最近，我读了一篇采访著名神学家Dr. Alister McGrath的文章。Dr. Alister McGrath应该算神学界的权威了吧？他的书在Amazon上有很多，他是Heresy：A History of Defending the Truth（异端：基督教护卫真理的历史）一书的作者。让我们看看Dr. Alister McGrath在接受采访的时候如何面对圣经真理。下面的谈话摘录自：An Interview with Alister McGrath

To the person who considers Christianity and evolution incompatible, how do you respond?

The question is, “How do we interpret Scripture and above all, how do we interpret the opening chapters of Genesis?” Certainly, in recent years, many Christians have come to think that only a literal reading of Genesis does justice to the text. I can understand where they are coming from. For me, the issue is not about the authority of Scripture, but the interpretation of Scripture. My specialty is historical theology, which means I’m always asking how Christians read these biblical passages in the past. What I noticed in the earlier period of the Christian church is that people didn’t read Genesis in that way. I think we have more freedom about how we interpret these passages than some might think. There is no doubt [the Scriptures] teach God made all things. I don’t think they necessarily teach that God made all things instantaneously at one moment in time so that what we now see is the way things always have been. I think it’s more complex than that. Augustine of Hippo gives us a useful theological framework, which means we can begin to engage questions of evolution. You can’t simply say, “It’s the Bible or evolution.” Certainly, I would challenge certain interpretations of evolution—above all, Richard Dawkins’ idea, which is atheistic. I think we need to understand both evolution and Scripture rightly.

Dr. Alister McGrath，在科学的强势影响下，他使用了另一种办法解决了进化论和圣经的冲突，他从历史中寻找基督徒对创世记支持进化论理解的例子，他最后找到奥古斯丁，所以他在纪念达尔文200周年在Christianity Today上发表了一篇文章：Augustine's Origin of Species。有意思的是，新教从教义上来讲是恢复圣经的权威性——圣经无误，但是一遇到困惑事实上使用的权威是历史人物——他们既不能证明那些历史上的权威的作品是来自圣灵的默示，又不能按照字面相信相信圣经，更不敢想象神其实愿意帮助他们回答困惑（这还了得？让神解答，对于神学家们来说，这可能是最大的异端了。）

既然相信进化论作为科学等于事实，圣经的神创造变成了有神的进化论，那么，亚当夏娃如何处理？经上明明说，

神就照着自己的形象造人，乃是照着他的形象，造男造女。创 1：27

耶和华神用地上的尘土造人，将生气吹在他鼻孔里，他就成了有灵的活人，名叫亚当。 创2：7

耶和华神使他沉睡，他就睡了。于是取下他的一条肋骨，又把肉合起来。 耶和华神就用那人身上所取的肋骨造成一个女人，领她到那人跟前。 那人说：“这是我骨中的骨、肉中的肉！可以称她为女人，因为她是从男人身上取出来的。”创2：21-23

人既然是按照神的形象造的，进化论如何解决类人猿从何时开始获得神的形象的尊荣？神把生气吹进尘土造的人身体，让人成了活人，这个特殊的人类祖先是从类人猿阶段还是从更低级的阶段获得生气的？为什么神先让人从类人猿进化成亚当，再造夏娃？证明女人天生更尊贵荣耀，因为男人是从畜生出来，女人却从人类开始？这个世界的聪明神学家所能夸口的不过是理性逻辑，问题是，面对这种理性逻辑必然导致的荒唐，他们如何面对？看看Alister McGrath如何回答亚当夏娃问题：

Do you take Adam and Eve then to be literal persons?

We need to take that text very seriously, and try and work out how best to make sense of it. Certainly, the book of Genesis is saying that we all come from the same stock. I’m still thinking how exactly we make sense of that. The text emphasizes the corporate identity of humanity. We’re all in the same boat. That’s a very important biblical insight. We’re all in the same mess, and we need someone to get us out of this mess, and that’s why salvation is such good news.

他绕了一大圈，回避了直接回答人家的问题：你相信亚当夏娃是真实的人物吗？从进化论肯定无从认同亚当夏娃的圣经字面解读，问题是这种回避最后导致的是否定了福音，这位神学家却从这种无法make sense的逻辑难题中得出结论：这是为何救恩是个好消息。

不能相信亚当夏娃的圣经字面解读，无法认同亚当夏娃是两个开始按照神的形象被造的完美人物，圣经本身就被推翻，他竟然回到福音是好消息上来。当然神学就是如此奇妙，超越人类正常逻辑，既不受无神论的理性和知识限制，又不受基督徒按照信心对圣经的相信限制，他们将教会从信心从神的话语来的信仰基础上引导进入了不可知论的迷宫。