GOD AND SCIENCE A STUDY OF THE COMPATIBILITY BETWEEN THE BIBLE AND SCIENCE

OUTLINE What is science? Is science fallible? Where do science and Christianity appear to conflict? “In the beginning …” What’s the real problem? How do we deal with non-believers who quote science as fact?

WHERE DO SCIENCE AND CHRISTIANITY APPEAR TO CONFLICT? “IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH.” GENESIS 1:1

THREE POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE UNIVERSE Young-Earth Creation ModelBig Bang – Theistic ModelBig Bang – Atheistic Model God created the Universe The Universe spontaneously came from nothing (vacuum fluctuations) It was created in exactly 6 days as presented in Genesis God created the life on Earth over a period of millions of years Life evolved on Earth slowly through ”natural selection” The Earth (and Universe) are approximately 6,000 years old The Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old; the Universe is approximately 14 billion years old One primary source of conflict between science and Christianity comes from the controversy over the age of the Universe (Earth)

HOW OLD IS THE EARTH? Science gives us clues into the age of the Earth However, clues are subject to interpretation and could thus be fallible Hence, a number of means must be used scientifically to avoid confusion

WHAT ARE THE WAYS THE SCIENTIFIC DATA SUPPORTS AN “14 BILLION YEAR UNIVERSE” THEORY? “Big Bang” creation event Cooling of the Universe Expansion of the Universe Radiometric Elements Light Travel Ice Cores From ”A Matter of Days” by Hugh Ross

WHAT ARE WE TO CONCLUDE? Many of the creationist sites suggest that the data is “cherry picked” to support the old-earth theory With so many different ways to obtain an age of the earth/universe, it’s hard to think that all of these methods, which provide consistent answers can be wrong Thus, now we will assume (until otherwise shown) that the data indicates a 14 Billion year Universe The next question is "What does the Bible have to say about this?”

GENESIS 1: POSSIBLE INTERPRETATIONS: PROGRESSIVE (DAY-AGE) CREATIONISM The six days are accurate historically and scientifically The word for "day" (yom) is properly translated as a long period of time

GENESIS 1: POSSIBLE INTERPRETATIONS: FRAMEWORK HYPOTHESIS In an oral culture, the parallel structure of events is a literary structure that makes the creation days memorable Moses was not intending to write a scientifically accurate account, but rather a theologically accurate account

GENESIS 1: POSSIBLE INTERPRETATIONS: FRAMEWORK HYPOTHESIS CREATION KINGDOMS CREATURE KINGS Day 1: Light Day 4: Luminaries Day 2: Sky/Water Day 5: Birds/Fish Day 3: Land/Vegetation Day 6: Land animals/Man THE CREATOR KING Day 7: Sabbath

GENESIS 1: POSSIBLE INTERPRETATIONS: ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN MYTH ALTERNATIVE Genesis was written after Hebrews had come out of 400 years of slavery in Egypt People would have been intimately familiar with the creation myths of the Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and Canaanites In response to contemporary beliefs about creation, Genesis 1 is written as a polemic pointing to Yahweh as the one true God.

GENESIS 1: POSSIBLE INTERPRETATIONS: ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN MYTH ALTERNATIVE Examples - Gen 1:2 reveals a primordial state with four features that parallels the Egyptian conception (Darkness, Deep Waters, Emptiness, Wind). However, for the Egyptians, each feature was a personified element of nature. For the Hebrews, God was distinct from creation and able to command it. - God’s creation of light on day one before the creation of the luminaries on day four forms a polemic against Atum-Re, the sun god. This shows that the source of light does not originate with the sun or the moon (i.e. Re, the sun-god or Thoth, the moon-god), but with the Hebrew God who is distinct from the light and the creation. Tony Shetter

GENESIS 1: POSSIBLE INTERPRETATIONS: SUMMARY The Bible never specifically speaks to the age of the Earth Many interpretations have been put forward that are consistent with an ancient creation It's not necessarily a case of "either/or" - God could have inspired to text to serve multiple purposes No matter your interpretation, the main point of agreement is that God did create the universe!

HOW DOES SCIENCE POINT TO GOD CREATING THE UNIVERSE? The Big Bang - A universe from nothing A universe finely tuned for human life Over the next two sessions we will discuss: