Evolution, Suffering, Omniscience and the Kenosis of Jesus Christ –Attempts at a Synthesis

At present, an intensive search is underway for a synthesis that satisfactorily explains the existence of evil and suffering against the background of the evolution of living beings and essential attributes of the Christian God. The methodological approach of this paper was to combine fundamental s...

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Main Author: Andreas May
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Simpson Ungaran 2025-07-01
Series:Evangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat
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Online Access:https://journal.sttsimpson.ac.id/index.php/EJTI/article/view/986
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author Andreas May
author_facet Andreas May
author_sort Andreas May
collection DOAJ
description At present, an intensive search is underway for a synthesis that satisfactorily explains the existence of evil and suffering against the background of the evolution of living beings and essential attributes of the Christian God. The methodological approach of this paper was to combine fundamental statements of the Christian faith, results of research in modern theological and philosophical publications, and findings of the natural sciences. The first attempt explains suffering and evil in the world in terms of evolution and human free will. The second attempt also takes into account the Angelic Fall and the Adamic Fall. The third attempt adds the following working hypothesis: God the Father is timeless. In contrast, God the Son, as part of his kenosis, subjected himself to time not only during his life as a human being on Earth, but also before and after. Various consequences of this working hypothesis were considered. The contribution of this working hypothesis is that it resolves the conflict between the free will of creatures and the omniscience of God and explains some other theological questions: The incarnation of Jesus Christ as a response to the Fall, the intra-Trinitarian dialogue and the significance of God the Father for creation.
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publisher Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Simpson Ungaran
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series Evangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat
spelling doaj-art-dd506b6af8564bdd9fc0838d6709a3002025-08-20T03:15:53ZengSekolah Tinggi Teologi Simpson UngaranEvangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat2548-78682548-75582025-07-019210.46445/ejti.v9i2.986Evolution, Suffering, Omniscience and the Kenosis of Jesus Christ –Attempts at a SynthesisAndreas May0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6714-3925University of Pretoria At present, an intensive search is underway for a synthesis that satisfactorily explains the existence of evil and suffering against the background of the evolution of living beings and essential attributes of the Christian God. The methodological approach of this paper was to combine fundamental statements of the Christian faith, results of research in modern theological and philosophical publications, and findings of the natural sciences. The first attempt explains suffering and evil in the world in terms of evolution and human free will. The second attempt also takes into account the Angelic Fall and the Adamic Fall. The third attempt adds the following working hypothesis: God the Father is timeless. In contrast, God the Son, as part of his kenosis, subjected himself to time not only during his life as a human being on Earth, but also before and after. Various consequences of this working hypothesis were considered. The contribution of this working hypothesis is that it resolves the conflict between the free will of creatures and the omniscience of God and explains some other theological questions: The incarnation of Jesus Christ as a response to the Fall, the intra-Trinitarian dialogue and the significance of God the Father for creation. https://journal.sttsimpson.ac.id/index.php/EJTI/article/view/986Adamic FallChristologyOmniscienceTheodicyTimelessness
spellingShingle Andreas May
Evolution, Suffering, Omniscience and the Kenosis of Jesus Christ –Attempts at a Synthesis
Evangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat
Adamic Fall
Christology
Omniscience
Theodicy
Timelessness
title Evolution, Suffering, Omniscience and the Kenosis of Jesus Christ –Attempts at a Synthesis
title_full Evolution, Suffering, Omniscience and the Kenosis of Jesus Christ –Attempts at a Synthesis
title_fullStr Evolution, Suffering, Omniscience and the Kenosis of Jesus Christ –Attempts at a Synthesis
title_full_unstemmed Evolution, Suffering, Omniscience and the Kenosis of Jesus Christ –Attempts at a Synthesis
title_short Evolution, Suffering, Omniscience and the Kenosis of Jesus Christ –Attempts at a Synthesis
title_sort evolution suffering omniscience and the kenosis of jesus christ attempts at a synthesis
topic Adamic Fall
Christology
Omniscience
Theodicy
Timelessness
url https://journal.sttsimpson.ac.id/index.php/EJTI/article/view/986
work_keys_str_mv AT andreasmay evolutionsufferingomniscienceandthekenosisofjesuschristattemptsatasynthesis