I’m sure you will have read, and heard it said, that archaeology confirms the accuracy of the Bible. But you may also have heard from sceptics that the Bible isn’t historically accurate. So which is true?
This is a complex matter with a wide variety of conclusions among the experts. I have tried to investigate as impartially as I can, and it seems that both views are true (sometimes) …. and false (sometimes).
Here are seven statements I think can be known to be true.
The biological theory of evolution has been the subject of argument ever since it was first proposed, especially from those christians who believe that the Bible teaches that the earth is not billions of years old, animals haven’t evolved from simple life forms, and thus evolutionary science must not only be wrong, but also evil. Other christians (including me) accept evolution as a scientific fact, even if some of the details are still doubtful.
In their eagerness, some creationist christians unfortunately make claims about evidence against evolution that don’t stand up. And, unfortunately, sometimes evolutionary scientists act unwisely too.
Here are a couple of cases in point …..
Scientists have pretty much demonstrated that human beings are the product of evolution. One consequence of that conclusion is that many scientists now think that humans are no more than intelligent and better adapted animals. This belief can lead to thinking we have no free will and there is no objective right or wrong.
As christians, we think humans are more than just smart animals. If we want our conclusions to stand up and be believable in this modern scientific world, we need to have some understanding of the findings of neuroscience and evolutionary biology. The differences between animals and humans is part of this.
This post follows on from If evolution is true, how can free will and consciousness be explained? and How God changes your brain.
Christians tend to be conservative about climate change, but I think probably most now realise that climate change is happening, the world is indeed heating up, and this is causing some serious problems that will only get worse. So this report card on 2015 can be brief.
Difficult Issues series
I have been researching family history for several years now, and have recently had my DNA tested to identify possible genetic matches – people who are related to me, perhaps as distant as 5th cousins – to try to make some breakthroughs in a difficult search.
This has opened up an interesting new world for me, with some interesting implications for christians.
The world does appear to be changing.
For years, the scientists have been warning of global warming. The majority of people, in western countries at least, have accepted that our actions were causing a real problem, but few governments were willing to do much about it.
But the problems are becoming more obvious, the alternative technologies are become cheaper, and more and more governments are making realistic decisions to change to renewable energy. WE can hope for real change.
But there’s still much to be done, and we can all play a part.
Difficult issues series
We have seen (Who were the first human beings?) that it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to say when in natural history the first human beings existed. Quite possibly it was a gradual process over thousands of years.
This leads on to a related question: when in the process of sexual reproduction does human life begin?
Difficult issues series
Last post (Why the fuss about evolution?) we looked at how the science of biological evolution impacts on christianity. We saw that the DNA evidence indicates that there was never a single Adam and Eve style couple as the ancestors of the human race.
This then raises the interesting question – who were the first human beings?
Difficult issues series
When Darwin published his On the Origin of Species in 1859 it provoked a range of reactions from christians and from scientists too. Many christians were quite comfortable with the idea of evolution (though many others were not), and it wasn’t until about 60 years later that the more ‘hardline’ christian opposition to evolution began.
That opposition remains, mostly in the US, where it is reported that evolution is rejected by more than 40% of the population.
