This may not go over well. After all, we as a people take pride in our ability to understand everything; the big bang, Einstein's theories of relativity, psychology, philosophy, apologetics... well, okay, we don't really understand it all. But we're pretty close, right? We know how the universe began; we've got a cure for cancer... okay... we're not even close.
It's important to be Smart. That's why Creationism is just as much of a science as evolution is, with scientific explanations for everything from the earth's age (around 6000 years) to how Adam was made from dust (and Eve from a rib), to why it appears that dinosaurs walked the earth before the earth was even made. Because, if Christians don't understand science or if, (gasp) our Bible doesn't explain everything in detail, we'll seem stupid; and that's not good.
But... when I read the Bible, it seems as though I'm not supposed to know everything. In fact, wasn't the tree that Adam and Eve ate from called "the tree of knowledge of good and evil?" Wasn't it bad for them to eat from that tree? Is God trying to say something in this story, besides laying out our genealogy?
Maybe the message is closer to "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18
And "... But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." 1 Corinthians 1:9
Science can (mostly) be explained; God can't. Maybe it's time to stop trying to bend our tiny little minds around his great one. He knows things that we can't--and aren't supposed to--fathom!
Personally, I think evolution was God's way of creating us. It fits in with the order, but not the time frame, laid out in Genesis. But I could be wrong. Lord, forgive me if I’m wrong. I just don't think it matters that much.
Here are some actual theological discussions; some from the past, some still going on. How important are they?
Does the earth revolve around the sun?
How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? (This was probably never actually discussed. It was an insult to nit-picky theologians.)
How many animals were on Noah's ark? How did the dinosaurs fit?
Were dinosaur bones put in the ground by God to confuse us?
Did Adam have a belly button?
Can God make a rock so big that He can't move it?
I have some better questions; how can I help the people in my community to know and love God? How can I help people in my family, my neighborhood, and the world? How can I really understand the meaning of love, since that's the center of Christianity?
As a Christian, I'm so glad I don't have to come up with an answer to any of those first questions. I know God loves me anyway.
Some (like the sun revolving around the earth) are now seen not as literal interpretations of the Bible, but metaphor.
At the time, the Christian scientific view of geocentrism was based on:
"the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved." Chronicles 16:30 KJB
"[the Lord] Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever." Psalm 104:5
"The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose." Ecclesiastes 1:5
This isn't exactly science. Could these verses be talking about something else? In fact, when the "science" is taken out, the verses and stories are much richer and more meaningful.
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! - Romans 11:33
Sunday, May 23, 2010
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