I’ve been having an ongoing conversation with a friend about God, Jesus, evolution, naturalism, and agnosticism. Our differences appear to be at the worldview level – the presuppositions and biases that affect the way someone thinks about the world. Long ago in German class (or maybe it was World Religions?) I learned the word ‘weltanschauung ’ – literally world view, made popular in the mid-19^th century.

My worldview is encapsulated in the first two sentences of the Apostle’s Creed:  “I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.  I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.” The one true sovereign God is maker and sustainer of everything. He works supernatural miracles according to his almighty plan and purposes.

I believe the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible as the authoritative self-revelation of the creator, providing (incomplete) information about the origins and purposes of life, the nature of man and evil, and the clear, miraculous, good news plan of redemption for mankind. There are many additional documents and much recorded history that support the facts presented in the Bible.  There are assertions in scripture that we cannot prove or disprove by observation; faith (… the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen – Hebrews 11.1) is required.

My understanding of a Naturalist worldview is that Darwin’s theory of evolution provides a basis for believing that all of creation occurred according to natural laws that can be observed through scientific methods.  I base this on quotes found in the initial chapters of Undeniable, Evolution and the Science of Creation, by Bill Nye.  “There is no way to make sense of these issues (cloning and genetic engineering) outside of an evolutionary context.” (p5)  “…natural selection is a means by which small changes can add complexity to an organism.  With each generation of offspring, the beneficial modifications can be retained.” (p23)  “You can see why people might think that these changes (small changes in DNA that occur during an organism’s developmental stage) result from conscious or willful acts, but they don’t.” (p27)  “Perhaps there is intelligence in charge of the universe, but Darwin’s theory shows no sign of it, and has no need of it.” (p46)

Darwin’s work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection is central to Bill Nye’s worldview.  There are many scientific articles, cultural inferences, and much research that support Darwin’s theories.  Naturalists will agree there is no way to prove or disprove the existence of God.  It appears that especially on matters of the origin of life, the nature of evil, self-consciousness, and maybe the lack of a fossil record of the expected millions of creatures representing the small changes the theory talks about,  faith is required to hold a naturalist weltanschauung.

My friend sees the volume of support for Naturalism as greater than the support for a Christian worldview.  Stay tuned as we continue our discussion.