As a Theistic Evolutionist, why would God use death to…
As a Theistic Evolutionist, why would God use death to form His creation?
Originally, this problem troubled. But as I started thinking about it, it makes perfect sense within the realm of Christianity. through the death of innocent animals humans were able to evolve. We would not be here if the dinosaurs didn’t go extinct, because their Extinction allowed for mammals to evolve. The death of innocent animals gave rise to humans, the epitome of God’s creation.
In the same way, the death of another innocent animal, Christ (who is called “The Lamb of God”) gave rise to Salvation for All humans. It is through his blood that we have salvation. God took the biggest tragedy in the world and made it the biggest story of redemption.
So I think we can look at Evolution as a foreshadowing of Christ in that way. We should expect the same God who kills his innocent son to kill innocent animals, both of which lead to something insurmountably good. The death of animals is clearly a sign and a foreshadow of Christ’s atonement (especially since animals were used in sacrifices to atone for sins in the Old Testament).
So, I think something along the lines of evolution would be expected under Christian thought, because it perfectly illustrates the way Christ came into the world and saved us all.
Colossians 1:16, “In him ALL THINGS were created….all things have been created through him and for him.”