THERE IS NOTHING BUT BLIND, PITILESS INDIFFERENCE IN THE UNIVERSE:’ EVOLUTION AND DIVINE PURPOSE

Abstract

Questions of theological interpretations of evolution seem to fall into two categories: those who see evolution as a part of God’s purposes and those who see evolution as counter to God’s purposes for creation. Invariably, these interpretations of evolution emphasise one or more commonly held aspects of evolution: either evolution is genuinely creative - so part of God’s purposes - or suffering and death are inherent parts of evolution (natural selection) - so counter to God’s purposes. However, drawing on Thomas Aquinas, this paper will argue that a third theological interpretation of evolution is possible in which God is neutral towards evolution, that is, it is neither creative and nor does it inherently contain suffering and death. This will lead to the suggestion that theology is at least reconcilable with evolutionary positions that emphasise its ‘purposelessness,’ if not that theology is more favourable to those positions.