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Science and religion argument
Religion vs science
Religion vs science
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In modern society today, a supposed war is raging between science and religion. Some argue that religion and science cannot coexist; a person cannot believe in both as they contradict one another. Others claim that science and religion have no conflicts and can both be believed simultaneously. This type of discourse has taken root in Christianity, with two schools of thought having risen in response to this war. Each side has its unique view of the interpretation of Genesis, the authority of the Bible, the age of the Earth, and how much science can be trusted or believed in. Based on textual and historical evidence, the nonliteral interpretation of Genesis is the stronger argument.
The view that most people associate with or assume of Christianity
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This position does not immediately make assumptions that Genesis is a material account of creation, but instead looks at it with the text’s intention and date of writing in mind. Upon deeper reading and careful analysis, it is obvious that Genesis was never intended to act as a scientific account. The ancient people for whom this text is intended for would have never understood the lofty measures of science society understands today, and God recognized this; he choose to speak to them in their language, on a level they understood. This is why Genesis is should be interpreted in a nonliteral way; as John Walton says, while the text was meant for people, it was written for and in the language of the ancient people to which it was given to. In addition to this textual and historical support, Evolutionary Creationism also has the support of science. In this view, science has no conflicts, and in fact shows a lot of evidence in favor of intelligent design and creation. Consider the Earth and its suitability for life. It is the perfect distance away from the Sun so that it is neither too hot or too cold for life; the atmosphere contains the right amount of oxygen and other gases; these are just a few examples of how perfectly shaped the world is for life. No other planet discovered thus far has been found to have life or the …show more content…
However, upon examination, it is possible for all of these to not only coexist, but support one another under Evolutionary Creationism. Young Earth Creationism and literally interpreting Genesis has become tradition for many churches in modern day society, but that does not make it the right way. Modern presumptions has made people blind to the true intended meaning of Genesis to act not as a literal, scientific and chronological account, but instead as it should be read: an account of creating order and bestowing function to a chaotic world. God’s messengers were ancient people, as was his audience; it is important to recognize this and read the text as such, instead of pressing modern day views upon it. If one is not careful about this distinction, they are likely to unknowingly warp the text of its true intended meaning, as has likely been occurring for some time. Young Earth Creationism is built on these incorrect assumptions, and treats Genesis like a scientific guidebook when it is not meant to be so. Genesis must be treated for what it is, and scholars who are proponents of Evolutionary Creationism such as John Walton have taken the original language of the Bible as well as the time period and culture when Genesis was written into careful account when analyzing what Genesis is really saying. By doing this, these scholars
In conclusion, it is possible for science and religion to overlap. Although Gould’s non-overlapping magisterial claims that creationism doesn’t conflict with evolution, it doesn’t hold with a religion that takes the biblical stories literally. Moreover, I defended my thesis, there is some overlap between science and religion and these overlaps cause conflict that make it necessary to reject either science or religion, by using Dawkins’ and Plantinga’s arguments. I said earlier that I agree with Dawkins that both science and religion provide explanation, consolation, and uplift to society. However, there is only conflict when science and religion attempt to explain human existence. Lastly, I use Plantinga’s argument for exclusivists to show that such conflict means that science and religion are not compatible. It demands a rejection t either science or religion.
Chapter 3, The Bible, Creation, and Science by Robert Branson, PhD presented some interesting aspects of biblical interpretations relative to science. “With the rapid changes and developments that all areas of modern science produce, it is a general belief that if an informed person is made to choose between science or the Bible, science will be chosen.” (loc 647 Kindle, Branson) Dr. Branson tries and explain the three positions people take with biblical studies. The three positions examined by Dr. Branson are 1. Concordance, 2. Young-Earth Creati...
Mark Driscoll brings out different viewpoints relating to creation. As Christians, Genesis 1:1 can be our foundation in our belief, “in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” This helps us realize the miraculous act of God by which He brought the universe into existence. We should not have to rely on individuals using Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory to help explain the origin of life apart from God. God creation set us apart. After all, God stated His creation was made “very good”.
