1. Introduction:

More than ever the question of ‘Creation and Evolution’ is much discussed now. Very often it is discussed in a mutually exclusive sense: either creation or evolution and vice versa. In the West it is so much talked about regarding which theory is to be taught in the school with respect to the origin of the universe: Whether God created the universe or whether everything in the universe evolves (automatically depending on ‘selection rule’) from lower beings. Option for the creation theory is based on the teaching of the Bible (that is, of theology) combined with the tradition of the Church and evolution is based on scientific claims. What is lacking here is a holistic view about the reality. If one can understand that both theology (religion) and science seek after truth (which is one reality), it is not difficult to see that often they are complementary in serving human beings to comprehend reality as it is.  Often what science cannot believe and what faith cannot reason out culminate as a challenge to the human understanding of reality. Thus the human being becomes the integrating entity where religion and science converge and find their ultimate meaning regarding reality.

If the human being were to stand on the shore of the sea of wisdom – He/she is approached by the waves of reason originating from science as well as by waves of faith originating from religion. In keeping the balance between the two (often challenging each other) aspects, Jesus stands out as the beacon to guide one through the waves of uncertainty and to help us walk on the water as he helped once Peter (Mt 14:29).

The secret of understanding the contradiction between creation and evolution lies in accepting the basic and underlying principle, namely, God is the basic origin of reality (organic or inorganic). Now the question is how life comes into the world. The question is whether God is at work at every emergence of higher and complex life (creationism) or whether there is a built-in mechanism already in inorganic elements that in course of time explodes into life (evolution). Even if we accept that God created the universe, the question still remains whether he created out of nothing (creatio ex nihilo) or he sustains the world by continual creation (creatio continua). It also depends how one views the reality: One way of looking at the reality is that creation is the starting point and the continual process is the evolution.

As the recent encyclical ‘Fides et Ratio’ (Faith and Reason) indicates in the very beginning, faith and reason are the two wings that elevate one’s spirit to reflect on reality (truth).  Here Solomon stands out as our model – He asked of Yahweh: a discerning mind and an understanding heart (I Kg 3:9). In the same way we are to ask of God a discerning mind in order to reason out and accept the theory of evolution and an understanding heart to believe that God is the origin of every reality in whom every thing exists, moves and has its being as Paul would put it (Acts 17:28). After considering the various theories on either side we shall find ourselves coming to a convergence where evolution-theory and creation-faith converge into a ‘creation in evolution’.

1.1 Concept of Evolution and Creation:

Evolution (from the Latin word evolvere) means ‘to develop into something’. It is not simply just a change but development into ever complex substance leading to formation of life. In biology evolution implies the development of plants and animals from lower basic life forms or elements. In our context it is the development of life that has the ability to become a human life (and even beyond human life, that is, after physical evolution, intellectual evolution and spiritual evolution) (Kull p.1). It is understood that there was some original substance to develop into complex being. Here time element is very important for the development of material substance into being (and further into life).

Many scientists believe that in the giant laboratory of the earth (over 4 billion years ago) elements of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen have combined to form complex molecules. In the process perhaps a particular combination might have triggered off the most intriguing and fascinating process called ‘life’.  The material basis could be a polymer, called protein, which got synthesized from simple chemical compounds like methane, ammonia and carbon dioxide. The life thus began, got further evolved through the ages till it became ‘human’. The polymer could be a few billion years old but human beings are the new comers in the universe (about 100, 000 years) (Gowariker et al p.1).

On the other hand creation means to bring out something out of nothing.  Here it means the whole universe has been brought out into existence out of nothing. Here ‘time’ also is created – In other words ‘time’ began with the act of creation (Koltermann 1994, p.78). So time has had a beginning but it also, so to say, evolves into and merges with eternity.

Creation can be viewed in various different ways:

1. In a neutral sense it would mean the dependent formation of the universe from an Absolute power.
2. A pantheistic view would be that the Absolute takes various forms (without, however, losing its basic identity). Here there could be the difference between the Creator and the created (creature).
3. The third view is called emanation: All beings flow out of the Absolute and exist formally with God’s power. God exists as the power-house for the flow of life but the emanated being never becomes God (Kolterman 1994, p.79).

Here is the confrontation between reason and belief regarding whether life evolved from matter (with its built-in power) or was it brought into existence by an external absolute power.  For a better understanding of the reality both reason and belief must go hand in hand.

2. Evolution:

In this section we can go over a few of the theories about evolution. There are many new theories formulated and we cannot treat all the existing and possible theories here.

