Science, God & Christ Genesis and Science: Compatibility Extraordinaire.

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Science, God & Christ Genesis and Science: Compatibility Extraordinaire

Transcript of Science, God & Christ Genesis and Science: Compatibility Extraordinaire.

Page 1: Science, God & Christ Genesis and Science: Compatibility Extraordinaire.

Science, God & Christ

Genesis and Science: Compatibility Extraordinaire

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Thesis

• Is there any consistency between the Genesis account of creation and science?

• Here are some compelling theories, sometimes contradictory to each other, ranging from relativistic time dilation to linguistic details..

• We also incidents of friction between science and the church. The church was often the guilty party in these conflicts.

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Perspective

• Some explanations are crystal clear in the Bible, e.g. salvation through Christ. Some are not. Certain concepts are not developed to the point some would like to see them developed – or are like looking through a glass darkly.

• Does the Bible emphasize those points that are important and give less explanation to those points not as critical?

“Most people are bothered by those passages in scripture which they cannot understand; but as for me … the passages which trouble me most are those that I do.” Mark Twain

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The Big Bang

• Is it Biblical?Is it Biblical?• Is it consistent with Genesis?Is it consistent with Genesis?• Is the cosmological record of Is the cosmological record of

earth’s history consistent with the earth’s history consistent with the Bible?Bible?

• Is “day” in Genesis a 24 hour Is “day” in Genesis a 24 hour period? Is defense of its definition period? Is defense of its definition found in scripture?found in scripture?

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Science & the Church: Some Unflattering History

“Those Who Refuse To

Learn From History

Repeat It.”George Santayana

George Santayana(1863-1952)

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Science & the Church: Science & the Church: Some Unflattering Some Unflattering

HistoryHistory

Can YOU prove:Can YOU prove:1.1. The earth is round?The earth is round?2.2. The earth moves around The earth moves around

the sun?the sun?3.3. The solar system is The solar system is

heliocentric?heliocentric?

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ASCENSIONLuke 24:51. And it came to pass, while he Luke 24:51. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and blessed them, he was parted from them, and

carried carried upup into heaven. into heaven.

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The Flat Earth Society ModelScience Digest, July 1980

According to the New Testament, Jesus ascended up into heaven. "The whole point

of the Copernican theory is to get rid of Jesus by saying there is no up and no

down," declares Johnson. "The spinning ball thing just makes the whole Bible a big joke."

Charles K. Johnson,

president of the

International Flat Earth Research Society

http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/fe-scidi.htm

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Learning From History

Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)

The Copernicus dispute: The Copernicus dispute:

A Heliocentric God?A Heliocentric God?

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Learning From History

The Copernicus dispute & Pope Paul III:

• Copernicus dedicated his work to "the Most Holy Lord Pope Paul III,"

• The church, by 1616, banned all books, including Copernicus', that advocated a revolving earth. In 1633 the church forbade any Catholic to believe or teach that the earth moved.

Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)

Pope Paul III (1468-1549)

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Learning From History

The Copernicus dispute & Martin Luther

• Luther called Copernicus "an upstart astrologer," for after all, Luther said, the Bible clearly taught that "Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, not the earth."

Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)

Martin Luther (1483 - 1546 )

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Learning From History

The Copernicus dispute & Philip Melanchthon

Philip Melanchthon, quoting Ecclesiastes, thundered that the "earth abideth forever" and the "sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose," and attacked Copernicus.

Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)

Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560)

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What the Bible says:What the Bible says:

Ecclesiastes 1Ecclesiastes 1

4 Generations come and generations 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. go, but the earth remains forever.

5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.hurries back to where it rises.

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Learning From HistoryThe Copernicus dispute & John Calvin

• Psalm 93:1 “The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, [wherewith] he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.”

• Calvin, quoting Psalm 93:1, asked "Who will place the authority of Copernicus above that of the Holy Spirit?"

Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)

John Calvin (1509-1564).

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Learning From History: Galileo

Galileo Galilei 1564-1642

• The dispute: Galileo believed in Copernicus‘ heliocentric model, i.e. the earth and the planets revolved around the sun.

• The Roman Catholic Church interpreted heliocentrism as a direct assault on its doctrines. It placed his heliocentrism books of the Church’s Index of prohibited Books until 1835 and officially forgave Galileo in 1981.

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What the Bible says:

Psalm 93Psalm 93::1b1b …. The …. The world is firmly world is firmly established; it established; it cannot be movedcannot be moved.

Psalm 104: 5Psalm 104: 5. He set . He set the earth on its the earth on its foundations; it can foundations; it can never be moved.never be moved.

