In my late night studies of the Bible, it has been made aware to me that perhaps the Bible gives some indication of some sort of "evolution."
In Genesis 1:21 it says "So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."
Then in Genesis 1:25 it says "God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good."
The main thing I noticed was the word "created" being used in Genesis 1:21 and "made" being used in 1:25. It may not seem like a big deal but those two words have completely different implications. Let me give you an example. Today, my wife "made" a loaf of bread for our family. She didn't "create" a loaf of bread, she "made" it. What that implies, is that she didn't "create" something from nothing. She took flour, water, salt, oil, and sugar(don't worry it was only a teaspoon of organic cane sugar) and she "made" a loaf of bread. She took different parts of food items and combined them into something completely different that has little to no resemblance of what it was two hours before she started.
We do not find ANYTHING in the text of the Bible to suggest that God made each individual species separately. That came from "the church" not the The Bible.
Now, I want to make this very clear. I am not saying that I prescribe to evolution. I haven't studied it long enough, but as I study it, it is raising questions about things that are considered "heresy" based on organized religion, "not" The Bible. So, at this point I am just trying to answer what I consider to be valid questions. I do not believe everything about evolution. Which is ok, because I don't believe everything I hear in church either. :)
I guess at the end of the day, I am just suggesting that on this huge ball of mass called earth, that there is enough room for the ideas of the bible to exist peacefully with the ideas of evolution.
It's so funny that you posted this today, I was just recently arguing that I don't understand why someone can't believe in evolution and God. Many people seem to think the 2 things are mutually exclusive but I think they are wrong.
ReplyDeleteI also really like the distinction you draw between God or the bible on one hand and organized religion on the other. It's easy to get those things all mixed up as one thing in your mind, it is good to make an effort to keep things separated.
Back when I was a Christian, I believed in Theistic Evolution. I was able to reconcile the accounts in Genesis as basically saying "God made the stuff. God is not the stuff. The stuff is not God. Worship God, not the stuff." I didn't need a lot more than that and it worked for me for many years.
ReplyDeleteBut after enough Christians told me that I couldn't be a Christian unless I believed their interpretation of the Bible, I finally gave up and let them win. There is much more to my apostasy than this issue, but it is what began my exit from Christianity. Now I'm a happy atheist.
I honestly believe that lots of people are leaving the Church because they see through the ridiculous arguments for a 6000 year old earth. Which is fine by me.
THanks for commenting and reading, as always, Hausdorff.
ReplyDeleteI think you are "right on" Lance with your assessment of the "stuff." And like I said before, you are a glaring example of someone who left the faith, not because of what "God" did, or didn't do, but rather because what His so called "followers" tried to force upon you.
And like Hausdorff pointed out Lance, that is why one of the themes of my message to seperate "the church" from a meaningful relationship with God.
Well...the Bible does say God made one individual species separately, and that's humans. This is definitely contrary to the Theory of Evolution.
ReplyDeleteThe Bible says God made all creatures on earth. When the Bible says God made man and breathed life into him, its not an accurate translation. The original Hebrew says God breathed "heshena" into Adam. Heshena means "soul" so although God made all creatures, man is the only creature that God gave heshena to.
DeleteWhat about Genesis 2:22? Is something wrong with the translation of the first woman being created from man's rib?
DeleteThought so.
DeleteI am sorry for not getting back to you. I have gotten so many comments that some of them were missed. But to answer your question I havent researched the concept of the rib. Now that you bring it up, I am interested. I will let you know what I find.
DeleteNo problem, thanks.
DeleteYou may want to perform an exegesis on the words used, as the bible was not written in english and those word certainly dont exactly match the meaning of the words originally written.
ReplyDeleteI did that Mike. And they do.
DeleteVictor,
ReplyDeleteCorrect me if I am wrong, but it does seem as though your reasoning suggests an attempt at moulding your currently held beliefs to support a scientific explanation for how life (post abiogensis) came to be in it's current state.
I don't pretend to assume knowledge of the arguments to which you have previously been exposed to with regards to evolution and the scientific method, but i will provide you with something (which i find to be) interesting to ponder over.
If we were to lose all known records and scientific writings with regards to evolution, age of earth, modern medicine, etc., starting from a clean slate, the scientific method would lead us to the same conclusions/models/understandings on the natural world that we currently have today (or will have in the future).
If we were to lose all copies of the bible and any other religious text, it would be impossible for us to recreate the "revealed truth" that it provides.
The reason why the majority of, if not all, atheists subscribe to the scientific understandings of the world is because they are built through independent inquiry, not from pre-exisiting ideas. Science doesn't care if existing ideologies support what it finds.
I commend you on your approach to atheists and the way you think. I will say though, that if you are someone who appreciates the scientific method, and how important logic and rational thought is; in relation to using bible verses as a starting point - be careful not to assume you have the answer to a question before you have provided the reason for that answer.