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A former scientist and science teacher, now
a Baptist minister, answers questions about science and faith.
Hasn’t science
disproved the Bible – specifically Creation?
Do we really believe that God created the Earth? Lots of people
don’t. The media don’t. Most scientists don’t. Only ten days ago
the science academies of 67 countries including our own Royal
Society spoke out very strongly against the idea of a seven day
creation, and in favour of the theory of evolution. They were
particularly critical of teaching of what is called “Young Earth
Creationism” in universities, and even to schoolchildren in
“faith schools” in the north east of England. You may have seen
their protest reported in the broadsheets or on internet news
pages. The best coverage was in no less than four articles in
the newspaper for academics, The Times Higher Educational
Supplement, with another article and six letters to the editor
last Friday too.
This gives me three reasons for tackling this important issue
at this time. Not only did somebody give me this question a few
months ago, but also the world’s scientists have just put it on
the agenda for public debate. Then the third reason is that a
couple of years ago I gave a kind of interview to Steve Farrar,
the Opinions Editor of the Times Higher Ed, on the subject of
Creation or Evolution. He approached me again a few weeks ago
with some more questions and it turned out that a significant
chunk of his longest article was a presentation of my
understanding of these issues, attributed in print to the
Minister of Brentwood Baptist Church. So this morning I want to
set the record straight about what I believe about Creation and
Evolution, Science and Faith.
I want to make six simple points. I want to tell you all the
points right at the beginning, so you know where I am going, and
then unpack them one by one.
1)
All
Christians believe that God created the universe
2)
Science assumes that everything came into existence by natural
processes and random chance
3)
Science will never prove decisively whether God created
everything or not
4)
Science gives us evidence which is consistent with intelligent
design
5)
7 day “Young Earth Creationism” or “guided evolution”
“Old Earth Creationism” is a matter of Biblical Interpretation
for Christians
6)
Focus on proving a 7-day creation distracts people from
the more important task of pointing to God as Creator
So there
are my seven points – let me explain them in more detail. Some
of them, like the first, will take a while to explain. Don’t
worry because others are very short.
1)
All
Christians believe that God created the universe
i)
The Nicene Creed:I
believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and
earth, and of all things visible and invisible
ii)
Bible teaches that God is Creator: Creation out of
nothing AND forming/shaping/designing
God created/made
Gen 1:1 heavens and the earth
1:21 creatures of sea and every living and moving thing
1:25 wild animals and livestock
1:26-27 human beings, male and female in His image
2:4 heavens and earth
2:19 “formed out of the ground” all the beasts of the field and
birds of the air
5:1-2 created man in the likeness of God, male and female,
called them “man”
Gen 6:6-7 God made and created man (story of Flood)
Gen 14:19 (Melchizedek) blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram
by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.
God named as Creator in Deuteronomy 4:32 and 32:6
Psalms 89:12, 47
Psalm 104:24 How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made
them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
Psalm 148:5 (cry to whole of creation) Let them praise the name
of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created.
Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember your Creator in the days of your
youth,
Isaiah 40:26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created
all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and
calls them each by name.
Isaiah 40:28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is
the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
Isaiah 42: 5. This is what God the LORD says- he who created the
heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all
that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life
to those who walk on it:
Isaiah 43:1,7 ; Isaiah 45:7, 12, 18; Isaiah 57:16
Amos 4:13; Habakkuk 1:14; Malachi 2:10
PAUL
Romans 1:25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and
worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator-
who is for ever praised.
1 Corinthians 11:9
Ephesians 3:9 God, who created all things.
1 Timothy 4:4 For everything God created is good,
God named as Creator in James 1:18, 1 Peter 4:19
Revelation 4:11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive
glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by
your will they were created and have their being."
Words of Jesus Himself
Mark 10:6 6 "But at the beginning of creation God `made them
male and female'.
Mark 13:19 … when God created the world,
Jesus as Creator –
Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were
created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things
were created by him and for him.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the
beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him
nothing was made that has been made.
2)
Science assumes that everything came into existence by
natural processes and random chance
From the subtle unchallenged assumption of evolution in David
Attenborough’s natural history films, to the explicit
anti-theism of Richard Dawkins and Steve Jones, science and the
media are united in rejecting the idea of a Creator. Possibly
the greatest Science Fiction author Isaac Asimov made the same
mistake as very many people - "I am an atheist, out and out. I
don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I
so strongly suspect he does not that I don't want to waste my
time."
The large majority of scientists close their minds to the
evidence for God's existence - so in the end he can’t see what
many others can! But Christians HAVE seen that evidence. We have
experienced the power of God and seen him at work! Scientists
should NOT ignore that evidence, but rethink their scientific
assumptions until their science fits with the real world! It was
Albert Einstein who said “Science without religion is blind.
Religion without science is lame.”
“Posterity will some day laugh at the foolishness of our modern
materialistic philosophy. The more I study nature the more I am
amazed at the Creator.” - Louis Pasteur
3)
Science will never prove decisively whether God created
everything or not
i)
Knowing God as creator is a matter of faith Hebrews 11:3
Heb 11:3
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's
command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was
visible.
