Next year is the 200th year since Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th year since the publication of On the Origin of Species. Marking this occasion, Answers in Genesis has devoted the forthcoming edition of its Answers magazine, Vol. 4, No. 1, to an examination of Darwin’s life and legacy.

BCM’s Paul Garner has contributed an article to this edition entitled ‘Do species change?’ which takes a historical look at the debates about species change both before and after Darwin.

Two articles by Dr Roger Sanders examine the life of Darwin, offering some revealing insights into how his ideas developed and his own heart-rending personal struggle with suffering.

These articles are freely available here as a sneak preview of the new edition.

On Saturday 29 November, Dr Steve Lloyd of BCM debated Dr Denis Alexander on Premier Christian Radio’s Unbelievable programme. Hosted by Premier’s Justin Brierley, the subject of the debate was the theological implications of the theistic evolution position articulated in the recently published book by Denis Alexander, Creation or Evolution: Do we Have to Choose? (Monarch, 2008).

The programme can be heard again on the Premier Radio website:
www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable

Steve argued that the Darwinian story of history is incompatible with the biblical, gospel story. Denis’s commitment to the truth of Darwinism requires a rewriting of central areas of Christian theology – including our understanding of Adam, the fall, the cross and the resurrection. This attempt by Denis to reconcile the Darwinian and biblical stories is well intentioned, but it renders the biblical story incoherent as well as being an apologetic and pastoral liability.

Steve’s arguments can be explored further in a chapter entitled ‘Christian theology and neo-Darwinism are incompatible: an argument from the resurrection’ to be published by Paternoster as part of a multi-author book, Debating Darwin, in May 2009.

It has come to our attention that the personal details of one of our employees were included on the British National Party contact list recently published on the internet. However, we wish to state that none of our employees or trustees is a member or supporter of the BNP and never has been in the past. Indeed, the person named is not a member of any political party. The website where these details were published recognises that the list includes individuals who have never supported the BNP.

All of us, as individuals and as an organisation, are glad of this opportunity to explain that any form of racism is entirely incompatible with creationism. The biblical doctrine that the entire human race is descended from Adam and Eve and made in the image of God is the only robust basis on which to affirm the unity, dignity and worth of every member of the human family.