The universe testifies
to the existence of its Creator. The Bible in the book of Genesis gives a brief
account of God’s creative work. Unfortunately, some scientists and theologians
have not been able to come together on the facts.
One reason — the
age of the universe, another —
evolution.
In
1650 AD, Archbishop James Usher used the genealogies provided in Genesis to
calculate the age of the earth. He arrived at a date of 4004 BC. Usher had
little scientific data available to determine whether he was using sound
exegesis. It is natural to assume that the Archbishop would not reach the same
conclusion if he were to study the evidence available now. However, the
young-earth creationists are still perpetuating this view today by insisting
that the earth is about 6,000 year old. The young-earth creationists have made
this issue a battleground by coercing well-meaning clergy into believing
godless science is purposely attempting to discredit the Bible. But the
young-earth arguments are flawed, even though they sound like they are
glorifying God.
Naturalistic
science, on the other hand, claims that everything developed naturally and that
there is nothing for a Creator to do. All things can be explained without
invoking a God. The sad thing is that this is not true, but it is feared that
admitting otherwise would give credence to the young-earth beliefs.
In
their pure form, Christianity and science are interested in the same thing —
the truth. Many Christian scientists struggle daily between the facts of the
universe and the tradition they are told they must accept because of their
faith. Some unbelievers cannot come to the saving faith in Jesus Christ because
they cannot settle the differences between science and religion.
The
fossil records indicate that life began as simple bacteria type cells and
became more and more complex as creation progressed. This does not mean
naturalistic evolution can explain everything. It is a theory. Microevolution
does explain much of the variations within a species — different types of
finches for instance. Macroevolution's ability to produce through natural selection
or mutations novel organs or a change in body plan is not proven fact. On the contrary, the fossil records show that
species generally appear suddenly
and remain basically stable throughout
their existence. On the other hand, in principle it is very logical to
admit that God used the laws of nature, that He designed, to achieve His goal.
Two
extreme opinions are fighting with each other on this matter, not realizing
that it is actually not difficult to harmonize modern science with the Bible.