Can Christians Believe in Evolution?

Christians confess that God created the heavens and the earth and made human beings in his image. They do not agree on the age of the earth or on whether God used a long process of change. The Catholic Church treats scientific study of the age of the cosmos as reason to admire the Creator. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod teaches that God created all things in six days and that Adam and Eve were the first two people.

Key points

• Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.Genesis 1:1 · King James Version says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
• Genesis 1:27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.Genesis 1:27 · King James Version says God created man in his own image, male and female.
• John 1:1–3^1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ^1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. ^1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.John 1:1–3 · King James Version says the Word was God and that all things were made by him.
• The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 283, says scientific studies of the age of the cosmos and the development of life-forms “invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator.”
• The LCMS FAQ says the Synod has no official number for the age of the earth, and that it affirms creation “in six days by a series of creative acts.”
• What does the Bible say about homosexuality? quotes Jesus using this same creation account for marriage.

What the Bible says

Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.Genesis 1:1 · King James Version (King James Version) says:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Genesis 1:1 · King James Version

Genesis 1:27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.Genesis 1:27 · King James Version (King James Version) says:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 1:27 · King James Version

John 1:1–3^1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ^1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. ^1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.John 1:1–3 · King James Version (King James Version) says the Word who was God made all things:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Colossians 1:16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:Colossians 1:16 · King James Version says all things were created by him and for him. Acts 17:24–26^17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; ^17:25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; ^17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;Acts 17:24–26 · King James Version says God made the world and made of one blood all nations of men. The Christian claim is that this Creator is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and that the Son is Jesus. That confession is the Trinity and the deity of Christ.

Where churches stand

Most denomination pages fetched for the other articles on this shelf do not print a paragraph on evolution. They are not quoted here. A Gospel Topics page on creation did not include the entry’s text in the fetch, so The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not quoted. A Jehovah’s Witness page on evolution that was requested returned an error, so it is not quoted.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 283, says:

The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life-forms and the appearance of man. These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give him thanks for all his works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers.

Paragraph 283 then quotes a line it attributes to Solomon. The catechism’s note points to Wisdom 7:17–22. This site has no page for that book. Paragraph 337 says:

Scripture presents the work of the Creator symbolically as a succession of six days of divine “work”, concluded by the “rest” of the seventh day. On the subject of creation, the sacred text teaches the truths revealed by God for our salvation.

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod FAQ, a synod answer page rather than a new confession, says the Bible does not tell how old the earth is, and that it is not the Synod’s position that everything in the Bible is to be understood “literally.” It then says:

There is nothing in the Bible itself to suggest that the creation account is not meant to be taken literally.

It quotes 1967 Resolution 2-31:

God by the almighty power of His Word created all things in six days by a series of creative acts

and that “Adam and Eve were real, historical human beings, the first two people in the world.”

I can’t become a Christian because of evolution

Some people were told that trusting Jesus required a date for the earth that their science class denied. The two church texts above already disagree with each other about how to read the six days. Both still confess a Creator. John 1:1–3^1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ^1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. ^1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.John 1:1–3 · King James Version says the Word was God and that all things were made by him. Becoming a Christian, on this site’s confession, is trusting that Jesus, who is that Word made flesh (John 1:14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.John 1:14 · King James Version).

Frequently asked questions

Does the Bible give the age of the earth?

Genesis 1 narrates six days and does not add a year count in the verses quoted here. The LCMS FAQ says the Bible itself does not tell how old the earth is. The Catholic catechism treats studies of that age as enriching knowledge of the Creator’s work.

Can a Christian say God created through a long process?

The Catholic paragraphs quoted above speak of the development of life-forms and of the six days as a symbolic presentation of truths God revealed for salvation. The LCMS paragraphs quoted above say the creation account is to be taken literally and that Adam and Eve were the first two people. Those are two published readings. This page does not add a third.

Who made the world, in the Christian confession?

Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.Genesis 1:1 · King James Version says God created the heaven and the earth. John 1:3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.John 1:3 · King James Version says all things were made by the Word, and John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James Version says the Word was God. Does God exist? is the longer page on that claim.