Can you believe in both evolution and a personal god?

I think you misunderstood, the point I made was that for a god "with the specific intention of bringing about human life" it would seem strange and inappropriate to use the mechanism of evolution, where human life was not a guaranteed product. This is a quality of the abrahamic gods, which is the conflict I was highlighting. There are of course a number of other definitions of 'god' where the conflict would not arise :)

Oh of course. I'm not saying this God didn't intend to create humanity. It is still the same abrahamic/anthropomorphic God. Not all the Jewish people in the Old Testament believed God intervened supernaturally... of course they had no way to explain human life.

i think trying to reconcile the theory of evolution with a personal god such as the judeo-christian god seems to me somehow absurd. it is some sort of wishful thinking.
first of all it contradict the bible. some christian say that there is no need to take the bible literally because may be god was talking metaphorically but in that case we can also say that heaven and hell and all the other concepts are also metaphoric and therefore there is no need to take the christian faith seriously.

hey :)

Yep that's entirely possible, but then you'd have to question how benevolant a being who purposefully hides their intentions and actions by using processes that 'appear' undirected and unguided. Surely it's somewhat cruel to leave false evidence? :P

I remember hearing a similar argument from fundamentalist christians about fossils, that they were simply placed by god to test faith :P

Yes you can ask the question of why God would have it like this. But it is not evidence that God did not use evolution. It just leaves us at a why he chose this process. I don't think the fossils are their to test faith. I think they are there as one way for us to see that evolution is true. God gave us a brain so we can figure this stuff out like we have.

Of course it isn't nor did I suggest that it did. The point I'm making is that if you understand evolution and yet believe in the abrahamic definition of god, there is a slight conflict. It would mean that this god used a process that would appear without conscious direction or intervention thus hiding any sign of a god. This would have implications for whether that being is considered benevolant.

I don't see this as being a conflict though. You say that God is hiding himself by using this process of evolution, and no showing any signs. But God has shown himself through other signs. Creation, the person of Jesus etc. But those are other issues which can be debated. It just sort of seems like you're saying that, since god doesn't live up to your expectations and show the evidence that you want then this is a conflict or a problem.