This verse says to me that science will never ever give
conclusive proof about the process of creation or even the
existence of God. We will always need faith to interpret the
scientific evidence correctly.
“God is not discoverable or demonstrable by purely scientific
means, unfortunately for the scientifically-minded. But that
really proves nothing. It simply means that the wrong
instruments are being used for the job.” J. B. Phillips
(1906–1982)
ii)
God is by definition outside/beyond/before the universe
iii)
We need a “change of mind” to see God
Two people were walking along a river bank one day when they saw
a man across the river. “How can we get across?” They shouted.
“Why would you be wanting to do that then?” The man asked. “We
want to get to the other side” they explained patiently. “Don’t
be daft,” the man replied. “You’re already on the other side!”
What we see depends on our point of view, on where we are
standing to begin with
GESTALT SHIFT PICTURE
- There is
an "optical illusion" picture which can be viewed either as a
young woman or an old hag. BOTH are there in the picture. When
the mind switches from seeing one to other the picture hasn't
changed, only your interpretation of it. Its possible to get so
locked into seeing the picture in one particular way that u cant
see the other. But once you have seen both it is impossible to
argue that only one image is there and the other is not. Many
examples of optical illusions where it takes a perception shift,
a gestalt shift, to see the image in its different ways.
Many people are so blinded by the way the media suggests that
science has replaced God that they simply cannot see God. Some
scientists are so locked into their way of looking at the world
that they genuinely cannot see the evidence for God which is all
around them. But for anyone who looks for it with the eye of
faith, that evidence is plain to see. Scientists just need to
switch their way of looking at the world – to move from a world
which excludes God to a world which allows the possibility of
God in it.
4)
Science gives us evidence which is consistent with
intelligent design
i)
Examples of design - “Irreducible complexity”
Consider the wonders of nature;
the complexity of human brain and eye, the action of enzymes,
the interplay beween DNA, RNA and proteins in replication and
inheritance, and countless other phenomena. It is so unlikely
that these marvels "evolved" by pure chance, and sometimes in
opposition to so-called natural selection. Design points to the
existence of a Designer, the Architect of the Universe, "God".
ii)
The origins of spirituality
In
Genesis 1:27 and 2:7 man is created in the (spiritual) image of
God by the inbreathing of the breath (or spirit) of life. Many
Christians understand this as God giving the dimension of
spiritual experience to animals which had already developed
through evolution, making them "Man" by giving them rational,
moral and spiritual qualities. Psychologists and philosophers
find it impossible to explain how human beings developed
consciousness and conscience, and appreciation of beauty and the
desire to pray and worship. Evolution never claims to explain
these things, and never could! The Christian explanation is
simple - God made us this way, in His image!
iii)
A “finely-tuned” universe
Design/Guidance could be step by step interventions, or could be
in the “fine-tuning” of universal constants creating a universe
where life as we know it would come to exist. If we believe
miracles happen (or have happened) then there is no problem in
an old earth / guided evolution, God steering the development of
life at key stages.
iv)
The improbabilities of evolution by random chance alone
5)
7 day “Young Earth Creationism” or “guided evolution”
“Old Earth Creationism” is a matter of Biblical Interpretation
for Christians
i)
Whole weight of Young Earth Creationism rests on
interpreting Day as literal 24 hours
Days 1-2 no sun or
moon!
ii)
You don’t have to believe in a 7-day creation to believe
in the infallibility of the Bible
“Young Earth Creationists” say that if you don’t believe in a
7-day creation then you don’t believe in the authority of the
Bible! That is just rubbish! Old Earth creationists are as
committed to the authority and reliability of the Bible as
anybody else – they are actually disagreeing over the meaning of
just one word as it is used in just three passages of Scripture.
iii)
Events of creation were revealed, not observed
Until Day 6 no humans
around so not from human observation, had to have been revealed
in some way – revelations subject to interpretation – more often
symbolic than literal
iv)
There are different kinds of language in the Bible: some
is symbolic or metaphorical
When we
approach a Bible passage we must try to work out what kind of
language it is written in, what kind of truth it is trying to
communicate. There are many different kinds of language in the
Bible -history, parable, law, letter, proverb, and the highly
symbolic language of prophecy and revelation.
Religious
truth is a distinct kind of truth concerned with things
infinite, eternal and spiritual, things we can never fully
understand or adequately describe. Religious truth cant always
be explained in the language or judged by the sorts of ways of
thinking which belong to other kinds of knowledge. Eternal and
spiritual truths often can’t be expressed in literal language.
So religious truth is usually expressed in words used
symbolically or poetically, using similes and metaphors,
sometimes bending language almost to breaking point. We make a
big mistake if we try to understand literally language which was
intended to be understood symbolically. It is an issue of
interpretation.
For
example, think about when Jesus told his parables. Was he
quoting historical truth? Was the "Good Samaritan" a real living
person? Did a genuine "Prodigal Son" ever leave his father? Were
the parables history? Or were they instead stories carefully
constructed to convey spiritual truth?
We have to
ask similar questions about the Creation Narratives in Genesis
chapters 1-2. Are they intended to be scientific truth? "Is the
language literal or is it instead symbolic or poetical, or some
combination of these kinds of language (genres)?"
