I read a shocking article the other day. You can read it here. For those who don't want to read it...I'll just summarize it. Basically more and more conservative Christians are coming to the conclusion that the story of Adam and Eve is not fact but merely a myth. There reason! Science has not proven that all humans have come from one couple.
Have we really come to this far to believe science holds all the answers? The more I study philosophy and related subjects the more I am starting to see that science doesn't hold the vast number of truths that the majority of people think it does. Though much knowledge of our world has been gathered because of scientific inquiry the amount of things not known far surpasses what we do know. Scientists spend much of their time observing the world and making general guess based upon these observations.
Let me put it into perspective using the world of medicine. My grandmother-in-law was found to have a failing liver recently. The question on everyone's minds is "Why didn't the doctors catch this before?!" My wife got online and begin to look up the symptoms of a failing liver. Her grandmother has many of those symptoms, but as I began to read the symptoms over her shoulder I couldn't help think that I have seen a similar list before. In fact, it seemed like most of the symptoms are on the list are symptoms of many other diseases and problems. Why didn't the doctors catch it before? Just because they know the symptoms of certain conditions, diseases and illnesses doesn't mean they are going to instantly identify the problem because there are so many shared symptoms. There is a limit to how the body reacts. So even though the medical field has identified sicknesses and their symptoms it is still pretty much a guess when it comes to diagnosis.
I have noticed this to be the case over the last few years. We have 5 children. We have been to the doctor quite a bit, not to mention that I am diabetic. The one thing I have noticed is there is rarely a time when the doctor says with 100% assurance that he knows what is wrong. Most of the time he is just guessing based upon the symptoms. Science is nowhere being exact. It is know where near an all knowing status. So for Christians to base their belief that a very pivatol story in the Bible is not true because science has not proven it is just ridiculous! I just don't have that much faith in man.
I'm no blind believer either, but I don't think there is enough evidence to conclude that the story of Adam and Eve is not real. Without Adam and Eve there is no fall and without the fall there is no need of a Savior. If this be true I need to see the hardcore evidence. Unfortunately for science, there is none. The fact is, no one today was present then to observe and that alone presents a huge problem for science. On the other hand, I believe there is more than enough emperical information to sustain my belief in the Christian God who, if real, was there in the beginning. The God who not only witnessed the event but caused it to happen is the one whom I will place my faith and trust in.
4 comments:
The link did not post. Here is the link to the article.
http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/08/22/false-start-the-controversy-over-adam-and-eve-heats-up/
This was a really interesting article to read, Pastor B, thanks for sharing! I was a bit shocked myself! 0_o
Hey, just found your blog when somebody pointed to it on Facebook regarding a debate about more wars being started over religion than any other reason (see my two comments over that from an '09 post you made).
First of all let me just say that I found it rather fascinating that the central premise of your point about the limitations of Science seems based upon research that you did on Philosophy.
Personally, if I'm talking about a point in my field of Information Technologies I don't generally research it by reading Theology, but I'll freely admit that I've certainly never been the poster boy for standard research practices over the years. ;)
With that said, I don't wish to offend you but judging from your posting I think you don't really seem to understand how science works. Science is about asking questions, not finding answers, so it's not a philosophy, it's an empirical methodology used to understand the world around you.
In regards to your statement about the Doctor, while your correct that all diagnostic science involves a certain amount of guesswork, it's not done blindly.
I have worked in the field of Information Technologies for close to ten years now, since just prior to my graduating High School, and so like many of my friends who are Electricians, Plumbers, Carpenters and Doctors, what I've found is that while starting out you may try to work purely from a scholarly perspective, but you can't be considered a journeyman until over time you start to develop your ability to offer a correct diagnostic prognosis and knowledge of the best possible solution both of which end up being the fruit of years of hard work experience in your field.
What I find interesting is the push to distinguish philosophy from science. Science started out as philosophy. The early philosophers were scientists of sorts using similar methods as scientists today. Technology was limited of course and reasoning was the primary tool.
So for me philosophy is a kind of science, but it is primarily a science of the mind.
As far as the blog post goes, I was just pointing out how science is not as exact as we would like to think it is. There is actually a philosophical concept regarding science called paradigms and revolutions. Basically scientists will develop theories that become paradigms from which scientists operate out of. The problem with operating out of paradigms is that science becomes biased. Any scientist who disagrees with the majority is often considered an outcast, but as time moves foward and more and more scientists began to see the error of paradigms being used a revolution in the science world takes place (I think we are finally seeing this with evolution). The reason this cycle perpetuates itself is because man is not all knowing but usually is so arrogant that they fail to see this basic truth.
Science, for a large part is guess work even today. No doubt we have made a lot of advances and gained considerable knowledge, but we are still learning and have only touched the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Thank you for commenting on my blogs. I do enjoy a good discussion.
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