Nikolai Kuvshinikov

Professor DeJong and Professor Warner

BIO-160

5 November 2018

Evolution Statement Reflection

Before coming to Calvin, I thought that most Christian colleges denied evolution

as a way of explaining the diversity of life. I used to go to a private Christian school from

kindergarten up until ninth grade, and all my teachers used to talk about how ridiculous

evolution is. In fact, my sixth grade teacher used to make us watch debates of evolution

vs. creationism, and we were pretty much forced to believe in intelligent design.

However, when I started attending public school sophomore year, I was introduced in

AP Biology for the first time in my life the theory of evolution. While it did seem plausible

to me for sure, I was so used to bashing evolution that I never really considered it an

option for a Christian to believe in it – until I came here.

The Calvin College Evolution Statement is definitely a new concept for me. It

states that while Calvin denies any theory that attempts to undermine God, they also

consider evolution to be the most unifying theory of explaining the diversity of life. This

was surprising to read, to say the least. Can Christians really believe in evolution? The

statement also says that Calvin believes in the earth’s existence for billions of years –

something I have denied my entire life. However, after being in BIO-160 and hearing

evolution taught so openly, it really has caused me to reevaluate my stance on

evolution. I am so used to denying it, even making fun of evolutionists. I think this stems

from my elementary school days, but now I see evolution in a new light. It is certainly a
very unified theory, and in the end, makes complete sense in describing the complexity

of life. I look forward to my belief and understanding of evolution to flourish even more

here at Calvin.