2.1 Cosmic Evolution:

From the time of the so called ‘Big Bang’ till the earth’s crest was formed it is called the cosmic evolution. It is believed that the Big Bang occurred about 13 billion years ago. From then on until the earth’s crest was formed a series of changes took place on the face of the universe. This can be broadly given as follows: formation of elementary particles ® building up of hydrogen, deuterium and helium ® formation of matter ® building up of heavier elements such as magnesium, silicon, iron etc ® formation of  galaxies ® beginning of our solar system ® formation of proto-earth (about 5 billion years ago) ® formation of first formidable crest of earth (about 4.2 billion years ago). This is the macro-evolution and it subsequently led the way to chemical evolution (Erben p.18).

2.2 Chemical Evolution:

This is also called molecular- or pre-biotic- phase. The beginning of this phase began with the organic-chemical micro molecule (combining into macro molecules) and the progress continued till the emergence of bio-cell that can live by itself. At any rate this evolution is more a latent process in comparison with what was happening to the earth-phase (Erben p.19).

2.3 Biotic/bio Evolution:

According to this theory there are three criteria, namely,

1. continuous change;
2. with the existence of the component for the directional development; and
3. accumulation of information (from previous stages).

Thus when evolution is talked about in a biotic sense it is a change with accumulation of (genetic) information in a developmental direction (of more complex or higher form of life or being).  Based on these criteria various researches claim that the changes or development from the original basis could be identified through various stages of development of organic matters and lives (Kaempfe p.26).

In this phase the formation of bio-cell (the smallest entity that is capable of life) originates which contains in itself further evolution-phase. Hence this phase is called bio-evolutive process. Now begins the phase of integration resulting in various systems.  Bio-cells become the building block for further more complex structure of higher system. As a result various species come into existence (Erben p.19).

The evolution strategy here is the so called ‘crossing-over’ from lower species to higher and more complex species. This is achieved by mutation-selection-technique of chromosomes (Rechenberg p.91). This can be further understood under two categories or models, called corridor model and spherical model.

2.3.1 Corridor Model:

This model is similar to the n-dimensional euclidean geometry. Here the various qualities of a species are considered to be the various dimensional axes in the history of evolution. From one point of time to another, certain qualities would become better and certain other qualities would become worse. But we concentrate on the situation that has become better in time than the previous epoch and thus we are able to understand the better quality or even appearance of new species along the multidimensional corridor of time. According to this model, the development depends on necessary steps of mutations and probability of further success depends on the ratio of the successful mutations to the total number of mutations involved (Rechenberg pp.103ff).

2.3.2 Spherical Model:

In this model the quality of the evolution is compared to the spherical symmetry. The quality will be the same with respect to the concentric shells of the hyper-sphere. The quality becomes better with the spherical radius becoming shorter and shorter, thereby reaching the best quality at the centre of the sphere (Rechenberg p.115). Thus the evolution that began in the periphery of the universe such as elements, reaches the best quality in the centre which is the crown of the universe, namely human being.

2.4 Psycho Evolution:

Now the evolution gets transformed into immaterial effect and achievement of organisms. It starts from the perception of signal from the environment resulting in the physical reflex and psychological reaction through instinct, consciousness, thought-pattern and even leading into cultural area. Thus the evolution becomes somewhat internal – within oneself, in the frame of society and culture (Erben p.20).

Thus material evolution becomes by and by an evolution of knowledge. It is not only mere physical evolution that can be noticed in the bodily change or development but also in the ability to reflect over life situation that becomes the end product of the evolution.  Not only the human beings possess at this stage discerning knowledge (cognitive evolution) which can be established through the structure of the brain but they can also synthesize the experience and know things not only a posteriori but also a priori – This is the culmination of evolution from the physical realm to intellectual realm (Erben p.136). Further, the evolution continues from the intellectual realm into the spiritual realm, namely, as noosphere, as Teilhard de Chardin would put it.

2.5 Neo-Darwinism:

The modern evolutionary theory, which is known as neo-Darwinism, is based on modern synthesis which on the one hand retains Darwin’s principle of natural selection and on the other hand it includes the discoveries of population genetics, paleontology, systematic and molecular biology (Pollard p.3). The causes of the synthesis-theory are as given below:

1. Mutation – genetic change by chance;
2. New combination from genes by the outgoing generation;
3. Selection through the environment (implying discarding the unnecessary genes); and
4. Isolation due to geography or lack of contact or interaction. This also causes the change in the hereditary (Koltermann 1994, p.173).

In all this process, God is there transcendent though this idea is not welcome by the evolutionary scientists. It is again God in whom all these changes take place and who, in fact, makes is possible for the mutation – selection – isolation – mutation cycle. And God is the origin and goal of all beings in the universe. In everything God, ‘who is and who shall be’ as revealed to Moses in the burning bush (Ex 3:14), is the dynamic force of change and evolution.

