Before I continue from my previous post, let me make a few things clear: God created the earth, he did so in six days, on the seventh day he rested (you should too), this means that the earth is only about 6,000 years old, evolution is a LIE, oh and dinosaurs…. they didn’t exist, the bones were put her by the devil to deceive you. So get rid of those dinosaur sheets you got your kid HEATHEN!
Did that not settle well with you? Ok… let me try again!
There is no God…so stop crying about it. Belief in God is nothing more than a delusion you tell yourself and your children to make you feel better. Earth was created in the big bang; it’s been around for a very long time. Evolution is FACT, we were all once monkeys and before that we were fish. So get your kid monkey sheets and stop sending him to church IDIOT!
For most people, nether of the above stances really work out. If you are one of the few that firmly believe one of the above…you are about to be (and probably already are) offended. The above contradiction represents the current “debate” regarding science and religion. I use the “ ” because debates are typically more sophisticated than the childish arguing of those who believe either the firm science or firm religious beliefs.
So let me share what I believe. First I am a Christian and I do believe in God. I believe that the big bang is perfectly reasonable. I believe that something had to cause the initial small piece of matter and/or the explosion of the big bang. I believe that God, whatever he/she/it/they is, caused these things. Evolution seems to make a lot of sense. I do not think that dinosaurs were put here by the devil…although they do resemble dragons and that’s sort of demonic. I have never heard a scientific theory, fact, or conclusion that made my faith feel threatened.
I also do not think that I am alone. I do not think that there are many people out there that can prescribe to a strictly Christian or strictly scientific view on life, the world, the universe, etc. As I discussed in my previous post, science and religion were once the same thing. To divide science and religion is really to cause both injustices. Einstein said, “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” The two should not, and I argue, do not contradict. Science and religion make up different parts of the same whole.
Today’s science has taken us to amazing places and afforded us rapid progress. We learn so much from science, yet there is still so much we don’t know. Where did the matter for the big bang come from? What caused the explosion of the big bang? Why to the laws of physics seem to break down at the subatomic scale, on the scale of large planetary bodies, and whenever we approach the speed of light? The point I am making is that there are always things that we cannot and do not understand. Neither science nor religion can explain everything and therefore neither one can nullify the other.
What results from this separation of science and religion is really quite detrimental. While science and religion can yield great benefits, both are double bladed swords. Science was used to justify the holocaust, eugenics and slavery. Religion is not innocent either. Religion without logic, common sense and a worldly perspective is rather dangerous. Religion has been used to justify, wars, the oppression of homosexuals and intolerance of many different cultures. If religion and science can again find harmony, the direction of both could be greatly improved.
Religion and science each make up for what the other lacks. There are some things in the world that simply cannot be explained. You can push science as far as you want but you will eventually reach an end where you run out of answers. This is where faith and religion often come in. At first, it may seems as though we use religion in lieu of a plausible explanation, I disagree. Science does not explain away religion, it clarifies it.
In Christian theology it is accepted that God knows everything. Given this, in order to give knowledge to humanity, he must simplify this infinite knowledge, dumb it down so to speak. So lets say that God explains creation to us by saying that he created the heavens and the earth and formed humans from the clay of the earth. This is relatively simple because we can imagine God (in the form of a human) creating all these things as we might make something ourselves (a sandwich maybe).
Later, science tells us that the universe was created by the big bang (probably), which is responsible for the heavens and the earth and all matter. We know that the big bang happened but some of the details are lacking. But then we get to humans, we can talk about a puddle of primordial ooze struck by lightning (oddly associated with God) that eventually evolved to become humans. This would be a bit hard to swallow especially so long ago. Perhaps God has given us a simplistic explanation of the universe with the hope that we might some day attain some of the knowledge that only he possesses.
But how can science and religion come to terms? If we follow religion to the edge of what it can explain, and science to the edge of what it can explain, we find this strange area were all bets seem to be off and there is no telling what will happen next.
One of these places is Quantum mechanics. I do not profess to be anything close to an expert, but one thing I have observed is that in quantum theory things get very strange. The rules of science do not seem to work as they once did, though still have a very strong value. There have been observations that seem to show everything, something, and nothing all at the same time. There have been experiments that may indicate that prayer impacts the physical world. These things are all hotly debated, but their nature is such that both science and religion become relevant.
