555 - Biblical Faith: An Evolutionary Approach

Biblical Faith:
An Evolutionary Approach
By Gerd Theissen
Philadelphia, Fortress, 1985. 194 pp. $8.95.

Scholars enjoy discovering new ways to cultivate the biblical field. Wherever the dead hand of fundamentalism has been removed, they enthusiastically embrace innovative interpretations, ever hopeful of bringing forth overlooked and hidden riches in the texts. In this volume, the field is plowed with the aid of the controversial theory of evolution, by which to expound upon and yet to mediate the conflict between science and religious faith.

Initially, Theissen sets scientific statements in complete opposition to what he takes to be the positions of faith. Although he admits that this formulation is exaggerated, it so governs the theme of his book that the conflict is not one whose conceptions are on equal footing. Religious faith could more properly have been compared to the faith that energizes the scientific enterprise, while science could have been compared to some specific theology. In his terms, however, science is a method of inquiry issuing in hypothetical statements, whereas faith speaks apodictically. Whereas scientific statements are subject to falsification, faith flies in the face of facts. Science feeds on dissension, while faith demands consensus based on certain kinds of authority. One need hardly mention that this way of stating the case immediately provokes serious questioning. Nevertheless, the author's larger purpose is served, and that is to argue that each approach, when adequately modified, complements the other in coming to terms with "reality."

Biological evolution, representing science, provides the model by

556 - Biblical Faith: An Evolutionary Approach

which to understand cultural evolution, of which religious faith is an essential feature. Both biological and cultural evolutionary development presuppose variation, selectivity of variants, and their preservation under certain conditions. Mutations occur, some of which find successful lodgment in the process; others go by the board as they are ruthlessly selected out. From this point on, Theissen traces the analogies between the two forms of evolution, on the one hand, and faith as described in the Bible, on the other. These analogies, with allowance made for obvious differences in content, enable the reader to understand more adequately how the theological ideas in the text exemplify evolution and are elucidated by it. As biological and cultural evolution seek by trial and error ever more satisfactory adaptations to "reality," so also does faith adapt the whole of life to "reality" now designated as God.

The concept of "mutation" plays a crucial role in this development. First, in the Hebrew Bible, the mutation from polytheism to monotheism occurred, which proved to be a superior adaptation to God. The second mutation came about in Jesus Christ, who revealed God and a new form of life. This mutation was a leap beyond what might have been expected or had happened. In keeping with the author's fundamental theme, it would seem, then, that this mutation implies that the previous monotheistic mutation was not successful. When Theissen claims that "every page of the New Testament expresses the conviction that a fundamentally new form of humanity" appeared in Christ, exceeding all previous human possibilities, he seems to have jeopardized the value of the first mutation. And this impression is strengthened by his affirmation that the new life in Christ matches God better than all its predecessors. We seem to have here a theory of progress that reduces Judaistic monotheism to an inferior position. The third mutation in the series is that in which the Holy Spirit grasps the disciples of Christ, past, present, and future. In this mutation, the author claims, one can see at last that what the Bible sets forth is no impotent dream, but the goal of human existence, the final adaptation to ultimate reality.

This is an ingenious book based upon organic analogies. However, it must be asked if the concept of evolution can be appropriately applied to either culture or religious faith. Analogical reasoning is always risky. And does not the notion of adaptation itself limit by definition God's initiative in grace, thus making human beings the sole actors in the divine-human dialectic? Yet, in spite of the multitude of questions and arguments this book is bound to evoke, it is an interesting example of how concepts drawn from what appears to be an alien realm of discourse incite reflection in a field where at present it is hard to come by originality. Theissen has dared to offer an original contribution, and his book should command a respectful if critical reading.

Clyde A. Holbrook
Oberlin College
Oberlin, Ohio