How can Hugh Ross read the latest paper on inflationary universe in five dimensions and find the exact match to the Bible? Why can’t you guys do this? Why can’t you read the latest papers on the evolution of snakes and match it up with the talking snake in Genesis? It is easy. Make the bible interpretation match the science. Francis Collins has done it. Hugh Ross does it every day. He is masterful at it. RTB should take the results of ancient DNA sequencing and match it up with the Bible, like Hugh does in astronomy. Einstein added the cosmological constant to general relativity to make it match a steady state universe. Wrong, then right when expansion was accelerating.
If Faith and Science are compatible then make it so. Take the science and link it to the Bible. Make it match. Or just say it matches. Like Deb Haarsma says so. And the others at Biologos.
You are just playing now. You don’t really respect that. This ends up being post-dictions, not pre-dictions, in just about every case. Perhaps the Big Bang is the single exception to this rule:
Scripture is silent on most things in science. Likewise, science is silent on God, silent human rights, and on most things we care about in our day-to-day lives. They do have overlapping magisteria (sorry Gould), but the overlap is much lower than we would think. I have no interest in reading science into Scripture, where it is not properly found. I trust it for other reasons, because of things beyond science.
The Quick Answer is because we are carrying the water for a 2-scenario model… it’s already got enough built-in controversy. We aren’t trying to tick off everyone that comes our way …
Don’t you remember? I for one have done this. Except I didn’t wait for the science. I made the prediction in Early Genesis in the chapters on the Table of Nations and the Tower of Babel about the Canaanites. Then a few days ago you yourself posted a thread about the origin of the Canaanites which matched perfectly with what I wrote in the book. Remember…
If there are things in there that are confirmed 500 years from now (or let’s say 50 because science moves faster these days) that would be equally impressive but we would not know it now.
I believe that Genesis 1-11 is real history; however, much pre-history is not included. I would say that I could either be a Progressive Creationist or a very conservative Theistic Evolutionist. Do I believe that there may be some theistic evolution in the Bible and the answer is"yes." I believe that God was totally active in the Tower of Babel. As a linguist, I would have to say that God increased the speed of language evolution there. If you see any letters left out, I am having problems with my keyboard. God bless.
I believe one must look at Genesis 1 from a different aspect. It is true that some ancient science does appear there; however, God tells the earth to bring forth different kinds of life, and it does. That sounds like theistic evolution to me, but God is more active than some views of TE. I shall give you two examples. It appears however in the whole chapter in my opinion. Here are the quotes:
Genesis 1: 11-12
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. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:24
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.
Notice that God gives the command, but the earth produces these creatures and plants. The only thing I do not see is a connection evolving between these; however, they are coming from the same source: God giving the command and the earth and the waters doing the rest. I believe something is being told to us here. What do you think, my friends. I believe we can be more literal with this material than more moderate TE’s do.
There is something “more than symbolic” going on when God says: “let the waters produce” … “let the land produce” … and so forth!
Egyptians thought Vultures were produced by the wind… that there was no need for sexual reproduction. Other cultures believed flies and/or worms were spontaneously produced right in the midst of rotting food.
They didn’t think it was a miracle… they thought that was how nature worked!
I spent 3 years as a contractor overseas (a little time in Kuwait and a little time in Afghanistan).
While in Kuwait, I heard about a group of the Faithful who had arranged to have a Saturday morning church service in a meeting room on the roof of an apartment building. Small but intimate.
Because of my readings, I knew that Muslim’s are rather baffled by the doctrine of the Trinity… they consider it complete blasphemy to even suggest a multiple ANYTHING within the ONE-ness of God.
I am a Unitarian Universalist, so I’m certainly sympathetic. But I digress! I enlisted a couple of fellow expatriates in the congregation to see if we could come up with a way to explain it that would satisfy Muslims.
We never figured it out … and we were surrounded by sample audiences… It’s probably very much like convincing a Young Earth Creationist that Evolution can be compatible with one’s faith. It’s just one of those GIANT barriers …