I believe areas such as these are opportunities for science and religion to again converge for a joint effort to find fact and truth. Imagine a quantum theologian, a person who examines the greater mysteries of existence and then determines their implications for both science and theology at the same time. This gives rise to clergy and scientists again being one in the same. We could all look at our world with a full and complete questioning, with both passion and logic, examining all angles and possibilities, to find both knowledge and wisdom.
If any of this seems remotely interesting to you, I urge you to consider watching either or both of the following videos and share your thoughts.*
What the bleep do we know? Down the rabbit hole. Imagining the Tenth Dimension *I question, and at points disagree with, some of the arguments in the above videos yet I find their main points to have truly fascinating implications for both science and theology.Filed under: Atheism, Christianity, Faith, God, Philosophy, Physics, Religion Tagged: | Darwin, Does God exist, Evolution, ex nilhilo nilhil fit, God, Law of Conservation of Energy, Law of Conservation of Mass, Origin of God, Philosophy, Quantum, Religion, Science, The Bible, Theology, There is no God
This blog’s great!! Thanks
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Nice Blog Mr. Alexander. However, I have a question. What if a scientific phenomenon defies some of the beliefs of a religion?
Well, if the ‘phenomenon’ is ‘proved’ then either the belief has been misunderstood, its allegorical, it has ben misinterpreted OR it is false and should be abandoned
Nice Blog Mr. Alexander. However, I have a question. What if a scientific phenomenon defies some of the beliefs of a religion? (Sorry commenting again since I forgot to check the box for notify me via email)
Can you give me an example?
Wow, you really need to do some research on creation and the Bible. Creation does not close the door on dinosaurs, in fact dinosaurs are mentioned 35 times in the Bible. Dinosaurs for years have been used for proof of evolution yet people don’t take the time to ask questions and get answers about dinosaurs. Until you can prove that the Bible discredits dinosaurs you shouldn’t be blogging about it. Second It’s wonderful that your a Christian and I am myself, but the big band contradicts the whole “Genesis Creation”. Which in turn means that your calling God a liar. You might not think that way but that’s it in a nut shell. For the last while I have been a creation scientist and have studied the creation of the world, and saying that God created evolution is against the Bible. I really don’t want to fill up your blog but I would love to talk to you via e-mail .
travisboudreau@hotmail.com
Actually, the Big Bang SUPPORTS Genesis. It is believed that when the Big Bang happened, it was first a burst of light, and later things were formed from all the particles (i.e., stars and planets and whatnot). Genesis says that on the first day God created light (like the Big Bang) and on the 4th day created the stars and the sun (like the Big Bang, the stars came later). If you consider “7 days” to not be literal, then it is supported by the Big Bang. Also, we don’t know *how* the Big Bang happened, so it could have been created.
Who are you to limit your God by saying he couldn’t have created evolution?
Well, I do agree that the events themselves may align if we take the genesis account to be “not a literal 7 days”… so when therefore do we take the events to be “literal”.
When does God end the parables?
IF we accept the idea that God used evolution we must except that sin and death entered into the world BEFORE Adam and Eve which is contrary to the account in genesis. (or is that a parable) This contradicts God’s statement saying “and he saw it was good”. How could millions of years of death and survival of the fittest be ‘Good’ in the sight of a Holy God.
IF we accept this gap theory and the idea of a BB it also limits God’s power because the Bible says that God spoke into existence everything and fashioned Adam from the earth itself. How could God have used evolution If he physically made man from the dust of the ground. Did everything evolve up-to humans ? No! because that contradicts biological evolution. It also makes a great puzzle of how do we determine how far back in ancestry does one have a soul: when the monkey becomes a man for lack of better expression. For we know animals do not have souls.
and IF we accept the BB and guided evolution we must accept that the commandments were wrong because the same word for ‘day’ is used for describing 6 working days and 1 rest day, (the sabbath) as the word ‘day’ in the genesis record and also the many other instances in which the same Hebrew word for ‘day’ is used. It rained for 40 million years instead of days, the Lord spend 40 million years in the desert and everyone is waiting 7 million years for the Sabbath day. I don’t think that works.
