Darwin vs Genesis: How do I balance the two? Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Balancing a belief in God with a scientific mind is hard. Genesis 1 says that the Earth was created in 7 days. Some religious scholars put the creation of the Earth, and by proxy. the universe at around 6 000 years ago. Scientists, however, put this at more like 10 bn years ago. So how do I balance this, and still keep my faith?

7 days

As a Christian I have been taught that the Bible is God’s Word – it is our direct line to Heaven. Consequently, whenever we need guidance we are advised to pray, read and then pray again. This I understand and accept, but how should I interpret the words that I read?

Given that I speak neither Greek nor Hebrew, the words contained within my Bible are one removed from the original text. And as with all translations, the English words chosen to replace those of the original language have already changed the meaning, albeit very slightly, of the original text.

So with regards Genesis 1 are we talking 7 periods of 24 hours or 7 epocs?

Intelligent design

I first heard of The God Theory at the Planetarium in Montreal. At first I didn’t agree with it, and I am still not sure – I like the idea of “aliens,” and I still can’t reconcile myself with the idea that, in an infinite  universe, we are the only ones here. It seems incredibly arrogant.

However, having said that. this piece of video almost perfectly explains my own beliefs.

In his Watchmaker Analogy, William Paley suggests that if you were to find a watch in the field you would automatically know that it had been made and then placed in the field. It had not naturally appeared there. The Teleological Argument suggests that the proof of God’s existence is in the complex balance within which life on Earth is possible.

1. X is too complex, orderly, adaptive, apparently purposeful or beautiful to have occurred randomly or accidentally.
2. Therefore, X must have been created by a sentient, intelligent, wise, or purposeful being.
3. God is a sentient, intelligent, wise, or purposeful being.
4. Therefore, God exists.

As much as I believe in evolution, I cannot believe that it all happened purely by chance. The delicate balance which is needed for life to exist, in my mind, points directly to some designer. I don’t think that it was all created, merely nutured.

Parents give their children the building blocks necessary to succeed in life, but they can’t live our lives for us . It is their job to supply us with what we need and then nudge us in the right direction whenever it might look like we might be lost. In the same way I believe that God gave the Earth the building blocks needed for live to thrive, and then has played the Parent role ever since.