On this blog, I have made references to a concept that I call "Theistic Engineering" which I propose as an alternative framework meant to advance and clarify some of the ideas present in terms such as Progressive Creationism, Theistic Evolution, Evolutionary Creationism, and Intelligent Design.
Theistic Engineering as a concept is meant to advance the idea of God's pre-planning and ongoing and sustaining involvement in His creation from "before the foundations of the world" until He prepares the New Heavens and the New Earth.
Here are some of the basic ideas in a nutshell:
Theistic - this modifier refers to the one, triune God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, described in the Bible and having attributes consistent with sound, historic, orthodox, Biblical theology.
He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Colossians 1:15-17
Engineering - this is a "catch-term" meant to refer to the creative process used in engineering, namely: design, build, operate, maintain (DBOM). We cannot rightly say that "God engineered" the Universe, but we can look at a correspondence between "engineering defined a certain way" and God's creativity and sustainment of His creation.
In engineering, the DBOM approach combines responsibility of functions that are usually disparate - design, construction, and maintenance - under a single entity. In the case of Creation, that single entity is of course God.
Let's take each attribute in turn.
Design - in engineering design, specifications are determined and a system to meet those specifications is conceived and described in detail.
We see God's penchant for design played out in Exodus 25:8-9 "And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it." We also see that Noah followed a design specified by God in making the Ark. See Genesis 6:14-16
God's design for all of His creation is specifically referenced in Scripture. Here are but two examples:
- "The counsel of of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations." Psalm 33:11
- "The LORD possessed me [wisdom] at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth..." Proverbs 8:22-31
The element of design observable in Creation cannot be answered by philosophical naturalism or the mechanism of evolution operating on its own. Neither naturalism or unguided evolution produce results that meet pre-defined specifications or criteria. The term Theistic Engineering therefore encompasses much of what is meant by Intelligent Design, but extends it significantly.
Build - in engineering, the build phase corresponds to the construction of the system according to the pre-developed plan.
There are several creation narratives in the Bible, but the most obvious is Genesis 1:1-2:4 in which is described the high-level project of preparing the Heavens and the Earth. The colophon in Genesis 2:4 refers to this narrative as follows:
- "This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven." Genesis 2:4 NASB
We also get a glimpse of God creative handiwork in God's dialog with Job which begins as follows:
- "Who is this who darkens the divine plan by words without knowledge? Now tighten the belt on your waist like a man, and I shall ask you, and you inform Me! Where where you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding," Job 38:2-4 NASB
The rest of the passage tell of God building the Earth. Although it uses poetic term such as "enclosing the sea with doors" and making "a cloud its garment", none-the-less, we see that God is speaking of His work in shaping the Earth, according to His plans, into exactly what He decided it should be.
When we talk about evolution, the generic sense of the word is simply change over time. Progressive Creationism speaks of God working throughout earth's history as God progressively created plants and animals. This corresponds to the Build phase of Theistic Engineering. Microevolution operating over long periods of time under the specific guidance of a Creator produces results that scientists coming from the perspective of philosophical naturalism mistakenly assume are simply natural outcomes. We can imagine evolution to be like placing a crash dummy in the driver seat of a car equipped with an autopilot system and letting it go. The car senses an operator and follows its route. It may stay on the road for a while and get somewhere, but neither the car nor the crash dummy care about what happens. The process of evolution is not concerned about what kind of macroevolutionary changes may eventually result. Unguided, the end result is ambiguous. The failure with Theistic Evolution is that it leaves too much up to an unguided process.
Evolution is also a limited process accommodating only certain kinds of continuous change. It might be compared to sandpaper in a woodworking project. Sure, given enough time and enough sandpaper, you might be able to make a rocking chair out of a pine tree just by sanding and sanding. But the earth is a very dynamic system. Imagine standing out in a forest trying to use sandpaper to cut down the tree. Likely, over the years of effort a forest fire will come along and burn down your tree long before you ever succeed. Theistic Engineering proposes that God uses many more tools, and more appropriate tools, than just evolution to keep His project on schedule.
Operate - in engineering, the operation of the system comes as parts of the system are put in place. If you consider the building of the continental railroad in the United States in the 1800s, you realize that the built parts of the railroad were used to transport materials and tools to the unbuilt ends in order to extend them.
Psalm 104 testifies to God caring for and operating His world.
- "They [created animals] all wait for You to give them their food in due season. You give it to them, they gather it up; you open your hand, they are satisfied with good. You hide your face, they are terrified; You take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust." Psalm 104:27-29
God stays involved and operates His creation.
Maintain - in engineering, as a system is operated, it also needs regular maintenance in order to continue to function according to the original specifications.
This creation also needs maintenance in which God is intimately involved. Romans 8:21 tells us that the creation is in "slavery to corruption" and is in distress:
- For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. Romans 8:22
Psalm 104 continues the story of God operating the world that we had above (Psalm 104:27-29) with these words:
- You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the ground. Psalm 104:30
Matthew testifies to God's sustaining work:
- "...for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Matthew 5:45
And in Colossians it speaks of His supreme care:
- He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17
Theistic Engineering - DBOM
When we think of God's total involvement in His Creation, we see that terms like Progressive Creationism, Intelligent Design, and Evolutionary Creationism only approach aspects of God's creative and sustaining work. When we look more broadly, we can see a fuller picture of God's workmanship.
It's also possible to look at God as the vinedresser, the farmer, the potter, and the shepherd. He has been and is active throughout the history of the Universe.
He is also in control of everything that is happening in our world today. Just as there are people who fail to see God's hand at work in contemporary times, so too there are people who fail to see God's work over the whole history of the Universe, but it is there.
Answering The God of the Gaps Fallacy
Some atheists and agnostics will contend that Christians merely attribute to God the still-unresolved steps in the evolutionary story of life on earth. They call this the "god of the gaps" and they assume that once all the gaps are closed, the need for God will be closed as well.
In contrast, the Theistic Engineering approach helps elucidate that without God's continued involvement, the system will not meet specifications, will go off course, and will break down. When you drive by a fenced field, populated by peacefully eating cows, you know there is a farmer somewhere. He's not always standing out in the field waving to passers-by. He is the "farmer of the gaps" so to speak, but you know somewhere there is a farmer.
In the same way, we know that there is a Creator God. He is invisible, but omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent.
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