Genesis And Geology For People Of Faith And People Of Fact

Steve Morreale always believed in God. As a small boy, he would look up at the clouds in the sky and try to catch a glimpse of God looking down on him. After all, wasn't God watching over us? Lacking any in-depth understanding of the Bible, his faith remained simple and vulnerable to the nonbelieving, scientifically educated individuals he encountered. Steve's vulnerability reached a peak when he began studying geology in college. The real facts of science--not the unproven theories--conspired to eliminate God from Steve's life equation. Well-meaning Christians required a Young Earth Creationist view that flew in the face of facts. Those small elements of truth could not be ignored; they could be seen, touched, and calculated. Faith could not erase them. Eventually, Steve turned to the God of his childhood, and began to read the Bible. It's message of hope touched him. Could that hope and the facts of geology be reconciled? Genesis and Geology: For People of Faith and People of Fact walks through the six days of Creation. That walk describes what God created, and geology explains how He created it.

Does a time gap exist between the first two verses of Genesis? In this book you will learn about a controversial, lesser known literal interpretation of the Genesis narrative that does not contradict the scientific evidence for an Old Earth. Commonly called the "Gap Theory" or Ruin-Reconstruction interpretation, it is a theological interpretation much older than Darwin's Theory of Evolution. It is based on the Scriptural fact that in the second verse of Genesis, the Holy Bible simply and clearly states that the planet Earth was already here (but in a ruined state) before the creative process of the seven days even begins. The Bible itself provides insight into a great mystery in Earth's natural history at what is known as the Pleistocene - Holocene boundary. Science remains at a loss to definitively explain the Ice Age and the anomaly of the mysterious mega fauna extinctions across the face of the Earth about 12,000 to 10,000 Radio Carbon years ago. Geologic evidence from that period indicates extraordinary global massive volcanism, gigantic tidal waves, seismic activity on a vast scale, and extreme temperature swings on the Earth over a geologically brief period of time. It is no coincidence that the Bible at Genesis 1:2 describes the Earth as flooded, desolate, and in darkness in the time frame closely corresponding to these catastrophic events in the Earth's natural history. Clearly, these two mysteries are linked. The Earth has an ancient natural history that can be deciphered from the geologic record, but it also has an equally important ancient spiritual history that can only be deciphered from Rightly-Dividing the Holy Bible. Knowledge of both is required to correctly reconcile Geology and the Book of Genesis.

Most people believe the seven days of Genesis to be some enigmatic description of the Earth's geologic history, but Scripture does not support this. There is a time gap between the first two verses of Genesis. In this book you will learn about a literal interpretation of the Genesis narrative that does not contradict the scientific evidence for an Old Earth. The Gap Theory or Ruin-Reconstruction interpretation is a theological doctrine much older than Darwin's Theory of Evolution. It is based on the Scriptural fact that in the second verse of Genesis, the Holy Bible simply and clearly states that the planet Earth was already here in a ruined state before the creative process of the seven days begins. The Bible itself provides insight into a great mystery in Earth's natural history at what is known as the Pleistocene - Holocene boundary. Science remains at a loss to definitively explain the Ice Age and the anomaly of the mysterious mega fauna extinctions across the face of the Earth about 13,000 to 10,000 Radio Carbon years ago. Geologic evidence from that period indicates extraordinary global massive volcanism, gigantic tidal waves, seismic activity on a vast scale, and extreme temperature swings on the Earth over a geologically brief period of time. It is no coincidence that the Bible in Genesis 1:2 describes the Earth as flooded, desolate, and in darkness in the time frame closely corresponding to these catastrophic events in the Earth's natural history. Clearly, these two mysteries are linked. The Earth has an ancient natural history that can be deciphered from the geologic record, but it also has an equally important ancient spiritual history that can only be deciphered by rightly dividing the Holy Bible.

A Christian Geologist Explains Why the Earth Cannot Be 6,000 Years Old: Let's Heal the Divide in the Church By: Dr. Lorence G. Collins This book is about the geology of the Earth. Written by a fully committed Christian, it asserts that accepting the knowledge provided by studies in science is in no way in conflict with following the teachings of Jesus. If a Christian understands how God has done his creation, then he/she can be a better steward in taking care of the Earth and its life. The general themes of the book are: to expose the false beliefs of young-Earth creationists regarding the age of the Earth being 6,000 years old and that Noah's Flood must have been worldwide (global) in extent; and to suggest that the Bible is not a science text. The contents of this book can be understood by both people trained in science and those who have no background in science. It is intended to give a valuable source of insights about how science works; to provide a way to support and guide a Christian witness to the world, and to be a “bridge” to make this possible. As Christians, our greater mission is not to battle over divisions in religious beliefs but to heal the sick, feed the hungry, minister to the abandoned, and so on.

The book discusses this long-standing relationship from a historical point of view, which in the past has been sometimes indifferent, sometimes fruitful and sometimes full of conflict. The relationship continues well into the present. While Christian fundamentalists attack evolution and related palaeontological findings as well as the geological evidence of the age of the Earth, mainstream theologians strive for a fruitful dialogue between science and religion. Much of what is written and discussed today can only be understood, when the historical perspective is added. This book considers the following topics: the development of geology from mythological approaches towards the European Enlightenment, Biblical or Geological Flood and the age of the Earth, geology within 'religious' organizations, biographical case studies of geological clerics and religious geologists, religion and evolution, historical aspects of creationism and its motives.

First published in 1951, Genesis and Geology describes the background of social and theological ideas and the progress of scientific researches that, between them, produced the religious difficulties that afflicted the development of science in early industrial England. The book makes clear that the furor over On the Origin of Species was nothing new: earlier discoveries in science, particularly geology, had presented major challenges, not only to the literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis, but even more seriously to the traditional idea that Providence controls the order of nature with an eye to fulfilling divine purpose. A new Foreword by Nicolaas Rupke places this book in the context of the last forty-five years of scholarship in the social history of evolutionary thought. Everyone interested in the history of modern science, in ideas, and in nineteenth-century England will want to read this book.

Geologist Carol Hill examines how numerous apparent conflicts between Scripture and science can be resolved by understanding the ancient worldview of the scriptural authors and how it differs from our modern, scientific worldview. This framework opens the door to clearing up longstanding questions, such as:

• Are the Genesis patriarchs' ages real numbers?
• Are the days of creation actual 24-hour days?
• Where was the Garden of Eden located?
• Was Noah's flood global or local?
• Were Adam and Eve real people?
• Is evolution a belief or a fact?

With photographs and diagrams throughout, Hill explores the meaning of the relevant biblical passages, the scientific data, and how the worldview approach addresses seeming contradictions. Anyone who has wrestled with these questions will find A Worldview Approach to Science and Scripture to be an invaluable resource for understanding the interplay between faith and the world.

"Carol Hill takes both Scripture and science seriously, affirming the inspiration of the Bible and the evidence for biological evolution." --Deborah Haarsma, President of BioLogos

This is one of the best one-volume works on the creation/evolution dialogue in print." --Kenneth Keathley, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

"Carol Hill’s worldview approach brings the reader face-to-face with archeological, biblical, and scientific data that enable one to gain a new appreciation for what the Bible is trying to teach. This approach is a very helpful tool!" --James K. Hoffmeier, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School