3. Phases of Evolution:

We can see two phases through the evolutionary process. The one is the natural one and the other is the supernatural transcending the natural one.

• Natural Phase:

According to the physical development the physical evolution of mankind can be sub-divided into three groups (starting from about 2 million years) as ancient human, old human and modern human beings. The ancient human can be identified with Homo erectus who lived from about 2 million upto about 300,000 years ago. The old humans developed anatomically from the ancient human and they were similar to Homo sapiens. They lived from about 400,000 to about 35,000 years ago. The new human lived from about 40,000 upto 30,000 years ago. Apart from the physical development (evolution) of mankind what is important is the development of the intellect. Upto about 2 million years ago, from ‘animal-being’ emerged the ‘human-being’ mainly because of the intellectual development along with the physical development – Before this change ever took place, it is estimated that about 100,000 generations might gone by (Kaempfe pp.477-485).

• Supernatural Phase:

This is clearly brought out by Paul in I Cor 15:42-49. In trying to answer the question of whether there will be difference in the physical body on the occasion of resurrection of the dead, Paul is trying to bring out the ‘crossing-over’ from the natural (worldly) physical body to the super-natural (heavenly) spiritual soul. He distinguishes between natural body and spiritual body. In this passage what is implied is that the material world with its various forms and nature will be transformed in the future. At some point in the time axes of our history the physical or material body was elevated or transformed into a body with life (or soul) which then transcends even time (as it has the spirit). The bridge to cross over between the material world and the eternal world is brought about by faith. He who believes has eternal life (Jn 6:47).  Thus ‘cross-over’ is from being material into becoming  (immaterial) spiritual (Hulsbosch pp.21ff).

Based on transformation or cross-over, Popper divides the universe into three ‘worlds’. World 1 consists of physical organisms, bodies and forces as well as physical, chemical and biological processes within living bodies.  World 2 is the world of our mind with its conscious experiences of thoughts, feelings, action plans etc. World 3 contains the products of the human mind including the cultural, technological, medical developments with their respective theories (Pollard p.252). But we have to think of World 4 which emerges into the realm beyond human mind, that is, the soul and all that pertain to its progress – This is the development towards, in the words of Teilhard de Chardin, the Omega point. The culminating point is Jesus who became Christ in and through whom the created converges into the Creator.

4. Origin of Life:

In the creation story as given in the book of Genesis we see that first inanimate elements were created, followed by animate beings, and the culmination was human being as the crown of creation. As we read in Gen 1:1-27 first there came into existence inanimate matter (heaven, earth, light – on the first day/stage of creation) followed by the medium essential for the origin and existence of life, namely, water (on the second day/stage). Then life appeared starting from vegetation (on the third day/stage). A conducive atmosphere for the development of life is created in the form of light/darkness (on the fourth day/stage). Then life so created develop into ‘every kind of living creature’ (on the fifth day/stage) and finally ending up in human beings having intelligence and soul (on the sixth and final day/stage of creation) (Xavier 1996). Finally God creates humans in his own image and likeness – Already human beings are elevated from the earthly (material) being to trans-world (spiritual) being. The difference comes in God breathing into human being life-giving breath. Is this different from ‘life’ in other creatures, say plants and animals? It is interesting to inquire into the origin of life.

Life originates from bigger and more complex molecular structure. The building up of bigger and more complex molecular structure is called polymerization. From the polymers originates protein that contains the nucleic acid. Nucleic acids contain the so called DNA, the data bank of each species. But in the beginning of the universe, it is assumed, that there was moisture, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and also oxygen. It might have been possible that hydrogen molecules were able to bind with each other and with other elements especially with carbon in order to become bigger as well as more complex molecules.  Here carbon is understood as the basic material from which living beings have originated. This was made possible in the presence of a medium that created a favourable (optimum) condition for the building up of complex material. This medium is none other than water.  Thus living being originated from a combination of carbon and hydrogen with water as the medium for building bigger and more complex molecules (Koltermann 1994, pp.103ff). Once life began on the face of the universe, then due to adaptation and selection in a given condition, other species started to come into existence.

4.1 Origin of Human Being:

Though it is relatively easy to accept the origin of life in the universe via biological evolution, when it comes to the case of human being, it becomes more complex, even complicated and often controversial.  Though human beings might have physically the same origin of matter as other beings such as plants and animals but the evolutionary process as human beings, as the crown and steward of creation, is something fascinating.

