The age of the Universe is said to be 13.7 billion years. According to scientific research, Earth was formed 4.6 billion years ago. Since then, it has been estimated that 106 billion people were born, lived, and died on Earth. Bible scholars estimate that Genesis, the first book of the bible, was written about 3,456 years ago. I wonder where God was and what he was doing for the 4,599,996,544 years prior to him beginning to inspire the writing of the Bible after he created Earth? Maybe he was busy creating other planets? Or, maybe time is measured differently by God and he was just taking a nap. Anyway, it is becoming more and more difficult for me to reconcile the difference between how the Bible measures time and how science measures time. The Bible talks in terms of thousands of years but science talks in terms of billions of years. I admire and marvel at people who have enough faith to bridge the gap.
Radiometric dating, which was invented a century ago, has been greatly improved to the point that the error margin is less than 5%. It does not require Star Trek technology or a leap of faith. The underlying physics is as clear and understandable as the sunrise or the change of seasons. There is a big discrepancy between science and the Bible. The Bible portrays an Earth only a few thousand years old. Science proves that the Earth is billions of years old. In a choice between believing scientific findings or an ancient book that claims to be the infallible word of God, I choose the scientific findings. In summary, I do not believe that the Bible is the literal, infallible word of God. Yes, it is a great book of Judeo-Christian history and knowledge. It uses figurative language (not literal) to teach about God and morality. Sadly, because most Christian churches still maintain that the Bible is literally true, they lack credibility in this age of enlightenment. Consequently, Christianity is losing members and churches are shrinking.
Christians would help their cause by admitting that the Bible is filled with symbolism, poetic language, allegory, and figurative language. It would be better to address the question, “Is there any truth in the Bible and, if so, what is it?
“Be not curious in unnecessary matters: for more things are shewed unto thee than men understand”.__(King James Bible) Ecclesiasticus 3:23
I would say there are no conflicts between the bible and science--where the conflicts come in is when people try to make spiritual writings into scientific writings!
ReplyDeleteShoe-horning creation into this 6000ish year timeline, because we somehow think God or the Bible loses credibility if it was actually millions or billions of years, is akin to having to believe there was a literal person who was robbed on the road, passed by 2 "spiritual leaders" then rescued by the "good samaritan" in order for "love your neighbor" to have credibility.
Hey Matt,
ReplyDeleteI am honored to have a posting from you. You have written a brief but good rebuttal from another Point of view. I thank you for that! You are welcome, any time, to participate in my blog. I appreciate other opinions and hope that my opinions are respected.
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Dear Intrepid: Of course, the Bible is a work of fiction; it could be nothing else considering the milieux in which it was written. Most people never made it more than a few miles from their birthplaces during their short lives. The world was a mysterious place to them, but being humans they sought answers to what they sensed around them. What affected them, particularly the bad things, had to be somebody (else’s) or some thing’s fault. The powerful used human nature to further their own ends. Thus, they either invented “religions,” which always involved a better afterlife, or fostered one or more extant belief systems to protect themselves. Don’t kill the tyrant and you’ll go to heaven. –The Tsar knows
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