that in his view it was God who designed evolution, and he, Charles Darwin merely discovered it, based on natural observations.
Genesis Creation not meant to be taken literally
Nonetheless those who incorrectly take the creation story in Genesis literally, do find Darwin's “natural selection” theory shocking. However, this issue can be seen as nothing more than a matter of interpretation. For even in the creation story as laid out in the book of Genesis, if we look at the order of creation we see the general pattern of evolution, starting with the simpler lower life forms working up toward the more complex, and finishing up with us, the sentient top of the evolutionary chain. So, in the end, we can interpret these verses metaphorically as revealing that God created evolution. Considering the nature of this Genesis story, it is much more appropriate to read it metaphorically rather than literally. For if we try to take it literally, we get into some serious trouble, since there are actually two different creation stories in Genesis, and they contradict each other, when taken literally. Bearing that in mind, we simply can't take these stories literally, anyway.
Is Evolution Cosmic in its Scope?
The evolution of life is a beautiful and elegant aspect of God's design in this marvelous Universe. And while we can't be certain yet, I suspect this natural part of God's design applies throughout the entire Cosmos, which would mean that myriad life forms of many and varied types proliferate throughout the Universe, all children of the same Universal God. This conclusion is a natural consequence of believing that evolution is a natural part of God's Cosmic design.
Fractals: Finding the Patterns in Chaos
Some have expressed concern that evolution appears too random to be part of a Deist design. I believe I can partially answer that concern with a quote from page 3 of my fairly recent four page article, Is it Irrational to Believe in God? :
"...we once believed that such things as the growth patterns of tree branches, and the networks of tree roots, the contours of mountain chains, and the directional meanderings of rivers and streams were random, because that was the simplest of explanations. But with the discovery of fractal geometry, we've learned that these natural patterns conform to the mathematical principles of this beautiful geometry. These chaotic patterns were never random at all, but instead so complex in their geometry that they appeared random to us before we understood the fractal mathematical principles governing them..."
Let me add to this quote by saying that just as these patterns appeared random to us, before Benoît B. Mandelbrot discovered fractal geometry, there may be yet undiscovered principles of evolution incorporated into its design, which once realized, will expand our currently limited perspective and help us see the extent to which it is not random, at all. It may well be that from our finite point of view, we may not be capable of truly comprehending the way God uses what we see as random as a complex part of Cosmic design.
Random or Ordered?
I remember once seeing a sculpture. I'm sorry to say, I've forgotten where. Nonetheless, when one looked at this sculpture from most perspectives, it appeared to be little more than a jumbled mess of random forms, representing nothing comprehensible. However, when one changed ones point of view and looked at it from a specific angle, suddenly an ordered pattern molded into view. This sculpture wasn't just a random mess after all; it had design.
The Quest has only just begun
We've only just begun to glean knowledge of the wonderful Universe in which we live, and as we gather more we start to catch a glimmer of Cosmic Design. The Universe is much more complex than that sculptor's creation, so it may take us longer to find the necessary knowledge to expand our perspective enough to see the order in chaos, but if we keep searching we will find it. There remains much more to learn. We are far from knowing all there is to know. The quest continues.
