…And It Was So

Dr. Scott Ransom

Description

An innovative blend of ancient Hebrew and the history of science, And It was So sheds new light on the authenticity of the Biblical account of creation.
In “…And it was So” Dr. Scott Ransom argues that perceived gaps between science and the Biblical account of creation are symptoms of misinterpretation. A proper understanding of the Hebrew language, the audience for which Genesis was written, the process of Biblical translation, and the nature of science coalesce into a coherent picture of creation in which science and the Bible align.
Ransom takes the reader into the story of creation and the science behind it, distilling complex scientific concepts into easily digestible nuggets, and along the way introducing us to many of the lesser-known heroes of scientific discovery. In the end the reader will have a new appreciation for both science and the Bible as well as the harmony that exists between both.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Theism
• Creation
• History
• Dessein intelligent

Informations

• Publié par: Archway Publishing
• Date de parution: 18 octobre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665730464
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

…AND IT WAS SO
 
How modern science sheds new light on the Biblical account of creation
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DR. SCOTT RANSOM
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Copyright © 2022 Dr. Scott Ransom.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 
 
Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.archwaypublishing.com
844-669-3957
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
 
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www. zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®
 
Mere Christianity by CS Lewis © copyright 1942, 1943 1944, 1952 CS Lewis Pte Ltd. Extract used with permission.
 
Albert Einstein quote © The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
With permission of the Albert Einstein Archives
 
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3045-7 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3044-0 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3046-4 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022917422
 
 
 
Archway Publishing rev. date:  04/11/2023
 
To my amazing family, for so willingly loaning me to this effort.
 
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. Hebrews 11:3
I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know his thoughts. The rest are details. Albert Einstein
Contents
Introduction
 
1       Foundations - Worldviews and Words
2       A Hebrew Primer
3       In the Beginning
4       Earth
5       Light
6       Sky & Sea
7       Land
8       Life Begins
9       Sun, Moon, and Stars
10     Creatures
11     Humankind
12     A Second Story
13     What This Means for Us
 
References
Appendix A: Comparison Charts
Appendix B: The Verbs of Creation
Introduction
On Christmas Eve, December 24 th , 1968, the astronauts of Apollo 8 looked out of their small spacecraft’s windows to view the surface of the moon whizzing past underneath them, tantalizingly close at just under 70 miles away. It was the first time anyone had gone to the moon, the first time man had visited any celestial body. It was also the furthest anyone had been from earth - the previous record had been set by Apollo 7 at 283 miles. Apollo 8 went nearly a million times further, to over a quarter of a million miles away.
Television sets around the world glowed as over a billion people, scattered across 60 countries, tuned in to the broadcast of this historic event and heard the astronauts begin reading the first verses of Genesis 1:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
These majestic words introduce the world’s most read, most translated, and arguably most significant book in all human history, a fitting narration to the monumental achievement of man’s arrival at the moon.
Yet despite the timeless beauty of these words, they belong to one of the most contentious passages in the Bible. Over the millennia since they were penned various interpretations have been proffered as to their meaning. Arguments have developed over definitions of individual words, most famously the ‘days’ of the creation sequence. How we interpret the Genesis account of creation is especially pressing in the scientific age. At first blush, what scientific theory has to say about the age of the universe and the origin of humanity directly conflicts with a traditional interpretation of Genesis. Controversy around the meaning of the passage has in some ways never been greater, and the stakes have never been higher.
There is a personal stake as well. I attended an engineering college where most of my peers were scientifically literate individuals. An unchurched friend of mine began reading the Bible from the beginning (where else would one start?) and immediately hit a wall. Being aware of my own faith, he came to my room to voice his frustration and questions: The earth and everything in it made in just a week’s time? The sun and stars made after the earth? Woman made from a man’s rib – a man’s rib? He did not read anything beyond the first two chapters because of their affront to his scientific perspective.
At the time I did not have good answers for him. In fact, his questions only served to remind me of my own as a high schooler attending both a public high school and a church Sunday School. From my perspective the gap between science and the Genesis account of creation was wide. Too wide. I had attempted to address the inconsistencies I saw in the creation account by any number of hand-waving explanations. Perhaps Genesis was intended only as a poetic description of creation. Maybe it is only a metaphor for how God created things. But if the first two chapters of Genesis are a metaphor, what about the rest of Genesis, or the rest of the Bible? Where does the metaphor end and literal, factual accounting begin?
This line of questioning is not too dissimilar from others’ as well. While many Christians hold to a literal interpretation - and by literal, what is typically meant is the King James’ Version or a traditional rendering - with its accompanying 6,000-year-old age for the earth, some view the passage as aligning with contemporary science. This latter group is itself divided on the topic of evolution but generally Christians in this category agree the earth is older than 6,000 years. Still others believe that the Genesis account is intended only to reveal theological truth and nothing more. This group generally feels that attempts to reconcile the passage with current scientific understanding are at best misguided.
Clearly there are many different perspectives, and proponents of each are often adamant about not only the truth of their position but also the spirituality of it. Genuine, God loving Christians can sincerely disagree about the intent of Genesis 1 and the meaning behind it without calling into question the veracity of each other’s faith. Both “old earth” and “young earth” creationists can equally believe in the inspiration and authority of scripture. This is a necessary starting point in any conversation about this topic.
There are many other things I believe we can agree on as well as we investigate the question of the meaning of Genesis 1. The first is this: If one accepts that God is both the author of the Bible and the designer of the universe, then it follows that there must be a harmony between the Bible and science. Or, more specifically, a harmony between an accurate interpretation of the Bible and correct interpretation of scientific data. And in fact, it was belief in this harmony, a conviction that the Creator was behind the universe and its laws of nature, that motivated the first scientists (originally called philosophers, then later naturalists) to begin probing for scientific truths, making discoveries that eventually led to understanding and the development of technologies we enjoy today.
We can also agree that this generation is not the first to experience a clash between science and the Bible; disagreement on this topic is not new. And the conflict has been, at times, acrimonious to say the least. But as new evidence comes to light, both about the Bible and about science, the gap between the two shrinks. That harmony, long sought after by the earliest scientists, can be found. I hope that some will find it here.
Much to my publisher’s dismay, this book is written for two different audiences. The first is made up of those Christians who believe that the only legitimate interpretation of scripture is the 6,000-year-old young earth interpretation; that scripture from the King James Version (KJV) is closest to the original intended meaning. There are many beliefs that go along with this perspective, beliefs that may also conflict with science to such a degree that it can lead some to doubt the veracity of science and walk down a path of mistrust and even anti-science sentiment.
This book is also written for people like my college friend. Secular scientists and others who have discounted all the Bible has to say because of the barrier the first two chapters present to them and their worldview. There are many scientists out there whose own research and investigations are leading them to conclude that there is in fact a God, but their doubts about the veracity of scripture keep them from recognizing him as the God of the Bible.
I’ve also tried to include a glimpse into the majesty that is the science behind creation; the marvelous wonder that is the cosmos and what incredi