In my last post, we looked at the timing of creation events from the perspective of science. We saw that the scientific data indicate that the universe is 13.7 billion years old and the earth is 4.5 billion years old. In this post we are going to look at the view from the Bible. There is disagreement among conservative Christian theologians about the meaning of the “days” in the creation account of Genesis 1-2:3. There are four main interpretations: the 24-hour day view, the day/age view, the literary framework view … [Read more...] about Timing of Creation Events – The View from the Bible
Christianity and science
Timing of Creation Events – The View from Science
So far in this series we've seen that: there can be no real conflict between science and the Bible because Scripture and nature are both revelations from God (click here) the main message of Genesis 1 is that God is the creator and that man is the pinnacle of his creation (click here); Genesis 1 does not intend to teach modern science (click here). In this and the next post we're examining more carefully one source of apparent tension between science and the Bible, namely the timing of the events of creation. … [Read more...] about Timing of Creation Events – The View from Science
Does Genesis 1 Teach Modern Science?
In my last blog post we saw that the main message of Genesis 1 is that God is the creator of all. Not only is this a central theme of Genesis 1, but it is also a central theme of the Bible which is reiterated over and over again throughout the Old and New Testaments. In contrast the question of the timing and mechanism of creation events are secondary issues. Nevertheless because of the controversy surrounding these questions we will be talking about them in more detail in the next few blogs. But before we do that … [Read more...] about Does Genesis 1 Teach Modern Science?
The Message of Genesis 1
As I discussed in the previous post of the Christianity and Science series, much of the controversy surrounding Genesis 1 revolves around two issues: the timing of the events of creation and the mechanism of creation. Did God create over a period of 6 literal days or did creation occur over a much longer period of time? Did God create through a series of miraculous acts or through a natural process which he created? While these are interesting issues, the focus on this controversy can cause us to miss the main … [Read more...] about The Message of Genesis 1
Dealing with Tension between Science and the Bible
Today's post begins a series about the relationship between science and Christian faith. I want to begin by addressing why I'm interested in this topic. I became a Christian in the middle of my academic career as a biology professor at Iowa State University. As I was coming to faith and afterwards I felt tension between my new faith and my knowledge of science. Was it really possible to believe in God in a modern scientific world? I believe that the Bible is God's word, it is inerrant in the original manuscripts and … [Read more...] about Dealing with Tension between Science and the Bible