Results 1 - 4 of 4
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Plants were created, and then stars? | Gen 1:14 | Parable | 46906 | ||
This followup is not intended to address biblical matters, but rather explain my perspective on science in general in light of my faith in Christ. Science addresses our knowledge of the universe. As a human endeavor, science is subject to both the constraints and the liberties afforded by the human condition. Thus, the structure and meaning of science give insight to both the universe in general, and the human condition in particular. If this were not true, science would not have meaning for us as we strive to build a world view in which we make sense of what we experience and observe. In other words, science can help us to understand ourselves as part of the universe. And, perhaps more profoundly, because the human condition shapes how we practice science, the structure and content of science inherently imply something about the human condition that we cannot elucidate directly. So, in effect we get two jewels for the price of one, if we are able to see the human condition reflected in our knowledge system called science. Perhaps most importantly, in the limitations of science, we see the limitations of ourselves. Ultimately, according to the purely scientific approach, all observable phenomena are explainable in terms of fundamental physical processes alone. These phenomena include not only the processes of physics, chemistry and biology, but also the processes of psychology, sociology, history, religion and art, to name a few. Perhaps the most elegant accomplishment of science will be the understanding of consciousness, self-awareness, emotion, logic, mathematics, language, memory and imagination. I suspect these latter phenomena may be understood by induction from the human condition as reflected in science rather than through deduction from the data per se, yet this understanding is no less valid for being gained in this way. In science, the universe is not defined, but its properties are modeled in terms of four fundamental elements, i.e. matter, space, energy and time. The ultimate goal of science is to develop an understanding of how matter, space, time and energy can be explained in terms of each other, or as diverse manifestations of one ultimate fundamental reality, such that all observable phenomena can be understood, including the origin of the universe and its ultimate destiny. For example, a central question is how matter and energy can be equivalent, as inspired by the observation that matter can be converted entirely into energy, according to Einstein's famous equivalence, as in nuclear fission, for example. Another is how the force of gravity can be communicated between masses and how gravity is somehow equivalent to the other three fundamental forces, i.e. electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forces. Yet another is how the entirety of the universe can be accounted for in an infinitely dense, dimensionless singularity at the start of space-time, as hypothesized in the cosmological theory of the Big Bang. Finally, given what we believe from science, what will happen at the end of time? The Big Crunch, the infinite expansion of the universe until it gets spread so thin as to be reduced to nothing, or some other possibility we have yet to imagine? To me, faith in Christ liberates us from the hopelessness and tyranny imposed by a purely scientific world view and nothing in science, when done properly, can ever contradict the Word of God. |
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2 | Plants were created, and then stars? | Gen 1:14 | sharonrose | 47030 | ||
Hi, Parable, I agree with you. Though it seems like there exist some confliction between bible and current science, and though the discrepancy can't affect my faith, I believe that "In the end, when all is known, we will see that there is no discrepancy between Creation and the Word". So I want to know more about science. The more we know about the world and the true rules of the world, the more we can't help praising God how wonderful his creation is. And I want to equip myself with authoritative and deliberate knowledge, to answer those who just believe in "science". But in fact, they don't know what "science" does say. For example, they said that human beings come from monkeys, but from the research of gene, there are other animals (it was said pig or mouse. I can't make sure, so I want to find the authority materials) whose gene are more similar to human being. BTW, do you know if I can get Dr. Rose's article in Internet? |
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3 | Plants were created, and then stars? | Gen 1:14 | Parable | 47084 | ||
Sharonrose, I once read that the first rule of consulting is that the problem is always with the people, not the equipment, policies, software, infrastructure or anything else the people use. In the case of the "science vs faith" conflict, the problem is with people. To address the needs of people, then, I recommend the following approach. Regarding faith, I believe the facts of our faith are best understood in light of the Godly principles they demonstrate. I think we agree that knowing all of "what" the Bible says and having it at your fingertips is no small task, but knowing the "how" and "why" of the Bible is much more feasible and fruitful; when we understand the lesson God wants us to know, we can better understand the details he uses to teach that lesson and we can apply those lessons in the circumstances of our lives. Of course, learning both the lesson and the facts happens together. Likewise for science, no one can know all of what science has to say. I've heard physicists talk about biology and biologists talk about astronomy and when they do, they reveal how even learned scholars can be like novices in another field. So, rather than learn the "what" of science, i.e. science facts, which are static, I suggest you learn the "how" of science, which is dynamic, so you can apply proper scientific method to any subject or line of reasoning you face. For me, I have to remind myself that sometimes, no matter what I say, people will continue to believe what they want, perhaps in order to justify what they want to do. As a friend of mine once said about those who raise objections to faith, "if you yank those objections out of the ground like a weed, what you find clinging to the roots is sin." So, what people need is to be convicted of their sin, rather than intellectually convinced that, without God, science is empty and dead. Indeed, conviction is the first step in understanding this; science can do nothing for the fundamental condition of human depravity. |
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4 | Plants were created, and then stars? | Gen 1:14 | sharonrose | 47093 | ||
Parable, Thanks a lot for your kind reply and advice! |
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