Forty percent of the American population believe in Young Earth creationism. There are many different types of creationism. Young Earth creationism is the literal interpretation of genesis that states that the universe was created through an act of god 10,000 or fewer years ago. Whereas evolution is the theory that all life evolved from a single organism and the changes that take place in organisms. There are many famous debates over this topic as well.
...arth and humans were not created less than 10,000 years ago; however, it does not mean that divine intervention did not take place in the creation of the universe and the earth. It is this that is the focal point of my argument; the debate is not merely black and white, the grey area is where the compromise can be made. Many argue that without divine intervention, there is no possible explanation for the creation of the universe; however, others argue that due to evolution, creationism is clearly untrue. These ideas when combined allow creationists to retain their belief that the universe was created by the divine, yet allow for the introduction of modern science to explain evolution. The result is a successful resolve to the evolution and creationism debate. Therefore, I believe that not only can evolution and creationism coexist, but also support one another.
We humans have always thought of ourselves as being unique, whether by divine sanction or by a self-established belief in superiority. For some, this understanding is intimately tied to the traditional tenets that have long been held as fact, having only recently been challenged. For modern Christians, the literal interpretation of the Bible=s account of creation has come under attack by the development and widespread acceptance of Darwinian evolution. To some, undermining the credibility of Biblical creation directly calls into question the Bible=s authority on its moral teachings. As Ken Ham, from the WGBH Boston Video Evolution Series: What About God? states, AYwhat it [the Bible] says is what it meansYit relates to the authority of scripture and the gospelsYso, if the Bible got it wrong in astronomyYgeologyYbiologyYthen why should I trust the Bible when it talks about morality and salvation? [i]@ It is no wonder with sentiments like these that the backlash against evolution has been so strong and lasting; nonetheless, it has not been until the last few decades that such a debate has moved from the pulpit to the laboratory. With a more educated and well-informed army of Christians, who believe in creationism, the scientific evidence for evolution has now come under assault. With creationists and intelligent design advocates like Henry M. Morris and Michael J. Behe respectively, the attack on Darwin is no longer argued as religion versus evolution per se, but rather one Alegitimate@ scientific theory against another.
...as left of the Earth. After this destruction, the Earth was back to its beginnings with no living organisms. A person may similarly believe that God destroyed the universe, which began again as a condensed state and began to expand (the Big Bang Theory). Both of these similar beliefs seem to combine catastrophism, which involves the destruction of existing species of the time, and evolution. These beliefs do not contradict any scientific evidence or any of Darwin’s studies, yet they still hold true to the story of creation. One can certainly believe in God and scientific discoveries and processes if he or she believes that God does not interfere with natural processes but simply watches over the universe. It is certainly possible for a person to believe in God and in what the Bible is trying to communicate, literally or figuratively, yet still believe in evolution.
The clash between evolutionists and creationists seems to be far from its finale. Both sides come up with potent arguments in favor of their positions. Evolutionists stress the absence of factual evidence in favor of God’s existence, point to fossils as a proof of the evolutionary process, and name the Big Bang as the reason of the universe’s appearance and further development. Creationists, in their turn, stress that there are no intermediate links between species in found fossils, consider complexity and diversity of nature to be an indirect evidence of God’s existence, and refer to the second law of thermodynamics to argue against the Big Bang theory. However, none of the sides seem to see that both points of view can not only co-exist, but be successfully combined. Such a combination could explain everything at once.
Before delving into the problems with theistic evolution, let us define it. Theistic evolution rejects the Christian tradition of interpreting the creation days as having been normal 24-hour days. It insists that only naturalistic mechanisms be considered when considering creation and the origin of life. Theistic evolutionists believe that humans and all other life forms evolved from a bacterial precursor in the distant past. For theistic evolutionists, naturalistic science carries precedence over the Word of God. However, in order to justify Christian faith, theistic evolution allows for the supernatural in order to explain New Testament miracles. In Biology Through the Eyes of Faith, theistic evolutionist Richard Wright explains that theistic evolutionists rearrange the first chapters of Genesis into topical sections instead of interpreting them in a straightforward manner (2003, p. 92). He argues that the chr...
