Evolution and the Meaning of Life

1. Introduction: The Question Behind the Question

Evolution gives us a powerful understanding of life, and the New Church offers a deeper view of its meaning. 
Science has revealed a cosmos older and more intricate than anything imagined before: galaxies spinning through deep time, species branching and adapting, life constantly unfolding. Through evolutionary biology, we’ve gained not only a better understanding of where life came from, but powerful tools to help it flourish. These are tools that serve real uses in medicine, agriculture, conservation, and our shared responsibility for the environment.

That’s not a threat to faith. It’s part of it.

In the New Church, we don’t see science and religion at war. We believe the Lord works through both: through the microscope and the Word, through fossils and parables. This article explores how evolution (real, scientific, biological evolution) can be understood not as random or godless, but as a meaningful unfolding of creation, step by step, toward freedom, love, and spirit.

2. What Is Evolution? A New Church Perspective

In the New Church (a Christian religion inspired by the Bible and the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg), we believe that the Lord's love and wisdom can be seen not only in Scripture, but in the natural world as well.

Evolution doesn’t deny God. It just doesn’t speak about Him directly.

Modern biology describes how life adapts, diversifies, and changes over time. It traces the branching tree of life from single-celled organisms to the astonishing diversity of species we see today. It gives us tools to understand disease, preserve ecosystems, and marvel at the inner workings of cells and genes.

But science isn’t designed to answer spiritual questions. It tells us how, not why. It describes the mechanisms that shape life. It does not claim to say what makes life sacred, or why love matters, or what our lives are ultimately for.

That’s where theology steps in.

3. What Purpose Does Evolution Serve, Spiritually?

In the New Church, we treasure the teaching that all creation exists for a purpose. A rock supports. A tree feeds. An animal perceives. A person loves.

This hierarchy of purpose isn’t about superiority, it’s about reception. As creation rises from the elemental to the human, the created form becomes more and more capable of receiving and expressing Divine love. That’s the arc we see in evolution: not just physical change, but growing readiness for spirit.

We believe there is an inner momentum in everything. Swedenborg called this an "endeavor to be alive." We understand this as a spiritual current: the Lord is gently guiding creation toward forms capable of greater love and usefulness.
We can think of evolution not as a mistake-prone engine grinding toward complexity, but as a spiritual trajectory. It is a rising stairway of use.

Can we see evolution not just as nature’s climb, but as the Lord preparing the ground for beings capable of spiritual choice?

4. How Could the Soul Emerge Through Evolution?

We believe that human beings are not defined just by our biology, but by our ability to receive spiritual life. This is what gives humanity its sacred dignity. Think of a toddler learning to speak. The body is ready, but what matters is what can now be shared: love, truth, intention. That’s how we understand the human form: once it was ready, the Lord could begin a conversation that only spirit can sustain. At a certain point in the evolutionary process, the human form became receptive enough for the Lord to open a new degree: the spiritual mind.

This step into spiritual capacity was not a rejection or transcendence of biology, but a fulfillment of it.

Our physical bodies are shaped by millions of years of natural development. They are prepared vessels for our spiritual mind which can sense right and wrong, and choose to live from love, not merely instinct. It’s a doorway into eternity, and into the freedom to love with wisdom. It allows us to consciously return love to the One who gave us life.

5. Why Did God Use Billions of Years?

To some, the sheer scale of evolution, billions of years and oceans of time before humans even appeared can feel impersonal. Was all that really necessary? Was it just delay?

The New Church offers a different perspective: the time wasn't wasteful. It was preparatory. Just as our own lives unfold in stages (infancy, youth, adulthood, old age), so too did the natural world. Each stage built toward something more conscious, more free, more capable of love.

We believe that all of creation flows from the Lord in layers, or degrees. It’s like steps in a spiral staircase, each one building on the last. In the New Church, we believe this structure reveals how life rises from form to feeling to freedom. Minerals receive structure, plants receive growth, animals receive sensation, and human beings receive the capacity to love the Lord and the neighbor with understanding and choice. Every layer prepares for the next. Nothing is wasted.

From our perspective, evolution seems slow. But from the Lord’s view, it is a blink of an eye. A careful unfolding of love.

6. What Does Evolution Tell Us About God’s Love?

Maybe creation isn’t just about making a functioning world. Maybe it’s about making a world ready for love.

Think about your life. The long, slow process of learning, hurting, growing, healing. It doesn’t always feel efficient. But it can become meaningful. What if all of evolution is like that too?

What if fossils aren’t leftovers, but love-notes from the past? What if the bacteria, the ferns, the fish, and the forests were all part of preparing a world where the Lord could meet us, walk with us, and be loved in return?

Creation isn’t just a product. It’s a process of relationship. And the story isn’t over yet.

7. Honest Questions

Isn’t evolution just random?
It may look random, but randomness doesn’t mean purposelessness. From a spiritual perspective, the Lord can work through what seems like chance to accomplish deep, hidden order.

Doesn’t this conflict with the Bible?
Not in the New Church view. We believe that the early chapters of Genesis are symbolic, describing spiritual growth rather than physical history. In the New Church, we believe this allows us to take both the Bible and science seriously, without forcing a false choice between them. The seven days of creation reflect the stages of becoming a spiritually awake person.

Is this Intelligent Design?
We believe in design, but not in the sense of tinkering with genes. Instead, we see a built-in flow of life that shapes all creation toward higher use and deeper relationship.

So what does this mean for my life?
It means you are part of a living, meaningful story. Your life has direction. And the Lord is still creating in you and through you every day.

8. The Story Is Not Over

Evolution describes our physical past. But it can also hint at our spiritual future.

Just as life continues to adapt and grow, so do we. The Lord is always leading us upward. We move from reaction to reflection, and from survival to love.

The story of creation isn’t finished. It’s still unfolding, right now, in your choices, your questions, your care for others. And in every one of those moments, the Lord is present, breathing spirit into life.

Curious? Conflicted? Let's talk.
One person told us, “I used to think faith and evolution couldn’t go together. But when I read how the New Church sees creation, I realized God’s love was in the whole story. It was just unfolding more slowly and beautifully than I had imagined.”

We believe science and spirit can live together. You can explore the articles below, or, if you’d like, reach out through our contact form below. We’re here for thoughtful conversation.