From: Steven M Smith (smsmith@usgs.gov)
Date: Tue Oct 14 2003 - 14:16:15 EDT
When I opened my ASA digest email this morning, I saw that my post of last
Sunday evening was indecipherable gibberish. Just in case that is what
everyone else received, I am resending that post. While the following may
still be gibberish, hopefully now it is decipherable <grin>. My apologies
to those who receive this twice.
Steve
--- Previously sent message ---
Sorry for the delay in responding.
On Thursday, Oct. 9, "Jay Willingham" <jaywillingham@cfl.rr.com> wrote:
>My responses to Steve are interlineated below.
>Steve asked,
>> Jay, I was really hoping that you would respond to the heart of my
previous post that was found in the concluding statements. After listing a
history of 9 tectonic events, I asked ... <<
>> Can we or should we really expect to find Bible verses to reconcile with
each of these major tectonic events?<<
>Yes, even if it is toal ommission.<
Let me restate your answer to see if I really understand it. You are
saying that you expect to find verses referring to major plate tectonic
events (like the breakup of Gondwana, Rodinia, etc) in the Bible even if
they are not there. This just doesn't make sense to me.
I guess if you look hard enough, you can find anything in the Bible. I
remember back in the 70's during the Nixon presidency when people were
saying that the Bible predicted the Watergate scandal because "water gate"
was mentioned in Nehemiah. To be honest, that experience lowered my opinion
of some people's Biblical "scholarship."
>>What purpose would it serve?<<
> Comfort and encourage believers.<
Glib answer but I sincerely doubt it. My wife has been married to a
geologist for almost 25 years and has easily received the equivalent of a
Geology 101 class (or probably more) just by our conversations and travels.
She couldn't name half of the major plate tectonic supercontinents and I
doubt that the majority of college-educated people could do as much. Even
with her level of knowledge she wouldn't even notice the hypothetical
correlating verses in the Bible and thus derive no comfort or encouragement
from them. I also have trouble believing that the Bible is filled with
verses correlating to scientific advances not imagined until the late 20th
century. What kind of comfort or encouragement would these hypothetical
correlating verses bring to all those who were "unfortunate" enough to have
lived before the true meaning of the verses was discovered?
And, as David Campbell has described on a post in this thread, the
correlation of these tectonic events with Bible verses raises more problems
for a literal reading of Genesis than it solves. (Aside to David: Thanks
for that post! I hadn't even thought of those problems that you succinctly
described and appreciated your insight.)
>>Would our faith in God or our acceptance of science be strengthened if we
had a one-to-one reconciliation between these proposed tectonic events and
scripture? <<
>Any testimony of the gospel (truth) is a blessing.<
Even if the supporting verses are not there?? ... even if the correlations
are later shown to be meaningless - like the watergate example above or
Whiston's comets in 1696?? Although the study and profession of geology
has been a blessing to me personally, I don't look to the rocks for a
testimony of the gospel truth. I look to my Lord, the Bible, the witness
of saints, and to the evidence of lives that have been changed.
>I place my hope in having our Lord say, look, there it all is, laid out
for
you to examine from beginning to new heaven and with me at your elbow
forever answering questions.<
Nice hope. But it sounds like you're talking about your personal vision of
Heaven instead of anything that is meaningful today.
Steve
(Please cc: me in any replies)
[Disclaimer: Opinions expressed herein are my own and are not to be
ascribed to my employer]
_____________
Steven M. Smith, Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey
Box 25046, M.S. 973, DFC, Denver, CO 80225
Office: (303)236-1192, Fax: (303)236-3200
Email: smsmith@usgs.gov
-USGS Nat'l Geochem. Database NURE HSSR Web Site-
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1997/ofr-97-0492/
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