Joseph Botwinick wrote,
1. Isn't this the theology forum...and exactly what does science have to do with theology?
Science and theology are two very different disciplines than need to be separated from each other. However, creation “science” is really not science at, but an outgrowth of some very naïve religious concepts and a radically inadequate understanding of Old Testament literature and its appropriate application to the Christian Faith.
2. Craig,
Some of your statements sound a bit like what I remember as being taught by liberal theologians like Bultman and others who lean more toward what we find in the Westar Institute. Perhaps, I am misunderstanding you, but you do believe that God created the universe, correct? You don't think the entire Pentateuch is nothing but epic narratives like Gilgamesh, right?
Joseph,
Thank you for your questions and the Christian manner in which you asked them. Yes, I do believe that God created the universe. No, I do not believe that the entire Pentateuch is nothing but epic narrative. I believe, however, that it is absolutely obvious to any intelligent and knowledgeable reader of Genesis 1-11 that that particular portion of the Pentateuch is redacted epic narratives.
3. I do, however, agree with you, Craig, that there is not enough Biblical nor scientific evidence to conclusively state that the world is a young earth. But, then again, neither is there conclusive proof that the world is old, either. I don't think it is really known and that it really matters in the long run to the message or theology of the Bible.
There is no “conclusive” proof that the world is old, but the evidence is so overwhelming that I would not hesitate to stake my life on the statement that the universe is billions of years old in terms of the ability of man to grasp the concept of time, and I believe that virtually all scientists alive today would stake their life on that statement as well.
4. In response to one of your other posts on this thread where you stated that the credibility of a statement was in question because it came from a Christian, why does that automatically cast a shadow of doubt over his testimony any more than it would if he were a secular scientist? Are you trying to tell me that he has a hidden agenda and the secularist don't? I think we know better than that.
My personal experience in dealing with Christians is that very many of them believe that it is acceptable to willfully and deliberately mischaracterize, distort, ignore, exaggerate, and otherwise mishandle scientific data in order to promote their own personal religious beliefs, and that they do it not only very frequently, but on a routine basis. My personal experience in dealing with scientists is that such mishandling of scientific data is rare unless those scientists have a compelling reason to mishandle the scientific data. Most of the scientists that I have personally known had no compelling reason to mishandle the scientific data, but certainly some other scientists working for drug companies, for example, have been known on occasion to violate the principles of science. But the very most compelling reason to mishandle the scientific data has been, historically, to force the data to conform to preconceived, very ignorant and intolerant religious views, and almost without exception, my personal experience has been that those who are guilty of such mishandling the scientific data are those who tenaciously and foolishly hold to the very ignorant and intolerant religious view that the earth is young.
Most of the scientists with whom I have personally been acquainted were evolutionary biologists who had no reason at all to mishandle their own data or the data that had been collected by others. And although their employment was secular in nature (most of them were university professors at secular universities), to characterize them personally as being “secular” scientists would be very inappropriate because most of them were men of faith as well as science. The concept that evolutionists are atheists is based upon the willful, deliberate and malicious misrepresentation of them by Christians, and especially those “Christians” who promote the false religion of creation “science.”