4.2 Simultaneous bio- and psycho-evolution:

The origin of human beings is the product of two different processes which were taking place simultaneously: On the one hand it was the bio-evolution and on the other it was the psycho-evolution. Under bio-evolution, due to hybridization of protein resulting in the complex nature of DNAs, human beings, as believed by many of the scientists, evolved physically in stages from Australopithecus africanus ® Homo habilis ® Homo erectus ® Homo sapiens. But at the same time concurrently the psycho-evolution was also taking place. For example, Homo habilis possessed the ability to build up a language (mostly in the form of sounds); Homo erectus was able to discover fire and make use of it; and Homo sapiens were able to develop the language in the form of writing (symbols in the beginning) as well (Erben pp.145-150). And today mankind is able to do transplant as well as to make use of artificial organs!

4.3 Emergence of Consciousness:

The apex of the evolution is the beginning of consciousness in human being. This comes about through the formation of central nervous system consisting of various nerve cells. The communication among the nerve cells is through chemical and electrical energy transfer but the activities are coordinated from the brain. As the process becomes more and more active the experiences are stored up and thought-patterns are formed within oneself. This is called the consciousness (Bosshard pp.98-104).

4.4 Emergence of Soul:

What is specific with human being is that each one has a soul (that other  non-human beings in the universe do not possess). Now what is the origin of the soul? Does it develop with evolution or is it created with each formation of human being? There are two views regarding the formation of soul:

1. The soul emerges, so to say, into each human being when each one is biologically conceived. (This implies that evolutionary process consists of the ability to transform the consciousness as the soul. That is, soul seems to be ‘immanent’ in the matter.)
2. Soul is created each time by God when a human being is conceived. According to this the biological conception is a necessary condition without which soul cannot be ‘created’. God creates each soul as He created the world in the beginning or as He created the first human soul. So it is the direct act of God.

This concept of soul-formation is also understood as the process of becoming (according to Rahner). Though the parents are necessary for the human birth, the formation of soul is not self-replication but it is self-transcendence. Here the parents are also the cause of the soul formation since they bring forth a new human being into the world but the soul is infused into the human being through the power of God (Koltermann 1994, pp.238ff).

4.5 The Stand Point of the Church:

The stand point of the Church regarding the evolution, as in the case of Galileo’s case (Copernican revolution), has changed over the period of time. Just as the Church changed its view from geo-centric view (earth is the centre of the universe around which the sun revolves) to helocentric view (sun is the centre of our planetary system around which earth revolves) of the universe, it has changed its stand point, regarding evolution, from denying the evolutionary theory to cautious and qualified acceptance of it. The evolution-concept came also into the ream of theological thinking, especially due to Teilhard de Chardin. But the Church took a compromising position between rejecting as well as accepting the evolution theory. In 1950 Pope Pius XII accepted the biological evolution as a possibility but he warned that it should not be generalized especially with respect to the formation/creation of the soul. According to the Church soul is created by God in every human being. (The Church rejects, in this context, the polygenesis view since this cannot explain the original sin) (Bosshard pp.121f). In 1996 Pope John Paul II recognized evolution as more than a simple hypothesis.

5. Role of the Spirit in Evolution:

When we consider ‘creation’ and ‘evolution’ together, it looks like they both contradict each other. This problem comes in when one thinks of creation and evolution as either/or process. Those who are convinced that the universe exists only through evolution, often think that God is not necessary for the existence of the universe. On the other hand those who are convinced, taking literally the creation story in the Genesis, deny the evolution theory, saying only God can bring out things, beings and life out of nothing. Here we have to remember that both concepts belong to two different levels of thoughts: ‘Evolution’ belongs to the natural science whereas ‘creation’ belongs to philosophical theological level. So one cannot be tested and contradicted with the other: For example, evolution theory may not be explained based on theological reflection and creation may not be proved out of scientific proofs. Then how do we understand the reality, since reality is one? As Pope John Paul II explained that the words of the Bible ‘God spoke and it came to be….’ need not contradict the evolution theory. Further the Pope has said: Evolution assumes creation and creation is seen in the light of evolution as an ongoing process in a time frame – This can be called the creatio continua. In this process the Creator of the heavens and the earth opens our eyes of belief (in God’s action through evolution). Further, the Pope, while speaking to the members of papal academy of sciences, recognized evolution as a theory of natural science (22.10.1996). In short, we can say that God brings out life to exist (out of matter and matter itself out of nothing) and gives it the ability and possibility to develop itself (through evolution). In all this process the Holy Spirit plays a vital role. The Holy Spirit is the breath of creation. Just like he was hovering over the waters in the beginning of creation, he is even now, perhaps more intensively and closely so hovers over (touches) mankind in order to bring mankind one with Himself (Koltermann 1998).

