A Little Deeper . . .

Yesterday in my sermon I mentioned how when God created everything in the beginning, He spoke - or preached - to the formless and void creation and ordered it. In the New Testament, Paul uses the term "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17) to describe what we are in Christ. This is not novel. The foundation of the New Testament is the Old Testament and when you hear the New Testament you should hear echoes of the Old ringing in your ears. Another example is when Jesus talks about His resurrections as "the sign of Jonah."

Those, therefore, who deny the validity and truthfulness of the Old Testament are impacting the New also. If no creation, then no "new" creation. If no Jonah, then no "sign of Jonah." If no first Adam, then no second Adam. And there's lots more examples that could be listed here.

But it occurred to me yesterday to then take this a little deeper . . .  Those who deny creation usually do so in favor of evolution of one sort or another. But in addition to "no creation, no new creation," what other impact could this substitution have on theology? If creation is really evolution, then by extension is "new creation" really evolutionary as well? Follow along:

creation (physical) -> God speaks and it is so
new creation (spiritual) -> God speaks and it is so
All God, all gift.

evolution (physical) -> gradual, self-guided process, survival of the fittest
spirituality -> gradual, self-guided process
                       decisions, progress, morality, survival of the fittest
All man, all our doing.

What do you think? Does this pattern hold? What other ramifications could there be?