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- Robert Jenson on Atonement: Part 1
- Pneumatological Arianism in the Reformed Tradition...
- Horton on Divine Causality.
- Gustaf Wingren on the Work of Christ.
- Werner Elert on Atonement.
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About Me
- Dr. Jack Kilcrease
- Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
- I am a Lutheran layperson and an adjunct professor of Theology and Humanities at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids. I grew up in Oregon and attended Luther College in Iowa (B.A. History and Religion) and Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN (M.A. Doctrine and Theology). I graduated in 2009 from Marquette University with a Ph.D in Systematic Theology. My master's thesis was a comparison of Luther and St. John of Damascus concepts of Christology and atonement. My doctoral dissertation was a critique of the atonement theology of Gerhard O. Forde and my suggestion of a confessional Lutheran alternative. I am also the author of the following articles: "Gerhard and Chemnitz on the Salvation of the Unbaptized," "Evangelical and Catholic? The Conservative Reformation's Scriptural Principle and the Catholicity of the Gospel," "Kenosis and Vocation: Christ as the Exemplar and Agent of Christian Freedom," "Gerhard O. Forde on the Law." I presently have a book on Lutheran Christology under submission at Wm. B. Eerdmans and am working on making my dissertation on Gerhard Forde into a book. I am married to the historian Dr. Bethany M. Tanis (now Kilcrease).
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Happy to oblige.
ReplyDeleteThe question is fairly well-trodden ground among conservative Christians because of its implications for theistic evolution/old-earth/young-earth creation. The idea that "God used evolution" to achieve creation implies that death is just a part of life, in fact death is part of God's good plan which brings forth new life.
Of course, said that way, it sounds very anti-Christian, doesn't it?
Yes, certainly.
ReplyDeleteI was interested in the question because I'm thinking of writing an article on the subject. Namely, from my reading, I've uncovered that prior to the whole debate about Darwinism, Christian theologians had very little problem positing death in animals prior to the Fall. Like I noted, Luther and Aquinas, as well as Gerhard assume that such took place. Afterwards, since the idea of death of animals prior to the Fall becomes associated with evolution, I've found that Christians tend to reject the idea. I'm looking into doing research as to when the attitude changed. In any case, whether or not the attitude changed, the position that most people on here expressed seems to be more exegetically defensible.
Now my interest is piqued from an historical point of view. Why would a Christian suggest that animals died before the fall? Did they simply assign immortality to the imagio dei (which I don't really see in Scripture)? Did they have any theological interest, or was it more a passing thought?
ReplyDeleteSeems to me a little like Augustine suggesting that the days of Genesis are figurative because it wasn't fitting for God to take so long. I've never really been fond of discussing what's fitting for God, unless of course God said it was fitting for Him.