Manna and Coffee

Is the Bible just a book full of inspiring stories, or is it a book that contains God’s inspired words? Should science and faith be considered separate but equal? The way in which a person answers these questions define that person’s tendency to place their faith in humanity itself or in an unseen Creator. Is the Genesis account of Creation just a good story or do the introductory chapters of the Bible have crucial implications to the rest of Scripture?

These are all very interesting and personal questions, which I have been wrestling with for some time now. As a scientist, I have been trained that truth can be obtained by repetitious experimentation. As a Christian, on the other hand, I have learned that real Truth is revealed through faith in an invisible, but deeply felt presence of God.

Although man has tried feverishly to construct an impenetrable boundary between science and faith, no other topic challenges this mind-set as strongly today as the theory of evolution. To begin with, any study of the past requires a certain amount of faith. We must have faith that historical documentation and modern archaeological re-constructs of the past are accurate and un-biased. Unfortunately, the very nature of the scientific method requires that one begin with a biased assumption of truth (a hypothesis), which is either proved or disproved through experimentation.

The honest scientist would admit that the exact circumstances surrounding the beginnings of the universe will never be known. We will always be required to make major assumptions about the past in order to test any current hypotheses. The next best thing to actual observation is an accurately written, historical record of an event from the past. I guess that is why I have chosen to agree with Jesus Christ about the creation of the Universe.  “Haven’t you read,” he (Jesus) replied, “that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female.” (Matthew 19:4)