Thursday, April 29, 2010

In the beginning was the Word

 
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. – from the Basic Beliefs of the Southern Baptist Church, currently 16 million members strong

At the core of most major religions is the belief that the universe has not existed forever.  Instead, it was created by a higher power at some specific point in the past, usually to provide a backdrop or platform for humanity to inhabit. Interestingly, arguably the most profound scientific discovery of the 20th century was that the Universe has, in fact, not been around forever.  About 13.7 billion years ago, by current best estimates, the whole enchilada started out as an almost infinitely hot and infinitely dense speck, so tiny that even our most powerful microscopes couldn’t have seen it.  From there, the speck started to expand and cool, a process that is still going on today.  This “big bang” account leaves the question of how (and, if you insist, why) the universe came into being completely open.  The Catholic Church, for example, sees in the big bang the undeniable handiwork of God the Creator.

The church may be right.  In the absence of any evidence one way or the other, divine intervention has just much right to a seat at the table as any other conjecture.  Thus, in concert with those of a religious persuasion, I’m quite open to the possibility that the Universe had a creator.  However, there is one particular religious belief concerning creation that I could not disagree more violently with: the specific details of the creation account as described in the Old Testament. Actually, to say I “disagree with” the biblical version of creation doesn’t do my position justice.  The Genesis version of the Universe’s creation can’t possibly be correct.  It’s just flat-out wrong. It’s untrue.  The sooner that all religions and denominations embrace the Catholic notion that Genesis should be taken figuratively, not literally, the better off all of us will be, believers and non-believers alike. 

This embrace cannot come fast enough for me. As recently as 2008, a Gallup poll found that fully 44% of US adults agreed with the statement "God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so”.   We can assume that a similar percentage would have agreed with the statement “God created the heavens and the Earth sometime in the last 10,000 years” as well, had this question also been asked.

So what does Genesis actually say?  Very briefly, Chapter 1 asserts that the heavens, the earth, and all living creatures, including the first humans, were created in the space of six days.  Assuming that the subsequent course of human history, as laid out in the Bible, proceeded uninterrupted from that week, various Biblical scholars have computed the time that has elapsed since that monumental week as about 6000 years. 

In this latest series of blogs, I’m going to confront this Biblical account of creation head on.  But I’m not going to go about it the standard way, which is to champion Darwinian evolutionary theory over the Genesis story of how humans came to be, or to lob geological arguments at the Young Earth Creation (YEC) movement, whose members assert that most of the geological evidence for an old Earth is instead the product of a relatively recent event - Noah’s flood.  These conventional ways of framing the issue might well be futile anyway.  In the words of the YECs themselves,

“We further deny that scientific hypotheses about Earth history may properly be used to overturn the teaching of Scripture on creation and the flood”.

So what kind of argument am I going to mount instead? I’m afraid you’ll have to check out the next blog to begin to find out!

12 comments:

  1. Certainly open-minded, aren't they? (eyeroll)
    But enough with my sarcasm. I look forward to your next blog and the continuation of this topic, Whabby.

    After that, will you please explain to me what derivatives are? LOL

    Katie

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  2. I'm always interested and intrigued by what you have to say....

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  3. AGREE TO DISAGREE.

    I'D RATHER BELIEVE IN GOD AND GO TO HEAVEN THAN NOT BELIEVE AND GO TO HELL IF THERE REALLY IS A GOD. EITHER WAY WE CAN AGREE TO DISAGREE. ROLL MY EYES. JUST A THOUGHT.

    I DON'T HAVE TO AGREE TO STILL LOVE YAH. WE ALL HAVE OUR OPINIONS AND YOU ALREADY KNOW MINE.

    TGGRANNY

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  4. P.S.,I STILL THINK YOUR ONE SMART COOKIE. I JUST TOLD GRAMPS THAT YOUR ONE OF THE SMARTEST MEN I KNOW OTHER THAN GRAMPS HIMSELF.

    GRANNY TG

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  5. Afternoon Everybody!

    Bear
    Just out of curiousity, how much
    of The Bible have you read?

    God Bless my dear athiest pal.
    Love ya.
    KFC.
    xo

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  6. I find this topic most interesting. I have been known to ask questions of "how do you know" in the past of my religious upbringing.

    I am curious in where/how you will take this subject matter.

    Yes indeed you are one smart man. I find it most interesting to read other's views. You know me in how I like the approach of the outsider looking in. The universe is such a vast unknown area to learn about.

    You have my attention Whabbear~~

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  7. I'd like to hear his argument. Should prove interesting!

    Bear, the above is from my best friend, same
    age as me, very smart woman, and a good Christian.

    Thanks for sharing with us.
    xo

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  8. Karen and Just Me: Great! I'll be working on the next installments on the way to and from Chicago this weekend...

    TG: Please note, I am NOT writing these blogs to express and opinion or argue against the existence of God. Just the Genesis story of creation.

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  9. MY DEAR DEAR DR. BEAR, I KNOW THAT. YOUR STILL ON TOP. AGREE TO DISAGREE THAT'S ALL. CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY SOME PEOPLE HAVE VISIONS? NOT THE KIND OF WHAT A PERSON WANTS FOR THEIR FUTURE BUT THE RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE? [A VISION]I'VE HAD TWO. ONE THE WEEK OF 911 AT MY CHURCH IN N.Y. ANOTHER ONE ON A SUNDAY AT MY CHURCH HERE IN FLORIDA. THEREFORE, I KNOW THAT I KNOW FOR MYSELF THAT CHRIST IS REAL. BY THE WAY IT WAS WONDERFUL. IT'S LIKE HOW YOU YOURSELF FEEL WHEN YOU EXPLORE THE STARS. EVERYTHING IS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL.

    TG

    TG

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  10. P.S., ALOFA, THAT'S LOVE IN SAMOAN.LOL

    TAMPA GRANNY

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  11. Bear
    Another comment following from a good good
    friend. She is about 10 years older than us,
    and like you, she is an athiest. I thought
    you would enjoy her comment, as she is a very
    intelligent woman, and she loves Space. :O)


    of course there is a divine creation here.. what gets silly is all of mankind's dogma and insistence on how many years ago this all happened.. and all the adjustments to so called sacred literature which mostly has been tweeked over the millenia due to power mongering and control over the masses..

    I experienced a deep meditation vision one time many years ago.. I was floating in space and far ahead of me were two pairs of mature hands.. one male and one female.. and as I watched from a comfort place like no other I have ever felt.. I saw these two pairs of hands shaping the Earth, molding it with love into the precious blue sphere it is... it was a heart awakening vision for me.. and I feel that I was honored and blessed to experience the beginning of our lovely home.. I wish I could extend the incredible feeling to others .. the feeling that has stayed in my heart since I witnessed this amazing scene...

    As for most religions and control freaks.. they aren't even in the boat .. amen...

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