Abstract

It is not inconsistent to believe in both creation and in Darwinian evolution at the same time as rejecting creationism, and endorsing a realist stance about religious and scientific language. Belief in creation is argued to be every bit as defensible as Darwinism, and reconcilable with phenomena such as predation. If (as Richard Dawkins holds) evolution is the only possible pathway to life as we know it, then a life-loving creator would select this pathway. If it is not the only possible pathway, the alternatives could well preclude the conditions of freedom among creatures, and if so, then evolution remains the pathway that a life‐lovingand freedom-loving creator would select. Evolution, however, can be argued to be more than a pathway, because of the intrinsic value of the flourishing lives (nonhuman as well as human) that emerge at every stage, and this intrinsic value supplies a further ground for belief in creation. (These are among the conclusions of my recent book, Creation, Evolution and Meaning, Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006.)