Question Details	Asked By	Asked On
Searching for the truth about evolution	Tippy	07/23/03
Are there any science majors with a heart for God who can answer questions regarding evolution? Let me start by saying that I am a Christian and I believe in evolution to some degree. Call me a theistic evolutionist if you like. The roll of a scientist is to examin the facts. I have read the book of Genesis and study scientific journals. The Bible says God created man and formed the earth but gives no details how. Once upon a time Christians were persecuted for saying the earth was round! How dare those God-fearing people speak such evil! I would just like to hear an intelligent-God fearing human being give me another perspective I'm all ears or eyes in this case! Tippy
Answered By		Answered On
wvseagull		07/24/03
Tippy, this is a strange spot for this question, but since it is here for all to see, here goes my OPINION. I am a Christian, and do not follow many of the doctrines and disciplines of the church, and especially those of the Church. To me religion is a private and personal thing. As a Christian, I do believe that the Bible is the Word of God, but it was written by men, translated by other men, and rewritten by men. In the book of Genesis, God created the heavens and the earth, but no details were given, except that it took 6 days. This leaves a lot of leeway for scientists to work on exactly how all this was done. The best scientific data shows that this planet that we call "Earth" is about six billion years old. BUT, the Bible can only account for 6 thousand years. Quite a difference. There are galaxies that have been photographed by the Hubble telescope that are millions of light-years away from us. Creationists say that God created all of this "on the way." To me this is a little too convenient an explanation. There is a danger in taking everything, every word, too literally, when, it seems to me, that the Bible is a book of history, and concepts. Why would God, all-knowing and all-powerful, need to create light and other things "on the way" just to fool a bunch of humans? In 2Chronicles there is a reference that, if taken literally, makes the value of pi 3 1/3. We know that this is not the case. You cannot have a circle that has a diameter of 3 and a perimeter of 10. Much of the Bible is taken up with history, philosophy and the teachings of Jesus Christ and his disciples. None of it, to me, explains, or even tries to explain, how the universe was created. Back then, the language for this did not exist. One cannot explain science unless you have the language for it. (Don't believe me? Try having calculus translated into Attica Greek. Or an explanation of nuclear fission into Latin.) Tippy, I read a lot of science and worship God. There are a lot of wondrous things in this universe that He has created, and I do not see any particular conflict between my religion and science. Of course, if there is a new edition of the Spanish Inquisition, I will have a REAL conflict with the church! As for the fundamentalists, I try to live and let live, since my time is to precious to argue with them, as it is an argument that cannot be won. In short, what your beliefs are is your business. You can think and believe as you wish. It is not necessary to win others to your particular beliefs, or even to share them. Faith is believing in things when there is no evidence that is totally conclusive. Tippy, feel free to look at my profile and my answers, and determine for yourself whether or not I meet your requirements in your question. Regards, Dan

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