Language of God

Janet Kellogg Ray returns to Language of God to talk with Jim Stump about her new book, Fish with Feet: Human Evolution in the Image of God. For many Christians, evolution becomes especially difficult when the story reaches human beings. What does it mean to say that we share ancestry with other animals? And does that threaten the belief that humans are made in the image of God?

Ray argues that understanding the long evolutionary history that connects us to the rest of life need not diminish human dignity. Instead, it can deepen our understanding of what it means to bear God’s image—not as a particular physical or mental trait, but as a calling to represent God and care for creation. Jim and Janet discuss the evidence for human evolution, why that evidence can provoke such a strong reaction, what we can and cannot say about God’s role in the evolutionary process, and how our place in the family tree might give us an even greater sense of responsibility for the rest of creation.

Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Konstantin Garbuzyuk, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.