© The Author(s) 2016 297
K.J. Archer, L.W. Oliverio, Jr. (eds.), Constructive
Pneumatological Hermeneutics in Pentecostal Christianity,
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-58561-5_18
CHAPTER 18
Let There Be Life!: Toward a Hermeneutic
of Biological and Theological Integration
B. K. (Bev) Mitchell
B. K. (Bev) Mitchell ( )
University of Alberta , Edmonton , AB , Canada
Por medio de él todas las cosas fueron creadas; sin él, nada de lo creado llegó
a existir. En él estaba la vida, y la vida era la luz de la humanidad. Esta luz
resplandece en las tinieblas, y las tinieblas no han podido extinguir la.
Juan 1: 3–5 Nueva Versión Internacional
The unfortunate, and ultimately unnecessary, confl ict between Bible-
believing Christians and the well-established fi ndings of modern science
will become far less acute as we develop better hermeneutical approaches.
As an emeritus teacher, researcher, and administrator in the biological sci-
ences, and a Christian who has enjoyed the blessing of fellowship over
the decades with a range of nonjudgmental Arminian believers including
Wesleyan, Baptist, and Pentecostal, it was not surprising to be warmly
received by the philosophers of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. This
is because SPS is allowing faithful hermeneutical explorations that are tak-
ing a “complementary-not-convergent” stance toward Scripture/science
realities, as opposed to a confrontational one. From the perspective of an
unapologetic scientist, this is most encouraging. The old adage attrib-
