UAP: Creation, Evolution, and Education
Since Darwin published his Origin of the Species in 1859, the debate over the origin of the world among evolutionists and creationists has degraded into a mess of uncommunicative polarization. This bitter dialogue has infiltrated, and in some ways paralyzed, one of the most profound and mysterious topics of the human race. However, not all have the view that science and religion are incompatible.
One such group that works to integrate science and faith is the Geoscience Research Institute based out of Loma Linda, California. This Adventist organization recently helped to conduct a four day conference (February 4-7) in conjunction with the Universidad Adventista del Plata in Argentina.
The conference, entitled Jornadas de Creación, Evolución, y Educación, hosted more than 300 elementary and secondary school teachers from Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Presentations covered topics concerning theology, the story of Genesis, biology, geology, genetics, and the impacts of Darwinism on society, among other things. Interlaced throughout the program was an emphasis on the role of science in Adventist education.
The conference spotlighted the relationship between science and the Bible and the ways in which one can serve to compliment the understanding of the other. One such example was given that there exist two types of questions: those that can be answered by science, and those that cannot. If a question can be proven with an experiment, it is scientific. Those that cannot, require faith. Science cannot prove whether or not God exists, because there is no way to make a definitive test that can do so. Nor can science prove whether or not God is under the same laws of physics as man. The answers to these questions are subjective, and the answer you get depends on the world view that you decide to use. The Bible is one of these world views.
In a world dominated by science and public opinion, conventions such as these serve a unique purpose for both evolutionists and creationists alike. Openly discussing these topics allows us not only to form more comprehensive pictures of the origin of life, but also guards against the dangerous idea that we have all of the answers.
