From: bivalve (bivalve@mail.davidson.alumlink.com)
Date: Fri Jul 04 2003 - 16:33:27 EDT
In contrast to the story of Abram as astronomer, the Biblical passages on theological benefits of such activity are much less positive. Ecclesiastes finds that consideration of earthly things alone leads only to meaninglessness. In Job 28, Job searches for human activity that might lead to wisdom. He selects geology as the most impressive field of human achievement, yet wisdom is not found even there. Nor does the sea hold it, so neither my work on fossil nor modern mollusks provides a solid foundation for true wisdom. Rather, Job (along with many other passages) concludes that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In contrast, flood geology tends to claim that geology really does provide true wisdom, and current ID generally claims that Job should have tried biochemistry rather than geology.
Passages such as the admonition to consider the ant might seem to contradict this. However, consideration of ants provides numerous possible observations. Only through prior acquaintance with some standard of right and wrong could the sluggard decide that the industriousness of ants should be emulated, whereas crashing picnics or running around on my kitchen counter at night should not be emulated.
Consideration of the wonders of creation certainly can influence someone to investigate faith, but they do not tell what we are to believe about God and what duties He requires of man, to paraphrase the Westminster shorter catechism on the function of Scripture. Instead, it largely tells us theologically unimportant things such as God's fondness for making beetles.
Coming from an appreciation of Scripture, we can then praise God for what we see in creation, but again this requires the volume 1 and 2 sequence that George noted.
Dr. David Campbell
Old Seashells
University of Alabama
Biodiversity & Systematics
Dept. Biological Sciences
Box 870345
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0345 USA
bivalve@mail.davidson.alumlink.com
That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at Droitgate Spa
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