Matter is ‘being’ and it is meant to ‘become’ something or somebody in the process of evolution. It is the spirit that brings our energy from matter, brings out life from energy, brings out consciousness from life, brings out ‘goodness’ (Godness) from the fullness of life. And when the fullness of time-space occurs here on earth the spirit brings life to its fullness in God. So matter that evolved from God in the beginning of time reaches back to God in and through the Spirit, since in all the stages of formation and transformation the Spirit is at work giving matter awareness leading to consciousness ( Xavier 1998).

Human beings are the crown of created beings. The relation of a human being to the reality is such that each one can be called a ‘microcosm’ containing within oneself the model or epitome of the ‘macrocosm’, namely, the universe. But in the case of human being there is much more than matter-energy relation. There is the consideration of human as body-mind entity leading to the possession of consciousness and soul. This is through the work of Spirit. Thus though mankind has been created from the dust of the earth, human beings are elevated to the spirit of God through human mind and soul, since each human being is ‘formed’ in the image and likeness of God in and through the Holy Spirit (Xavier 1998).

6. Creation:

Creation is to bring out something out of nothing. As Christians we believe that God created everything – And in the beginning of Genesis we read the creation story. But we should not be surprised to encounter theories other than the simple creation story (cataloguing day by day activities of God in a time frame of six days to create the entire universe). There are a few questions to be answered in the process of making clear to ourselves how God created everything. For example, is the creation is over once for all when God created everything out of nothing (creatio ex nihilo) or is God continuously creating things in the universe (creatio continua)? If God is still active in the continual creation, then all the (technical, technological, intellectual, etc) developments (that goes on even now) is creation in evolution.

6.1 Creationists:

Based on the first and second chapters of Genesis that God created the universe, those who believe in creation, reject that the universe could have evolved through a natural process. In 1963 a few scientists who were strongly convinced of creation as given in the book of Genesis founded the Creation-Research-Society. And today there are more than 2500 sister or daughter organizations that have come up. According to them the creation story is scientific and they are convinced (for example about 28% of the population in Germany) that whatever is to be known about the origin of mankind has been already said in the Bible, especially in the creation story (Koltermann 1990).

6.2 Arguments for and against Creation:

From the point of view of scientific research or from logical thinking one may accept the creation or not, depending on the evidence or conviction one has. We shall consider various arguments regarding creation.

6.2.1 Arguments against Creation:

Assuming God, who is the fullness of perfection and goodness, has created the universe, the question remains why there is lack of perfection and goodness in the world. In the earlier days people asked the question: How can one explain, if all are created equally and created from the same origin, the existence of tyranny and slavery in the world. Did God, one tends to ask, create a terrible and arbitrary world with so much of limitations? If the origin (of matter and being) is one and the same substance/person, how can one explain the hierarchy in the various types of organisms (Mayr pp.28-33)? (The existence of evil and limitations can be explained, if one accepts the concept of original sin but it is beyond the scope of this article where we try to understand the reality within the context of creation-evolution relation).

6.2.2 Arguments for Creation:

While evolution is opportunistic (natural selection), creationist view is deterministic. The nucleus of evolution theory is the complexity and diversity of species and of life. The reason given is adaptation of species, since adaptation assumes great significance when organisms are compared in the light of the theory of descent from common origin (or ancestor). This explanation of biological complexity and diversity or macroevolution, according to Riddiford and Penny, has replaced the earlier explanation proposing a divine designer (Pollard p.26). According to creationist the ‘adaptive’ explanations are scientifically inadequate:

1. The terms adaptation and adaptedness are not adequately defined. Any and every morphological, physiological, and behavioural trait is termed as adaptation. Hence the term ‘adaptation’ is used with several different meanings. Since the environment is constantly changing, an organism’s adaptedness cannot be measured absolutely.
2. Further, the adaptive explanations are ad hoc and appeal to no general rule. For example, it is said that the mammals survived the period in which dinosaurs became extinct because mammals were better adapted to the increasingly cooler temperature.
3. In the absence of knowledge about relative adaptedness and its contribution to fitness, it will be impossible to make quantitative predictions about the probability of survival of genotypes (Pollard pp.27-30).

Hence the exponents of creation theory propose and believe that God has created everything as said in the Bible. Often they believe literally whatever has been said in the Bible regarding creation.

6.3 Theories of Creation:

Even if one believes that God has created the universe with all things in it. Still there are distinctions regarding how God created the universe and the things therein.

