FREE PUBLIC EVENT: Vancouver Institute for Evangelical Worldview, Trinity Western University (Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences), and CSCA’s Vancouver chapter present a lecture by Paul Seung-Hun Yang (Physicist, Pastor, Worldview Scholar).
Creationism in Korea and Beyond: A Personal Journey
One of the topics where the relationship between science and faith can be discussed most vividly is the study of creationism. Creationism can be considered a representative multidisciplinary subject. Scientifically, it involves a complex interplay of biology, geology, paleontology, paleoanthropology, astronomy, cosmology, organic chemistry, and biochemistry. Theologically, it involves dogmatics and church history, centered on biblical hermeneutics. Furthermore, philosophically, it is connected to ontology.
While topics involving a complex interplay of various academic fields are a common phenomenon in modern scholarship, the study of creationism has a unique aspect. Because it is a study of the foundation of existence regarding oneself and the surrounding world, it can easily become a heated topic compared to others. Therefore, there is no possibility that the energy for research on this subject will be exhausted. In this presentation, I intend to examine the relationship between science and faith by briefly reviewing the history of creationism research, focusing on my personal journey.
My interest in the creationism study first began in 1978, when I was a 1st year graduate student in physics. It started after I attended an invited lecture titled “A Cosmic Interpretation of Genesis” by a professor who was both a theoretical physicist and a biblical scholar. Until then, I had never considered that Genesis could have any scientific implications. However, after listening to his lecture, I was shocked to realize for the first time that Genesis could be interpreted scientifically. Subsequently, in August 1980, when American creation scientists visited Korea and held a series of seminars on creation science (young earth creationism), I began to participate in the creation science campaign with passion.
The study of creationism had a profound impact on my academic journey, as well as on my life and career. Even after completing my doctoral degree and postdoctoral research and working as a professor at a national university, I could not let go of my passion for creationism research. Therefore, I took a leave of absence from the university to study the history of science and theology at graduate schools in the United States. My later resignation from the national university and my move to Canada to start the Christian Worldview Program at TWU’s ACTS Seminaries were also related to the study of creationism. However, while focusing on creationism research in Canada, I left the young-earth creationist camp, and I now feel somewhat more comfortable with old-earth creationism (multiple catastrophism).
Having examined the creationism controversies I have experienced for decades, I would like to propose two attitudes regarding science and faith:
First, even while accepting the authority and divine inspiration of the Bible, one must not absolutize one’s own interpretation of the Bible. Although the Bible is inerrant and infallible, its interpretation is clearly a branch of theology, which means it can vary depending on the person and the era.
Second, it is safe to say that scientific theories regarding the created world are a type of working hypothesis. This means they are hypotheses that can be modified or supplemented as research progresses. Since research into the origin of all things primarily studies events that occurred in the past, it inevitably possesses strong characteristics of a working hypothesis.
Considering the working-hypothetical nature of academic research, I believe that the study of creationism should be conducted upon the two biblical virtues of humility and provisionality. In this presentation, I will introduce some of my suggestions, but these are also working-hypothetical proposals based on limited research. I believe that when we adopt an attitude of humility and provisionality in the study of creationism, just as in other academic fields, we can learn from those with differing opinions and grow both academically and spiritually.
Paul Seung-Hun Yang studied semiconductor physics at KAIST (MS, PhD), and then worked at Kyungpook National University (Assistant Professor-Professor). He studied at the University of Chicago in Physics (Post-doc), the University of Wisconsin in History of Science (MA), and Wheaton College in Theology (MA). In 1997, he was sent by Korea’s Disciples of Evangelical Worldview (DEW) to establish the Vancouver Institute for Evangelical Worldview (VIEW) and served as its president. VIEW established a Christian worldview program in ACTS Seminaries of TWU in 1998. After retiring from VIEW in 2021, he served as the third vice chancellor (president) of Eswatini Medical Christian University (2021-2024) and then serving as its fourth president until his retirement in August 2026. He was ordained as a pastor in 2002 in Japan and affiliated with Evangelical Free Church of Canada (EFCC). From 2010 to 2021, he planted Jubilee Chapel, affiliated with EFCC, and served as its lead pastor. Yang has published several papers in semiconductor physics, science education, and history of science as well as 46 books, including “A Christian Worldview,” (CUP), and “Creationism Lecture Series” (7 vol., SFC).