Creation vs. evolution in new TBC biology course

by AMY DAVIS
TENNESSEE BIBLE COLLEGE

COOKEVILLE — Biology or the Bible. Must one be chosen over the other?

A course on Biology and the Bible is being offered this fall at Tennessee Bible College in Cookeville. Registration is Sept. 4 from 10 a.m. to noon at TBC. For more information, call 931.526.2616.

It's an issue being addressed in a new biology course offered this fall at Tennessee Bible College with guest instructor Ray Tenpenny of McMinnville, who'll be on the Cookeville campus Mondays from 1-4 p.m., Sept. 8-Nov. 19.

Tenpenny holds bachelor's and master's degrees in biology from Tennessee Technological University, as well as a bachelor's degree in religious education from Tennessee Bible College. He has taught biology and science at various schools, including Motlow Community College in McMinnville, Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, and high schools in Birmingham, Ala., and Atlanta, Ga. He has also worked for the Centers For Disease Control in Atlanta.

Ray Tenpenny

"With his background in both biology and the Bible, Brother Tenpenny is well qualified to teach this course at Tennessee Bible College," said TBC dean Kerry Duke.

Duke said the course presents biology from a biblical perspective, with special emphasis on creationism versus evolution.

"The subject is timely because of all the teaching out there on the theory of evolution," he said. "And it isn't just evolution from the atheistic standpoint. There is also the idea of theistic evolution, which says God created the world, and everything we see today evolved from lower forms of life. It's a mix between God and evolution."

Creationism, on the other hand, is the belief that all life was created by God in its original form. This viewpoint, says Duke, also spills over into the realm of morality.

"If you think, as the atheists do, that life arose spontaneously — that we all evolved from a single source and there is no God — then what real basis do you have for saying that it's wrong to kill a human being but okay to kill a mouse or a fly?" Duke said. "If you look at it from a biblical point of view, you realize that life is a gift from God and that human beings are above the animals."

He added, "Things have changed so much in this country. It used to be against the law in Tennessee to teach the theory of evolution. The Scopes Monkey Trial (Dayton, Tenn., 1925) is a good example of that. But now it's against the law to teach creation in public schools."

Following are additional courses being offered this fall at TBC:

Undergraduate

• Marriage and the Family (Glenn B. Ramsey) — M-W, 8-8:50 a.m.
• New Testament Greek I (Kerry Duke) — M-W, 9-10:15 a.m.
• Biology and the Bible (Ray Tenpenny) — M, 1-4 p.m.
• Topical Bible Studies I (Malcolm Hill) — T-W, 12:30-1:50 p.m.
• Church Growth (David Hill) — T-W, 2-3:30 p.m.

Graduate

• Biblical Doctrine of Last Things (M. Hill) — M, 8-11 a.m.
• Advanced Hermeneutics (Duke) — M, 1-4 p.m.
• Book of John (M. Hill) — T, 8-11 a.m.
• Applied Biblical Counseling (Ramsey) — T, 1-4 p.m.
• Biblical Doctrine of Free Will (Duke) — Wednesday, 8-11 a.m.

Registration is Thursday, Sept. 4, from 10 a.m. to noon. The first day of class is Sept. 8, and the quarter concludes Nov. 19.

"We try to have a good balance, a good variety of topics every quarter, and that's what I think we've got this time," Duke said.

Tennessee Bible College offers a bachelor's degree in religious education, master's and doctorate degrees in theology and a two-year preaching diploma. Scholarships and student loans are available to those who qualify. Some credits are transferable to other colleges and universities, including Tennessee Tech University.

For more information, call (931)526-2616 or visit www.tn-biblecollege.edu. The college is located at 1616 McCulley Road, Cookeville.