Science vs Religion

The title of this post illustrates the fundamental flaw in this subject.  Like a court case, or more appropriately a fight, the title implies two sides.  It implies that one side is right and one is wrong and a victor will eventually emerge.  In reality there is no conflict.

At least there shouldn’t be.  Let’s use an example from the Catholic Church.

It was the Greek philosopher Aristotle who popularized the idea of the earth as the center of the universe.  That was over 2,300 years ago and he was heavily influenced by the philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, who lived about 200 years earlier.  His view seemed to agree with the understanding of the time and was eventually adopted by the Church.  Thomas Aquinas was the one who succeeded in fusing this geocentric view of the universe with Church dogma.

In 1543 Copernicus published a work wherein he replaced the geocentric view with a heliocentric one, or belief that the sun was the center of the solar system.  Initially this new idea caused little distress because Copernicus had been discreet in sharing it but the scientist to follow wasn’t quite so diplomatic.

Using telescopes of his own construction Galileo had an unprecedented view of the universe and the sun.  He agreed with Copernicus’ view of the sun as the center of the solar system and vociferously argued his point, angering the Church who had by that time grown hostile to any who opposed their earth centered view.  It wasn’t until 1992 that the Church admitted their error in dealing with Galileo.

Some view this as a victory of science over religion but it should be noted, and not lightly so, that Galileo did not have a problem with the Bible but with the Church.  Church authorities used philosophy as the basis for their belief of the earth as the center of everything, not the Bible.  These same authorities were so full of their own power they were unwilling to accept the idea the earth could not be the center of it all.  Men were imprisoned and killed for daring to stand up to the Church.  Lest you think I’m picking on the Catholic Church, the leaders of the Protestant Reformation (Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon and John Calvin) also thought Copernicus was wrong.

While Galileo’s problem was with the Church and not the Bible, can the same be said about science in general?  Yes.  It is not science versus religion, it is science and religion.  Below are a few examples of the Bible agreeing with science long before actual science caught up.

1) Is the earth round or flat?  Does it rest on anything?  It wasn’t until humans went into space in the 1960’s that they could see the earth in its entirety and absolutely confirm by direct observation it was indeed round and occupied space all by itself.  Nearly three millennia earlier the Bible talked about “the circle [or sphere] of the earth”.  Seven hundred years before that it refers to God “hanging the earth upon nothing.”  This very modern sounding description flew in the face of prevailing views for 35 centuries.

2) A true understanding of what causes disease didn’t come about until relatively recently.  Before then doctors would walk from the morgue where they were examining dead bodies directly into the maternity ward to deliver a baby without washing their hands.  It’s no wonder diseases like the Spanish Flu and Black Plague spread the way they did.  Nearly four thousand years ago the Bible directed the ancient Jews to bury their human waste outside the camp; to wash their hands and avoid skin to skin contact with other humans for a time after touching a dead body; and to quarantine anyone suffering from a contagious disease.  Very modern sounding practices long before their time.

3) The rain pours from the sky and yet the seas never overflow.  Where does the water come from and where does it go?  That was the exact question asked by a Bible writer three thousand years ago.  He answered his own question when he said the rivers that flow to the sea return to where they came from.  Another writer said the water is filtered and drawn up into the clouds to fall as rain.  Combine them together and you get the water cycle.  It is interesting that even today scientists still aren’t sure exactly how water forms together in clouds into water droplets.

The Bible is not a science manual and it does not touch on scientific subjects in the vernacular of today because it wouldn’t have been understandable to those of its time but when it does speak on scientific matters it is accurate.  There is however, one more contentious subject in this matter: the six creative days.

Creationists and Christian Fundamentalists claim the Bible teaches the earth and the rest of the universe was created in six 24-hour days about 10,000 years ago.  This it does not do.  When questioned on this creationists will say we just need to have faith.  As discussed earlier though, this isn’t faith.  Faith is believing in something we can’t see because of evidence, not denying something right in front of us because it contradicts what we once thought.

First of all the laws of physics tell us the universe is much older than 10,000 years.  Based in part on our knowledge of the speed of light scientists estimate the age of the universe at approximately 13 to 15 billion years old.   This does not contradict the Bible.

The creation account begins with words nearly everybody can quote: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  Bible scholars have spoken about this verse, indicating it is separate from the rest of the creation account.  According to this the earth and the universe were in existence for untold years before the creative days began. 

On to these creative days.  Were they 24 hours long?  The evidence would indicate they were not.  The word “day” in Hebrew can be translated to mean various lengths of time.  "Day" can mean the 24 hour cycle but during the creation account itself the word “day” means a creative day (Genesis 1:5), it means the sunny part of each twenty four hour cycle (Genesis 1:14-19), and it means the entire six day creative period (Genesis 2:4).  The same word has different meanings.

At the very least the word “day” is a relative term, but there’s another point.  On the seventh day God rested.  Four thousand years later in the Bible book of Hebrews the writer indicated that seventh day was still going on.  We are still within that seventh day which That seventh day has continued until today, therefore being around six thousand years long (Genesis 2:2 and Hebrews 4:4-10).  If that is the case for the final creative day couldn’t the six preceding ones be many thousands of years long each?