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Galileo’s retort:

Galileo Galilei February 15, 1564

“The holy scriptures cannot err and the decrees therein contained are absolutely true and inviolable. But … its

expounders and interpreters are liable to err in many ways and one error in particular would be most grave and

frequent, if we always stopped short at the literal signification of the words.”

“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same god who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has

intended us to forgo their use.”

Galileo believed:

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What do the erroneous scriptural references to What do the erroneous scriptural references to flat earth & non-heliocentricity flat earth & non-heliocentricity have in common?have in common?

PERSPECTIVE

PERSPECTIVE

PERSPECTIVE

PERSPECTIVE

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Perspective?Perspective?Ecclesiastes 1Ecclesiastes 1

4 Generations come and generations 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. go, but the earth remains forever.

5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.hurries back to where it rises.

Perspectives: (1) From that of an observer on the surface of the earth.

(2) Newtonian space and time.Question: Is the verse true in a relative sense?

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Perspective?Perspective?Luke 24:51. Luke 24:51. “And it came “And it came

to pass, to pass, while he while he blessed blessed them, he them, he

was parted was parted from them, from them, and carried and carried

upup into into heaven.”heaven.”

www.geocities.com/emeraldcity33/ ascension.html

Perspective: Perspective: From that of From that of an observer an observer

on the on the surface of the surface of the

earth.earth.

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Three items to consider:

1. Translation variation (e.g. word meaning)

2. Literal vs. metaphor

3. Perspective

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1. Word Meaning :

What Means Day?• Moses’ Genesis

day = 24 Hours? 

•Psalm 90:

“A Prayer of Moses …”

4. For a thousand years in thy sight

[are but] as yesterday when it is

past, and [as] a watch in the night.

http://www.blueletterbible.org/

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1. Word Meaning :

What Means Day?Gen 2:4 These [are] the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD

God made the earth and the heavens,

http://www.blueletterbible.org/

Gen 5:1 This [is] the book of the generations of

Adam. ..

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1. Word Meaning :

What Means Day?• A Genesis day = 24 Hours? 

– Gen 26:8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, …

– Gen 38:12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; ...

– Exd 13:10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.

– Num 10:10 Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets…

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Strong says…

1) day, time, year1a) day (as opposed to night)1b) day (24 hour period)1b1) as defined by evening and morning in Genesis 11b2) as a division of time1b2a) a working day, a day's journey1c) days, lifetime (pl.)1d) time, period (general)1e) year1f) temporal references1f1) today1f2) yesterday1f3) tomorrow

http://www.blueletterbible.org/index.html

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2. Literal or Metaphor?

• Psalm 98:8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;

• Isaiah 55:12-13 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

• Deuteronomy 5:15a 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.

• Revelation 7:17b And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes

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3. Observer Perspective

Remember Flat Earth and the persecution of Copernicus

& Galileo.

A Matter of Perspective?Newtonian Space & Time?

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““The Genesis Question”The Genesis Question”by Dr. Hugh Ross

http://reasons.org/index.shtml

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Galileo’s Rule (Ross)

“Begin by establishing [not assuming] the perspective.”

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

.

Perspective: The surface of the earth – dark through a thick overcast.

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Genesis 1: Day 1

3. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.

Notes:

•From an observer on earth, light penetrated the Earth’s dark shroud for the first time.

•The Hebrew word “Haya” is used meaning “to exist or to come to pass”. The words “bara”, or “yasar”, meaning “to

create” is not.

•If “Morning & Evening” are taken literally, the observer is on the surface of the earth.

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Genesis 1: Day 2

6. And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water."

7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so.

8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day.

Creation of the troposphere – the atmospheric layer just above the ocean where clouds form and humidity resides. This is made possible by the light introduced on day one.

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Genesis 1: Day 3a

9. And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so.

10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.

Wrinkling of the surface of the earth by volcanic activity and plate tectonics.

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Genesis 1: Day 3b

11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so.

12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

13 And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day.

The newly formed dry land brings forth vegetation.

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Genesis 1: Day 414 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to

separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years,

15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so.

16 God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from

darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day.

The overcast shroud, which light penetrates, is parted to reveal the sun, the stars and the moon.

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Genesis 1: Day 4

16 God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

“imperfect tense” . The imperfect expresses an action, process or condition which is incomplete, and it has

a wide range of meaning:

1a) It is used to describe a single (as opposed to a repeated) action in the past; it differs from the perfect in being more vivid and pictorial. The

perfect expresses the "fact", the imperfect adds colour and movement by suggesting the "process"

preliminary to its completion.

