by Billy Findley, Triangle Staff Writer

The upcoming Center for Origins Research (CORE) symposium promises to be enlightening and engaging for students who attend. Though Associate Professor of Science and Director of CORE Dr. Todd Wood says the debate over evolution and creationism is nowhere near reaching a termination point, he does say it should be conducted more civilly than it has in the past.

CORE will be hosting the “War and Peace: 150 years of Christian Encounters with Darwin” symposium Feb. 27-28. This symposium will feature several knowledgeable speakers including Dr. Ed Davis from Messiah College (Grantham, Penn.), Dr. Stephen Matheson from Calvin College (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Dr. Jon H. Roberts from Boston University (Boston, Mass.) and Dr. Todd Wood, from here at Bryan College.

CORE Director Dr. Todd Wood will host the upcoming Bryan Institute on Christian encounters with Darwin.
CORE Director Dr. Todd Wood will host the upcoming Bryan Institute on Christian encounters with Darwin.

The conference will focus primarily on the initial impacts of Darwinism and its effects on the Christian community, according to Wood.

“I think it’s impossible for Christians to confront the culture and not be aware of these issues,” Wood said.

Several topics will be discussed in the conference. Roberts will be discussing the American Protestant reception of Darwinism, a reception which, according to Wood, led to a fracturing of the Protestant community in the late 19th century. Davis will be explaining the usage of cartoons by anti-evolutionists in the 1920s.

Along with being informative, some guest speakers may intrigue attendees with fresh perspectives on the evolutionary theory. According to Wood, Matheson will be representing the reformed perspective of the origins issue.

“He is the voice of that part of Christianity that accepts evolution as true,” Wood said, referring to Matheson.

Feb. 10-14, Wood along with Associate Professor of Bible Dr. Ken Turner and Assistant Director of CORE Dr. Roger Sanders, helped conduct a symposium conference in England on Charles Darwin’s controversial book “Origin of Species.” Their goal was to offer a Christian perspective on the book and, according to Sanders, the audience response was mostly positive.

“We felt we were supporting creation science,” Sanders said. “We tried to offer constructive research that is based on a Christian worldview.”

The topic of Darwinism versus Creationism is not as “contentious” a subject in England as it is in America, according to Sanders. However, there was a reporter from the local newspaper present whom Sanders said would more than likely print an unfavorable report on their Christian viewpoints.Along with holding the conference, the CORE team was also to able to visit Cambridge, one of the universities Darwin attended. For Sanders, the experience was exciting, allowing the team to “walk in Darwin’s footsteps.”

Dr. Roger Sanders and Dr. Todd Wood at work in the Bryan Center for Origins Research (CORE).
Dr. Roger Sanders and Dr. Todd Wood at work in the Bryan Center for Origins Research (CORE).

This year not only marks the 200th birthday of the renowned founder of evolution but also the 150th anniversary of “Origin of Species.” According to Turner, some pro-evolutionary groups are making a big deal about it.

“‘Origin of Species’ gave people who were antagonistic to faith grounds for their positions,” Turner said.

There are some critical things people should understand regarding the issue of human origin, according to Turner. First, he says it is important not to make secondary issues primary issues. In other words, Christians should not place the study of origins above the primary message of the Bible.

However, Turner does say Christians shouldn’t just blindly accept what they’ve been taught all their lives either.

Turner says he remembers asking in one of his classes, “How many of you were raised thinking there was only Darwinian evolution or young-earth creationism?”

“Half the class raised their hands,” Turner said.

Both Turner and Wood believe students should be aware of issues and ideas they’ve never thought about before. This coming symposium may be critical to helping students in this regard.