6.3.1 Creation out of Nothing:

In Gen 1:1-3 we read: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. This is the basic concept for creation out of nothing (creatio ex nihilo). The hidden grandeur of this statement is that God is the absolute Lord of the world. Here the meaning ‘nothing’ can be interpreted in two ways as

1. creation out of chaos; and
2. creation out of nothing.

But creation out of nothing, according to the Christian tradition, is not to be understood in the most radical sense of a creation from absolute nothingness. ‘Nothing’ means simply absence of material substance or principle apart from the fullness of God’s own being. Since nothing can come out of nothing (ex nihilo nihil fit), creation out of nothing implies that God created out of nothing other than god’s own ‘fullness of being’.  Though a creation out of absolute nothingness is an impossibility; a creation out of God’s own ‘substance’ would lead to a pantheistic deification of the physical world. Creation out of nothing, therefore, signifies the theological recognition that God created a universe distinct from the divine being, not out of any preexisting matter or principle, but out of nothing other than the fullness of God’s own being (Worthing pp.73f).

This concept of ‘creation out of nothing’ is very much rooted in the Bible. Other than the basic Gen 1:1-3, we find in Job 26:7 similar idea expressed in the words: God ‘stretches the north over the empty place, and hangs the earth upon nothing’. Also in Maccabees 7:28 we read: ‘Look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed’. In the New Testament, especially in the letters of Paul, we find reference to creation out of nothing. In Rom 4:17 it is stated: God ‘gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist’.  It is more explicitly mentioned in Heb 11:3: ‘By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear’. Again Rom 11:36 reads: ‘For from him and through him and to him are all things (made)’. Thus creation out of nothing, in proper sense, is very much based on bible tradition (Worthing pp.74f).

The idea of creation out of nothing has been the universal consensus of the early fathers including Justin Martyr, Theophilus of Antioch, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen etc. St Augustine, in a classic passage from his Confessions, expressed a well developed doctrine of ‘creation out of nothing’ in which everything is created from God’s own being but not out of God’s own substance. He wrote: ‘You, O Lord…made something in the Beginning, which is of yourself, in your Wisdom, which is born of your own substance, and you created this something out of nothing. You created heaven and earth but you did not make them out of your own substance… You…created them from nothing… for there is nothing that you cannot do… You were, and besides you nothing was. From nothing, then, you created heaven and earth’ (Worthing pp.76f). The doctrine of creation out of nothing became one of the firmest parts of the general teaching of the Church concerning creation.

For Christian theology the doctrine of a creation out of nothing implies that the possibility of matter existing with God from all eternity is ruled out but God who transcends the universe can be said to have created the universe out of nothing so that it is dependent in every moment on God for its existence (Worthing p.77).

6.3.2 Continuing Creation:

If ‘creation out of nothing’ implies transcendence of God, the ‘continuing creation’ brings in the immanence of God. But we do not consider transcendence and immanence mutually exclusive affirmations about God. Theology has traditionally held the doctrines of creation out of nothing and continuing creation to be interrelated on the view that they are complementary aspects of God’s creative involvement with the physical universe. The creatio ex nihilo concept was formulated and defined at a time when the universe was believed to be static. But today we believe in a dynamic universe and hence there should be the concept of continuing creation. Barbour, clarifies this view in his words as: Today the world as known to science is dynamic and incomplete. Ours is an unfinished universe that is still in the process of appearing. Surely the coming-to-be of life from matter can represent divine creativity as suitably as any postulated primeval production of matter ‘out of nothing’. Creation occurs throughout time (Worthing p.112).

But the idea of creation out of nothing in a static world need not be replaced by continuing creation in a dynamic world. These are two complementary concepts that need not substitute one for the other. Pannenberg rightly points out: The creatio continuata formula presupposes the strict conception of creation as creatio ex nihilo inasmuch as it characterizes God’s preserving activity as the continuation of the creation out of nothing. For this reason alone the idea of a continuing creation cannot be set in opposition to the creatio ex nihilo formula (Worthing pp.112ff). Continuing creation has instead to do with God’s multifaceted immanence in the world. The God who creates ‘out of nothing’ necessarily transcends the physical reality thus created. Yet God’s transcendence does not prevent God from being present every moment and in every aspect of creation as God sustains the physical universe and the life within it in its continuous processes of dynamic flux and becoming.

