General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: ‘God is not a magician’: Pope says Christians should believe in evolution and Big Bang [View all]exboyfil
(17,863 posts)a central tenant of Christian doctrine.
Romans 5:12
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin; and so death (Thanatos) passed upon all men, for all have sinned."
This is not the only example. It goes far beyond the Genesis account because that account is taken literally by Paul in describing Christ's sacrificial gift.
Once you start chipping away at the core understanding of Christ, I am not entirely sure when you stop. A narrative can be constructed to accommodate theistic evolution, but then you start hollowing out the central tenants of Christianity.
Several have taken a crack at it, but if you study both the Bible and evolution carefully, it becomes really hard to develop a coherent understanding of just how to reconcile both short of saying that virtually everything in the Bible is in symbolic language up to and including the death and resurrection of Christ. At that point what purpose does Christianity serve. I am still working on it in my own faith walk.
One thing everyone should agree on. If you are serious in figuring this out for yourself, you need to spend time with both the Bible and a good textbook on evolution such as Strickberger's Evolution. A used copy can be had for $2 + shipping from Amazon. I admire Ken Miller, but his book does not find a safe place for the Christian God to reside (Finding Darwin's God). If he can't do it, then I have to wonder about anybody else. Collins book is even less satisfying (The Language of God).