Due to the compromised worldview, the interpretation of Genesis 1 can greatly vary among Christians. Some people literally interpret Genesis 1, while other people have slightly different opinion toward it. First interviewee was a Japanese seminary student who is in the same organization with me. When I asked her about the length of a day in Genesis 1, she said that it is 6 days because she literally believes Genesis 1. Also, she thinks that the Earth should be about 6000 years according to her prior knowledge. Then she said that there is no common ancestor because she believes that God created apes and human separately. Consequently, she believes that Adam and Eve were real people. Second interviewee was my dad who is a pastor with a strong belief and firm criteria towards every thing related to Bible. My father’s answer was basically same. He believes that Adam and Eve actually existed, and man and apes are separate beings according to the Bible. However, He showed a slightly different perspective toward the age of Earth. He doubted the young earth theory because Moses’ reference of Genesis 1 should be an indir...
Both the Theogony and the Creation in Genesis show nature as a blessing for humans but with negative affects, However the myths differ in the ways that the Earth and humans were created and how humans interact with the deities of the creation stories. These differences include how Gods treat humans and why the Gods/God created Earth. These stories are still being passed on in today’s world and are two of the most influential creation stories to have ever been written. The similarities and differences in the creation stories show that different cultures and religions throughout the world really aren’t that far off from each other.
In the history of science vs. religion there have been no issues more intensely debated than evolution vs. creationism. The issue is passionately debated since the majority of evidence is in favor of evolution, but the creation point of view can never be proved wrong because of religious belief. Human creation breaks down into three simple beliefs; creation theory, naturalistic evolution theory, and theistic evolution theory. The complexities of all three sides create a dilemma for what theory to support among all people, religious and non-religious.
At first glance, many facets of science and religion seem to be in direct conflict with each other. Because of this, I have generally kept them confined to separate spheres in my life. I have always thought that science is based on reason and cold, hard facts and is, therefore, objective. New ideas have to be proven many times by different people to be accepted by the wider scientific community, data and observations are taken with extreme precision, and through journal publications and papers, scientists are held accountable for the accuracy and integrity of their work. All of these factors contributed to my view of science as objective and completely truthful. Religion, on the other hand, always seems fairly subjective. Each person has their own personal relationship with God, and even though people often worship as a larger community with common core beliefs, it is fine for one person’s understanding of the Bible and God to be different from another’s. Another reason that Christianity seems so subjective is that it is centered around God, but we cannot rationally prove that He actually exists (nor is obtaining this proof of great interest to most Christians). There are also more concrete clashes, such as Genesis versus the big bang theory, evolution versus creationism, and the finality of death versus the Resurrection that led me to separate science and religion in my life. Upon closer examination, though, many of these apparent differences between science and Christianity disappeared or could at least be reconciled. After studying them more in depth, science and Christianity both seem less rigid and inflexible. It is now clear that intertwined with the data, logic, and laws of scien...
In today’s society, many topics create a very substantial amount of controversy between different groups of people. From abortion to the healthcare reform, there are countless topics of discussion. One of the major and ongoing controversial topics in the religious society is the Big Bang theory versus Creation. One side of the controversy is, predominately, the scientific community, with the other end obviously being the religious community.
Genesis is the first creation story. God creates, establishes, and puts everything into motion. After putting all of this in motion he then rests. He creates everything on earth in just seven days. Before creation Gods breath was hovering over a formless void. God made earth and all of the living creatures on earth out of nothing. There was not any pre-existent matter out of which the world was produced. Reading Genesis 1 discusses where living creatures came from and how the earth was formed. It’s fascinating to know how the world began and who created it all. In Genesis 1 God is the mighty Lord and has such strong power that he can create and banish whatever he would like. His powers are unlike any others. The beginning was created from one man only, God.