Just like the ex nihilo concept, aspects of the affirmation of a creatio continua are to be found in the Bible. We read in Ps 104:24-29: O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures… When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. Similarly, the psalmist affirms the activity of the Creator in the ongoing process of our physical world when he writes in Ps 147:8-9: (The Lord) covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the animals their food, and to the young ravens when they cry. Perhaps the most frequently cited biblical text relating to continuing creation is found in Col 1:16-17 in which God’s creative and sustaining activity through Jesus Christ is explicitated: In him (Christ) all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisble,… all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Hefner, who identifies continuing creation primarily with God’s sustenance of the world, affirms that ‘creation… is not limited by what happened at the beginning when time was created. Creation also refers to God’s ongoing sustaining of the world. Every moment of the world’s existence depends upon the ongoing grace of God (Worthing pp.112-115).

6.4 Teilhardism:

For Teilhard de Chardin evolution is a reality and God is the driving force in the material level potentially converting it into ever more complex being. Teilhard tried to combine the evolutionary theory with belief in God’s creation. Of course, it implies that one cannot take literally the Genesis account of creation. According to Teilhard the proteins which originated from the inorganic materials should have the ability, due to the geo-chemical processes, to become the phenomenon for formation of life to emerge. The biological diversity in the universe has now ushered in the so called ‘noosphere’, that is, evolution of thoughts, which in effect is trying to bring forth a convergence. Convergence, for Teilhard, means unification of mankind to a universal personality in whom everything (though diverse and complex) in the universe meets and melts, so to say and fuses into one reality. This is the Omega Point who exists by himself as consummation of irreversible Principle. This, for Teilhard, is Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ the transcendence of God becomes immanent. Thus in this Omega Point God is revealed as the driving force as well as the point of unification in the biological diversity. Thus God is the Prime force of evolution and evolution is the way that God does things in the universe (Erben pp.110f).

6.5 Revelation as Creation:

Human being is not only considered as a mere physical body just to eat and drink but also it is a being that is capable of love, hope, sympathy etc. In other words human being is considered to have more than a physical body. When Wis 4:23 says that the origin of life lies in the heart, we think in terms of a soul for human being. And this soul is active along with the body. So body and soul of a human being cannot be considered as two independent entities. This is the totality of human being that transcends the visible creation as such. For example, in Ps 119:89-91, we read that the Word of Jahweh holds the firmament. But the firmament (heavens) cannot be separated from the earth. So heaven and earth together make again the totality of creation. Again Ps 148:3-6, indicates how God himself is bound with the people he created. Even if night and day fail, God will not fail in his promises, it says. It is again encouraging to see who has brought out the order and harmony in the universe as we read in Baruch 3:33-35. The ‘word’ of Jahweh brings out not only the order and harmony in the universe to see but also in its functions. As we read in Ps 147:15-20, each one in the universe has his/her obligation and duty to fulfill. It is this following of each one’s ‘dharma’ so to say, that keeps the universe going as we read in Job 28:25. With this order and harmony in the universe, the human being feels joy and peace within.

From the ordinary material of the universe God creates, as we read in the Genesis, but what is important and specific and special here is that God breathes into the human being the breath of life (Gen 2:7). That is human being originates from the lower elements and organs but he/she is chosen/invited to exist in the image and likeness of God and with whom God could walk as friend and father in the garden of Eden in the cool breeze of the evening.  It is true that God created human being, as he created other beings in the universe, with his powerful ‘word’. And the same ‘word’ was the life, namely, Jesus Christ, and that Life was the light of human being (Jn 1:4). Here we find the fulcrum of the universe where the evolving earthly material world (in the form of human beings) meets the heavenly spirit. The transformation of matter into spirit takes place in Jesus through his redemptive activity (Again we are not going into the area of sin that called for redemption). This is the eschatology of the universe. As Paul says in Rom 8:19-23, the mankind takes part in the glory of God in and through his transformed creation (in Jesus Christ) and this creation, represented with human being as the apex of creation, will get into the next world (2 Pt 3:13) where God makes everything new (Rev 21:1-5).

Thus we see how God creates the material world and then brings about life from these basic elements and finally brings about human being in his own image and likeness (Col 3:10) and makes the human being capable of entering into the ongoing world of eternity (after resurrection on the so called the ‘last day’) – from this world of matter into the glorious world of spirit. So mankind once again becomes, as said in Eph 4:24, a new creation by becoming transformed into the resurrected Jesus and taking part in his holiness and glory in the eternal life (Jn 17:3) (Hulsbosch pp.60-77).

7. Synthesis of Creation and Evolution:

The question common to creation and evolution is the formation of the universe, then life from matter, and finally consciousness (culminating in the soul of human beings). This implies that the material elements have had the transcending ability to take on the form of new configuration into more complex form leading to presence of life. Thus evolution cannot be reduced just to material reduction. On the other hand the creation has to be understood as the initial motion setting in which the creation as a whole is taken along into the future and hence it is a creatio continua. Thus the transcendence of God in initial creation and the immanence of God in evolution are a synergic effect which complement each other (Bosshard pp.121f).