It seems that If God used evolution to create than it seems backwards to his nature. I am not limiting God in anyway because he is Great, yet evolution relies on undermining the basis for Christ coming into the world and its does not fit with the account of a seven literal day creation – which the Bible does not give us any hint that it should be interpreted otherwise. If we cant trust genesis than we cant trust the Bible
Well first of all, I don’t think the bible was ever meant to be taken that literally. I’m sure if there is a God he never intended for people to actually believe that he physically made Adam from dirt of the earth. How is evolution NOT coming from the earth? Take into account that the bible was made by man, and really it becomes easy to see why there are so many contradictions. I don’t believe that there is any religious god out there, I was just pointing out what I learned in my religion class (which I found interesting). I also don’t think that every time “day” is used in the bible it means either 1 earth day or 1 million years. I think some stories are meant to be stories with a lesson, nothing more, while others are meant to be taken literally. That said, there isn’t much within the bible that I believe to be true outside of what I know science has proved (i.e., that Jesus was a real person and there was a flood and so on).
I think that if there is a god, or something, that it likely sparked the big bang and let it go from there.
I known that you might have a hard time combining a literal Bible with evolution but its intended to be taken as such, because even the disciples and Jesus quoted genesis as the literal creation story:
Luke 11;51 Abel (a real individual)
Matthew 24:37-39 (noah and the flood)
Jesus also spoke that the Scripture was inspired by the Holy spirit , yet written down by men.
He said the scripture was more powerful than his miracles
ps. Evolution is not coming from the earth because God said he PHYSICALLY came down and made them not commanded them to be slowly made over million of years of evolutionary process.
pss. The same Hebrew word is used throughout the Bible for ‘day’ in many instances to represent a for-sure 24 hour period and in some places the word translated ‘day’ is not. There is a different word for an un-sure time period such as the words in English:
after a while
some time later
moments later
ect.
and in those situations the word is different in the Hebrew because we don’t have an expression in English to accurately describe what is being translated
But I guess If a god (lower case) was to use evolution it was not the one of the Bible because – that means the Bible is not the “Word of God” it only contains the Word of God, which again is contradictory to Jesus’s doctrine and the quotations of God the father himself. It means half of the Bible is just fake and is a story which again is contrary to God for he said his word is without fault (if you study in depth the bible there are no such contradictions) and he holds his word above all else. Why would he say that about a false book.
The Bible is a book of parables. It cannot be taken literally Paul himself states: 2 Corinthians 3:5-8
New King James Version (NKJV)
“5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit;[a] for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?”
The literal interpretation kills ( That is separates from the consciousness of the Indwelling God. See John 15: 1-5) but even so it was glorious but the spiritual interpretation gives life, that is, gives God ( or more specifically it gives us consciousness of the indwelling God alive in us) for God is life and is thus more glorious.
The Bible is also a sealed book: Isaiah 8:16
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
16 “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples”
“The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”
Isaiah 29:10
“But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.”
Daniel 12:4
“He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.
John 3:33
” I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?”
Revelation 5:1-2
“and one of the elders *said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”
Revelation 5.5
The Bible also uses numbers in symbolic ways 7 for example is related to perfection and completion it is god’s number
Tragically main stream Christianity has missed the boat on this
Travis: ‘In the beginning God Created the heavens and the earth’; does not tells us by what means God created. Therefore, the Big Bang ‘could’ have been the tool for creation and, since Science seems to agree on the Big Bang, it seems to me that there is no reason for ANY theist to deny the BB
Yes I think it does, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, like you stated, yet clearly it was God speaking that created. He commanded for there to be and there was. God did not need a long process for his command to be materialize…it would have instantly. When God created light apart from the Dark, it did not take 7 million years or 1 million or 1 second because it would have instantly existed. The same applies to all of the following creation days. God would not have used a big bang as we study in secular science because of the reasons I stated above and If any theist was to accept such I truly think they are needing to refocus on the literacy of the Genesis record.
I am sorry, but there is no indication of how long Creation took in Genesis. In fact, as has been pointed out elsewhere in this thread Genesis and the Big Bang do not contradict each other unless we read literalness into the Biblical narrative as has also been pointed out by anoither anonymous above the Bible can hardly be considered to advocate for its own literalness.
Besides, God as a spirit has to be both immanent and transcendent. As Omnipresent he cannot be anything but Immanent in creation and as Creator he cannot be anything but transcendent from Creation Thus the only logical acceptable theory is that God is a Henotheistic God.
Furthermore if God is transcendent He is at least in some sense outside time and thus to Him creation might have been instantaneous while to us it might have taken billions of years. Incidentally it cannot be argued that at least under the limitations of the speed of light being the same now as in the beginning the Universe is at least 15 Billion years old In case I am confusing you let me just state that God is both in and out of creation In fact Quantum proves that something can be in two places at the same time.