`asah

http://www.blueletterbible.org/tmp_dir/strongs/1045832199-97.html

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Genesis 1: Day 520 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and

let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living

and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

22 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth."

23 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day.

God puts fish in the water and birds in the air.

`baraImperfect tense

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Genesis 1: Day 6a

24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so.

25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

God makes animals.

`asah

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Genesis 1: Day 6b

26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth,and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

God makes man and woman.

`asah

`baraImperfect tense

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Genesis 1: Day 6c

29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day.

God gives man provisions.

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Genesis 2: Day 7

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested [ceased] from all his work.

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.

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

God finishes creation and rests.

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ConsistencyThe sequence of events in Genesis is consistent with the sequence of

events in science. (This seems unique in the world’s major religions.) The cause is not.

Here’s another view…

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“The Science of God”by Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D. (Physics) MIT

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In a nutshell:Solid Relativity

“The Science of God”by Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D. (Physics) MIT

1.Space Expands1.Space Expands

2. Time relativitistically dilates2. Time relativitistically dilates

3. Past time, from our perspective, looks 3. Past time, from our perspective, looks much faster than our current time.much faster than our current time.

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“The Science of God”by Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D. (Physics) MIT

4.4. Big bang models suggest a slowing down Big bang models suggest a slowing down of time. We can measure this from the of time. We can measure this from the cosmic background radiation (currently cosmic background radiation (currently about 2.73about 2.73ooK) and the big bang K) and the big bang temperature (10.9 temperature (10.9 101012 o12 oK).K).

5.5. Result: From current perspective, Result: From current perspective, logarithmic intervals of time linearize our logarithmic intervals of time linearize our perspective. perspective.

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“The Science of God”by Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D. (Physics) MIT

From the Bible’s perspective looking forward in time from the start of day one, each “Creation Day” has 24 hours.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

1 2 3 4 5 6

Creation Days

Bill

ion

s o

f Y

ea

rs From Earth'sperspective lookingback in time

Approximate yearsbefore Adam

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Creation Harmony

Day Start(Billion Years)

Bible Science

1 15.750 The creation of the universe; light separates from dark (Gen 1:1-5)

Big bang; light breaks free as electrons bond to atomic nuclei; galaxies start to form.

2 7.750 The heavenly firmament forms (Gen 1:6-8)

Disk of the Milky forms; Sun, a main sequence star, forms

3 3.750 Oceans and dry land appear; the first life, plants, appear (Gen 1: 9-13)

Earth has cooled and liquid water appears 3.8 billion years ago followed almost immediately by the first forms of life: bacteria & photosynthetic algae

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Creation HarmonyDay Start

(Billion Years)

Bible ScienceScience

4 1.750 The sun, moon & stars become visible in the heavens. (Gen 1:9-13)

Earth’s atmosphere becomes transparent; photosynthesis produces oxygen rich atmosphere.

5 0.75 First animal life swarms abundantly in waters; followed by reptiles and winged animals (Gen 1:20-23)

First multicellular animals; waters swarm with animal life having the basic body plans of all future animals; first winged insects.

6 0.25(ends about 6000 years ago)

Land animals; mammals; humankind (Gen 1:24-31)

Massive extinction destroys over 90% of life. Land is repopulated: hominids and then humans.

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ConsistencyThe sequence of events in Genesis is consistent with the sequence of

events in science. (This seems unique in the world’s major religions.) The cause is not.

Science and

wisdom are not enough.

Page 49: Science, God & Christ Genesis and Science: Compatibility Extraordinaire.

Faith before Science…1 Corinthians 1 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world the world through its through its

wisdomwisdom did not know him did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishnessfoolishness ofof what was preached to save those those who believe.

22 Jews demand miraculous signsmiraculous signs and Greeks look for look for wisdomwisdom,

23 but we preach Christ crucifiedbut we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

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Solomon’s Sage Advice

Solomon’s Sage Advice...Solomon’s Sage Advice...11 The words of the wise are like 11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails-given by firmly embedded nails-given by one Shepherd. one Shepherd. 12 Be warned, my son, of anything 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. much study wearies the body. 13 Now all has been heard; here is 13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.for this is the whole [duty] of man.

Ecclesiastes 12

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A Meta Question:

• How should the accuracy of these interpretations of Gen 1 effect our relationship with Christ?

Page 52: Science, God & Christ Genesis and Science: Compatibility Extraordinaire.

Robert J. Marks II

[email protected]