The evolution process is seen as a process of becoming. The scheme of micro-evolution is given as follows:

Gluon/quark (basic building blocks of matter) ® sub-atomic particles such as proton and neutron ® helium ® carbon and oxygen ® simple molecules such as water, ammonia, hydrogen ® complex molecules such as amino acids ® macromolecules such as polymers, proteins, nucleic acids ® formation of simple life such as virus, bacteria ® complex single cell to multi cell life ® organic lives (plants, animals and fungi) ® human being

In all these we see a process of ‘becoming’ into higher form of ‘being’. And there is a force that unites simple elements into complex molecules and ultimately bringing out a complex life-form in the form of human being which again becomes a being of consciousness and soul. In all this God is present as the unifying force. The Trinity stands as the unifying force, since Trinity itself is the best example of ‘becoming’ and ‘unification’ into one Godhead. So basically the universe is creation in evolution of God which is basically getting united into the Trinity (through the unifying Spirit) (Schmitz-Moorman, pp.115-130).

7.1 Omega Point:

Human beings, though originated from matter, have emerged, in and through the spirit, into the light of consciousness. And after Christ’s salvific intrusion into human history, humankind has been lifted off from the plane of individual consciousness to that of universal consciousness. And the spirit is now at work to elevate humankind from this plane of universal consciousness to the ultimate goal of reunion with the Lord of Creation, the Omega Point. The spirit is at work always taking the universe to the Prime Matter, namely, God. Even after the disintegration in Adam took place, the integration in the new Adam (Jesus Christ) takes place and the Spirit is now leading humankind on its course of action towards fullness in the image and likeness of God, the Creator. The Spirit of God is the unifying force that dynamically brings all to fruition ever since the creation began. But this is accomplished in and through Christ who is the ultimate point for all conscious matter-turned-life to reach, the threshold to Omega Point and for each individual this happens in the Christ-consciousness. Jesus Christ is the paradigm of God. In Jesus Christ we are not mere ‘human beings’ but ‘human becomings’ once again into the image and likeness of God (Xavier 1998).

In Jesus Christ, God is working as continuous and immanent Creator. In the words of Peacoke: ‘The human person of Jesus is then to be seen, by virtue of his human response and openness to God, as the locus, the ikon, in and through whom there is made open and explicit the nature and character of the God who has never ceased to be present continuously creating and bringing God’s purposes to fruition in the order of energy-matter-space-time … So, in this sense, the ‘incarnation’ which occurred in Jesus the Christ may then properly be said to be the consummation of the creative and creating evolutionary process…. and the significance and potentiality of all levels of creation may be said to have been unfolded in Jesus the Christ… Hence Jesus the Christ occupies in ‘spiritual’ history (that is, the history of the relationship of humanity with God) the place that a mutation does in biological evolution’ (Peacoke pp.81-88)

8. Conclusion:

In the process of understanding evolution and creation we should not try to identify one with the other since they are complementary to each other. Evolution is a theory, a model to explain how beings (plants, animals, human) originate from lower form of beings. Whereas creation is a belief how human beings have been called for higher form of life – not only materialistic and physical but more than that, namely, intellectual and conscious level till reaching the Omega point.

Perhaps we can understand, based on biblical theology, that God created a ‘becoming-world’ with open-space and possibility to develop itself. And this is called, by the natural scientists, evolution. Both evolution and creation are processes, one (evolution) on the physical level explaining how one ‘being’ becomes a higher being, whereas the other (creation) where the dynamic force for ‘becoming’ comes from. God is the initial dynamic force that set the evolutionary process in motion, as he created time, and He still continues the work in the universe – And this process we understand as evolution.

God who created the universe out of nothing is still at work as the God of immanence creating continually. So it is a creation in evolution. The Spirit that was hovering over the emptiness in the beginning of time, entered the matter and through its creative evolution brought out life from the matter. Once life came in, based on experience, the Spirit brought in consciousness, leading to the final form of Christ’s Abba-consciousness. The same spirit is still hovering over the universe sanctifying and converging everything, even the opposing principles, to fruition in and through Christ to the ultimate reality, ‘the Omega point’. Thus in the process of matter becoming human beings, humans becoming Christ-conscious and finally converging in God, it is the Spirit that plays the vital role. It is the same Spirit that makes each one of us call God ‘Abba, Father’ (Rom 8:15) and thereby uniting all of humankind as one family and thereby the entire universe into the fold of God’s Trinity (Xavier 1998). This is then creation which has taken the ongoing dynamic force of evolution.

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