Dear Kitty,
Bill Nye (The Science Guy) just put out a video that suggests teaching Creation to school children is not giving them a chance at a scientific mind. (Not a direct quote – watch video HERE to see his actual words)
It tends to boil down to two sides.
Evolution: Modern man evolved from ape (in a nutshell) – Science
Creationism: Modern man played with apes in the Garden of Eden created from God. – Faith
I believe in Creationism and Evolution.
Just blew your mind, huh?
There is no rule (believe it or not) that says you have to deny Christianity to accept Science or deny Science to accept Christianity.
Here is why:
Science has proved that species (even man) evolve over time due to climate, adaptation to survival needs, geographical locations, etc. (blahblahyaddayadda – I was going to be more scientific here but I got caught up in graphs of Evolutionary Biology and that’s a rabbit hole at 8am)
Faith is reading the Bible and knowing it is a book about the beginning of man (not time – which is not relevant to God) and the relationship with God and others.
*Note to readers: I am not a theologian and I did not have straight A’s in Science class. This post is intended to express opinion only on the facts as they are understood by the author.
Using the Bible to refute Evolution?
See that doesn’t work for me.
The Bible is a collection of writings by many men and inspired from God. The purpose of the Bible is to inspire, guide, teach and provide salvation. You wouldn’t use a self-help book as a map to navigate the streets of a city, would you? Although dates and places are referenced (and have been proven by Historians) they serve as just that, reference points and not the be-all-end-all of a timeline. The point is that Science does prove many things in the Bible (the accuracy of events with their correct dates) just as the Bible proves many things in Science (the Bible said the world was round 2500 years before man proved it) Yet, neither is fully complete without the other.
So is Bill Nye right or wrong about teaching our children?
Yes and No.
By creation we are created to be curious. Curiosity is what leads to discoveries.
Teaching our children to study facts and learn Science is what keeps fueling that curiosity, but to deny them our other inherent nature of faith is not giving them a full picture of humanity.
I believe that each stance must be presented during the learning process. The Christian side of me loves when Science can’t find that missing link (after so many years of intensely funded research) and we must look to our faith. The Evolution side of me loves when a dinosaur (The Leviathan – which translated was a giant sea creature – possible Dinosaur) or cavemen (book of Job) was mentioned and Science shows us fossils.
To fully grasp Science, we must have faith when we encounter unanswered questions.
To fully grasp Faith, we must have Science to back up unanswered questions.
…and frankly…I would hate for humanity to lose its intellectual motivation because we knew everything, just as I would hate for humanity to lose faith in our creation for a purpose we do not understand by a God who loves us SO much.
Categories: August Diary Entry
Dear Kitty, 
Dear Kitty, 
Dear Kitty, 
Alycia Neighbours 
I know I said it before… I’m not a religious person. But this is pretty awesome!
Science makes sense to me. It’s been proven time and again and what I really liked about this is that it’s apparent that you are open minded about things.
This sentence…. “The Bible is a collection of writings by many men and inspired from God.” is my favorite part because this is what I believe along with some other stuff. But to see it coming from someone who is a believer is nice for a change.
Thank you.
For not being a religious person, you make a lot of sense (I kid, I kid!)
Thanks for commenting Jackie! I love how often you are showing up and I kinda feel like I should make you a cup of coffee every time you visit!
I agree. Exactly this. Now you know you aren’t alone.
Not alone? *scans closets and shrubbery*
HA – Thanks for commenting today.
Precisely. Exactly. For me, the lessons learned in Genesis don’t compete with scientific discoveries about the origins of life on earth at all. The Bible is TRUTH, which is not the same as saying that it is a factually accurate text of history. And really, how sad to reduce our holy book to a tome of historical and legal lessons! It is a living, breathing story in which I am privileged to have my own part.
Beautifully said. “living, breathing story”
A science teacher I had in high school was talking about the big bang theory and how it’s been scientifically proven except that science can’t explain what it was that caused the explosion to start- and he told us that he thought it was God. So God and science, together. Been years and years since I sat in that class, but it always stuck with me.
Exactly! OK so we were created by matter….where did the matter come from. Thanks for commenting, Shell!
I’m with Shell. I was a Biology major and I grew up in a born-again Christian household. I practice neither anymore but I have opinions. I strongly believe in the theory of evolution. In fact, it surprises me that it’s called a theory anymore. But evolution is a different concept, in my opinion, than the origin of life.
I’d like to see evolution taught in school and leave the origin of life stuff out of it entirely. Not everybody shares the same religious beliefs about the origin of life. I personally believe it all goes hand in hand. I’d like to think God is the ultimate Biologist, Physicist, Astronomer, Mathematician…
If he’s an all-knowing God, I’m pretty sure he has this all figured out and is helping us learn as best we can along the way.
The first book of the Bible that talks about the creation of the Earth is actually in complete agreement with scientific theory. But people take the Bible literally instead of metaphorically and I think that’s where we run into issues.
Ah, well, I told you I have opinion… 😉
I have to say that I am always impressed with your writing. Inspiration comes in many forms and you are definitely one of them.
Keep pressing those keys…
Thank you Jerrod. Your words mean a lot to me.