By: Jim Taylor
In the last few years I have been in discussions (not continuously, but on and off) with a very good friend of mine who has, as far as I can see, gone from a traditional literal view of the Bible and creation to the point where he is espousing evolutionary teachings concerning the beginning of the earth. I have watched him turn slowly from being a conservative Bible believer who held to a literal interpretation of Genesis to wondering if God was even real. You may wonder how did such a radical change happen? His views began to alter after reading material written by Old Earth Creationists.
During one of our discussions, my friend made the statement, “I think Genesis is driving your science rather than objectively looking at the evidence.” He has a point, though I don’t completely agree. It is true that my view of Genesis drives my scientific perspective. However, my friend’s idea of objectivity is different from mine. You see, the world-view of a Christian ought to be faith-based. As a result, he may see the same evidence as one who does not believe in God, yet his world-view will cause him to interpret the evidence differently. And obviously, interpretation will change the conclusion.
Interpreting evidence sometimes creates problems because there may be pertinent information missing, that would otherwise assist in our understanding. In scientific research, the validity of evidence is questioned, not by opinion or even belief, but by further evidence.
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