Some
Christians, who we could call “Old Earth Creationists”, are just
as committed to the reliability of the Bible as the Word of God,
believe that Genesis is teaching religious and not scientific
truth. So the language of the Biblical account of creation is
symbolic rather than necessarily literal. Genesis teaches WHO it
was who created the earth (God) and WHY, but not scientifically
HOW it all took place. The issue is the correct interpretation
of the texts.
Old Earth
Creationists regard the "days" in Genesis as long periods of
time. Other parts of the account are SURELY symbolic - God
"said" (what language did God say it in?) God "breathed" into
Adam's nostrils. When we're talking about what God “says” and
“does” human language HAS to be symbolic. When it says "days"
surely these are God's days. It's not necessary, and probably a
wrong way to approach the Bible as God's Word, to insist that
the days are literal 24 hour periods. (There were not even a sun
or a moon until the third day!)
Notice how
well the order of creation in Genesis 1 and 2 actually fits with
scientific ideas of evolution, ideas which did not come alone
till thousands of years after Genesis was written. So we can
accept the idea of development or evolution. There probably were
dinosaurs, living and dying out before humans were created in
that long long period of the fifth "day.
v)
The word “day” does not necessarily refer to a 24-hour
period:
(a)
2 Peter
3:8 (quoting Psa 90:4) ¶ But do not forget this one thing, dear
friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a
thousand years are like a day.
(b)
Phrases such as “the Day of the Lord”
vi)
Day could be from God’s perspective not human – no more
problem!!!
(a)
comparison – transubstantiation because “This is my body”
vii)
Language of Science or History as we know it is only 18th
century onwards
It
seems very unlikely that the writers were trying to produce a
textbook of science and history. For one thing science and
history as we know them have only been invented over the last
few hundred years! Everything in Genesis 1-2 must have been
revealed by God to those writers in ways that the people THEN
could understand, not in the language of history and science
which weren't going to be invented for thousands of years. The
Bible accounts need to be read in the context of the kinds of
literature which were around when they were written, not as if
they were written today just for us.
The problem which I
have with Young Earth Creationists is that they are fighting the
wrong war on the wrong battleground!
The challenge is NOT
to prove to the scientific world that the earth came into being
in 7 days only 8000 years ago. The challenge which the Young
Earth Creationists keep dodging is to prove to the wider world
and the mainstream Church that the word “day” in chapters 1 and
2 of Genesis HAS to carry the literal meaning of a 24 hour
period of time, and cannot possibly in any way shape or form be
symbolic language. That is not a question of science but a
question of Biblical interpretation and systematic theology, and
NONE of the so called “creation scientists” has enough training
or competence in theology or linguistics or hermeneutics to
begin to give a decent answer to that question. Until the 7 day
creationists actually address that issue, competent theologians
are not going to take them seriously, and nor are mainstream
scientists!
6)
Focus on proving a 7-day creation distracts people from
the more important task of pointing to God as Creator
Almighty God is Creator of Heaven and Earth! Whether the earth
was created in seven 24 hour days is an issue of hermeneutics,
not science. The debate between science and seven day "Young
Earth Creationism" is a red herring from the vital Christian
message of God as Creator.
i)
Creation in 7 days is only mentioned in THREE places
Genesis 1-2,
Genesis 2:3
And God blessed the
seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all
the work of creating that he had done.
Reason for the 4th commandment
Ex 20:8 "Remember the
Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ,,, 11 For in six days the
LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in
them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD
blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Ex 31:17 the
Sabbath, …. will be a sign between me and the Israelites for
ever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth,
and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.'"
But change of reason in 10 commandments as listed in Deuteronomy
Deut 5: 14 but the
seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. …. 15 Remember
that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought
you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the
Sabbath day.
NO other references to 7 days of creation apart from one
reference to Sabbath rest God gives:-
Hebrews 4:3 His work has been finished since the creation of
the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day
in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his
work."
ii)
Battle for “young earth” is a major barrier for some,
especially scientists
Public arguments over Young Earth Creationism is likely to
drive people away from God, not bring them to God. That
certainly happened to some of my friends who today are eminent
scientists.
So, “Has science disproved the Bible, specifically creation?”
You must make up your own mind. Science casts some doubts on
whether creation took place over the space of seven 24 hour days
just 8000 years ago. But I think that good principles of
Biblical Interpretation cast doubt on whether the Bible really
teaches Young Earth Creationism anyway. What the Bible
DEFINITELY teaches is that Almighty God is the Creator of Heaven
and Earth. With the eye of faith, we can see the Hand of the
Designer, the eternal architect, in all He has made. And science
which studies the wonders of creation will never ever be able to
prove or disprove the existence of the Creator who is beyond and
above His creation.
Psalm 148:5 (Let the
whole of Creation) praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded
and they were created.
Rev Peter Thomas holds Masters degrees in Natural Sciences
from Cambridge University and Theology and Biblical
Interpretation from London Bible College (London School of
Theology). He originally taught chemistry but has been a Baptist
minister for over 20 years.
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