Re: Cobb County

drsyme@cablespeed.com wrote:

> You seem to equate God, with God's word.
>
> I agree that there is a structure to logic, and thought, and math, and
> a consistency in laws in the universe, that would not exist without a
> creator. We would not be able to "do" science if there wasnt a
> Creator. A Christian scientist would agree with that statement, and
> an atheist would not.

And the atheist of course would be wrong.

> I am sorry Ed but I think you are making a mistake when you call
> scientists, that do their work honestly without a Biblical agenda,
> functional atheism. I just dont see it that way at all.

If they thank they can do science apart from scripture that is what they
are in reality. No discipline can be separated from God's word without
dire consequences to the truth value presented by that discipline. No
truth exists apart from GOd. There are no such thing as facts which are
true independent of God, and since scripture is God's word directly to
us, it is the standard of truth he has directly given for our benefit in
all areas of life.

> Remember, interpreting God's Word, is fraught with the same problems
> in interpretation of science, because of our depraved minds, as
> interpreting science is.

Yes both are subject to problems, but since the source of one is God and
the source of the other is man, one is inherently more reliable than the
other.

> There are obvious disagreements on how certain parts of the Bible
> should be interpreted. I am probably more conservative than most on
> this list and am holding to inerrency, and the inspirational truth of
> scripture. Obviously, Man's interpretation of God's word is fallible.
>
> There can only be one Truth. When something as clear as the age of
> the universe is understood from science.

 From my understanding, the age of the universe is a conjecture drawn
from many observations, which if the observations are proven inaccurate,
could and have in the past, greatly affected the conjectures proposed
regarding the age of the earth. Nothing on the magnitude of a YEC claim
is possible, but the age of the universe is still not a foregone
conclusion from what I keep reading. If I am wrong, then disregard.

> Then it makes interpreting the Bible easier. This is not putting
> science over the Bible, it is using science to say that interpreting
> Genesis 1 and 2 literally as 24 hour days, CANNOT be the correct
> interpretation, so other interpretations, that are otherwise
> consistent with the rest of scripture, must be the correct
> interpretation.

 I find it problematic to impose on scripture interpretations from the
last century which none of the original audience would have supposed or
imagined. Remember that scripture was first a book to the audience for
which it was originally produced, not directly to us. To reinterpret
the message to those people as if it were a message to us is
problematic. How would a Hebrew understand Genesis 1 without the aid of
modern scientific categories and influences? We find many clues in the
psalms, Job, and other passages in Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc. that a purely
scientific understanding of the story is not the one God intended but
that is from interpreting scripture with scripture, not imposing science
on scripture.

Since scripture never makes a claim about the age of the earth, then
this is an area that science can make statements without contradicting
scripture. But scripture does speak of God's involvement in every area
of the development of life, its spreading throughout the earth, and its
survival, so any scientific claim that such things are mechanistic apart
from God contradict scripture and are not to be trusted.

.......................................................................................
The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between
classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every
human heart - Alexander Solzhenitsyn
.......................................................................................

Edward J. Hassertt
Reason By Faith
Auburn, Washington

http://www.reasonbyfaith.org

Christian Legal Discussion:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/advocatusdeus/
Received on Wed, 19 Jan 2005 13:27:15 -0800