About Christianity and Science…

Before I say a word about this, I would let it be known that I am a believer…a die-hard believer. I’m saved.

About three months into Bible School, it was finally time to talk about the creation story. To me, this was – and is – a very hot topic, so you can imagine my eagerness as I took a seat in the front row. (Well, I always sat there, but I still say that for effect.) See, that is a story I never fully understood. Had I even not gone to school and been introduced to all these other creation stories, I’d still be confused…I mean, Genesis itself does give us two rather different stories. But finally, understanding. Closure. Peace.

So she started, “We’ve had students before you. We’ve had students of all kinds. Some thought themselves wise enough to argue with us over these matters. They argued on the basis of Science, but we trust the Bible. So let it be clear before we start, that we shall not tolerate such behaviour.” These are obviously my words, but it’s what was said.

Now that posed a bit of a problem for me, because this is what I heard, “Alex, I know that you have ears and you’ve heard a lot between when you were born and now. Even more than that, I know that you have a brain and you have definitely processed the information and perhaps even conceived other ideas on this matter. These things you’ve heard and conjured up in your head might make a lot of sense to you and others, but now I need you to switch off you brain and take what I say.”

It really broke my heart, but I chose to have faith that what would be said would answer all my questions. I decided to hope that all those who argued before me were unreasonable. The first day, the second day, the third day…all the way to the seventh day. I was still waiting for answers. But to be fair, she did answer me. “We take the Bible the way it is.” Of course she meant literally. You might think I’m just unreasonable and argumentative for the sake of it, so I’ll explain my predicament.

Critics of Christianity like to say that the Bible was written by the same people who believed the earth was flat. Mean, but true. The church killed people for that very belief…there’s a lot of politics surrounding this, but considering ferocity with which my question was dismissed, I can see how it is possible. See, when you model the universe described in Genesis, you’ll get something close to this:

Note the sky/dome, and the waters above and below. This is perfectly understandable for six thousand years ago; the sky does look like a dome even now, and the sky is blue, like the oceans.

Now take a look at our universe. The earth is round, and is just but a tiny marble in a vast universe. We know the sky is not actually blue. Is there really even a sky? To add a little salt to injury, theologists date the Genesis creation at 4004B.C. I’m certain we have all heard ‘millions of years old’ when dating fossils and layers of rock.

You cannot ask me to shut my eyes to scientific facts and follow a belief blindly. Wait, she did. Well, I cannot just shut my eyes, ears, and brains to scientific facts. That is how extremists are made. People who kill for a belief. Fun fact: the word assassin actually has religious roots. Read the story of Hasan Bin Sabbah, a mystic, murderer and political revolutionist who took advantage of religion to trick people into killing and dying for him. People were taught not to question religious dogma, to a point where their only source of truth lay in the teachings of the all-powerful instructors. This system served as a model for the organisational structure of the Hashishins. Some call them Hassassins. No matter, though; a rose by any other name…(again, we can’t be certain whether such a man actually existed, but you get my point.)

This is also how non-believers are made; these are the words of a famous Portuguese explorer by the name Ferdinand Magellan (yes…famous. Do you live in a hole or something?): “The Church says the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow of the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the church.” The statement does seem extremely ‘earthly and fleshy’ but I bear with him. While we live by faith and not by sight, atheists are conquering the earth, making scientific discoveries that change the way we see the world, and inventions that change life itself. God did tell man to conquer the earth, didn’t He?

I do not by any means advocate for atheism for I, myself, am a Christian. My point here is that we must not do away with reason. This sort of hardheadedness is not unlike the believer who dies because ‘God is our healer’. God created the pastor and the doctor, both, and He made them into what they are. The same goes for astronauts, geologists, and all other scientists. The truths we seek lie somewhere in between, and if we really want to find them, we should work together.

I say ‘if we really want to find them’ because it is not really a need. I mean, Methuselah did live for almost a millennium, did he not? Let’s not forget what is really important.

As for the confusion I might have caused with the creation story, there are people who have tried to understand, and harmonise scientific and the Genesis theories, but that’s a story for another day. For now, search for your own truth. The Bible remains the Word of God, though. I cannot argue with that. See? I’m reasonable.