Science, God & Christ

Science, God & Christ Genesis and Science: Compatibility Extraordinaire

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.

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

The Big Bang • Is it Biblical? • Is it consistent with Genesis? • Is the cosmological record of earth’s history consistent with the Bible? • Is “day” in Genesis a 24 hour period? Is defense of its definition found in scripture?

Science & the Church: Some Unflattering History “Those Who Refuse To Learn From History Repeat It.”George Santayana George Santayana (1863-1952)

Science & the Church: Some Unflattering History Can YOU prove: • The earth is round? • The earth moves around the sun? • The solar system is heliocentric?

ASCENSION Luke 24:51. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.

The Flat Earth Society Model 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." Science Digest, July 1980 Charles K. Johnson, president of the International Flat Earth Research Society http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/fe-scidi.htm

Learning From History The Copernicus dispute: A Heliocentric God? Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)

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)

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 )

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)

What the Bible says: Ecclesiastes 1 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.

Learning From History The 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).

Learning From History: Galileo • 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. Galileo Galilei 1564-1642

What the Bible says: Psalm 93:1b …. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. • Psalm 104: 5. He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.

Galileo’s retort: “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 Galilei February 15, 1564 Galileo believed: “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.”

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

Perspective? Ecclesiastes 1 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and 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?

Perspective? Luke 24:51. “And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.” • Perspective: From that of an observer on the surface of the earth. www.geocities.com/emeraldcity33/ ascension.html

Interpretation... • Three items to consider: • Translation variation (e.g. word meaning) • Literal vs. metaphor • Perspective

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/

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, Gen 5:1 This [is] the book of the generations of Adam. .. http://www.blueletterbible.org/

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…

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

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

3. Observer Perspective Remember Flat Earth and the persecution of Copernicus & Galileo. A Matter of Perspective? Newtonian Space & Time?

“The Genesis Question”by Dr. Hugh Ross http://reasons.org/index.shtml Another Theory

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Genesis 1: Day 4 14 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.

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

`bara Imperfect tense Genesis 1: Day 5 20 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.

`asah 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 `bara Imperfect tense 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.

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.

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.

Consistency The 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…

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

“The Science of God”by Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D. (Physics) MIT In a nutshell: Solid Relativity • 1.Space Expands 2. Time relativitistically dilates 3. Past time, from our perspective, looks much faster than our current time. One Theory

“The Science of God”by Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D. (Physics) MIT • Big bang models suggest a slowing down of time. We can measure this from the cosmic background radiation (currently about 2.73oK) and the big bang temperature (10.9 1012 oK). • Result: From current perspective, logarithmic intervals of time linearize our perspective. One Theory

“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. One Theory

Creation Harmony

Consistency The 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.

Faith before Science… 1 Corinthians 1 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishnessof what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

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

Science, God & Christ