Commonly
Asked
(Questions
About
Science
and
the
Bible
BY
ARIEL
A.
ROTH
ne
of
the
greatest
intellectual
con-
flicts
of
all
time
is
the
battle
between
science
and
the
Bible.
This
warfare
has
been
raging
for
two
centuries.
Many,
including
teachers
and
students,
are
confused
as
they
face
opposing
interpretations.
Here
are
some
com-
monly
asked
questions
that
should
help
explain
the
conflict
and
answer
students’
questions.
While
evolution-
IStS
try
to
explain
everything
with-
out
a
Creator
God,
some
new
scientific
data
ahout
our
uni-
verse
is
so
mind-
hougling
and
precise
that
it
suggests
very
strongly
there
must
be
a
higher
Power
who
de-
signed
things.
1.
What
Is
the
conflict
between
science
and
the
Bible
all
about?
Science
claims
that
life
on
Earth
developed
gradually,
by
itself,
over
billions
of
years.
This
is
the
evolution
model.
The
Bible
claims
that
God
prepared
the
Earth
and
created
living
things
in
six
days
a
few
thousand
years
ago.
This
is
the
creation
model.
Obviously,
there
is
a
great
chasm
between
these
two
concepts.
It
would
be
hard
to
imagine
two
interpretations
that
are
more
different.
The
data
from
nature
can
be
interpreted
in
various
ways,
such
as
evolution
or
creation.
The
Bible's
statements,
on
the
other
hand,
do
not
allow
for
a
very
broad
interpretation
in
this
area.
There
is
only
one
model
of
origins
in
the
Bible—God
created
in
six
days.
There
is
no
sug-
gestion
in
the
Bible
of
life
having
evolved
over
billions
of
years,
as
science
claims.
2.
Why
don't
scientists
believe
the
Bible?
Some
scientists
do
believe
the
Bible.
They
see
lots
of
evidence
in
nature
to
support
a
cre-
ationist
interpretation.
However,
the
majority
do
not.
Some
believe
in
God
but
not
the
Bible.
Studies
in
both
1916
and
1996
indicated
that
40
percent
of
scientists
in
the
United
States
be-
lieved
in
a
God
that
answered
their
prayers,
45
percent
did
not,
and
15
percent
were
not
sure.’
In
light
of
the
fact
that
many
scientists
believe
in
God,
it
is
strange
that
they
do
not
consider
Him
as
an
explanation
for
what
they
observe
in
nature.
Here
we
are
dealing
with
a
worldview,
the
modern
scientific
attitude,
that
tries
to
ex-
plain
everything
without
God.
Some
scientists
want
to
consider
only
what
nature
reveals
and
don’t
believe
in
God
at
all.
Others
believe
in
Journal
of
Adventist
Education
«
December
2001/January
2002
8