Kevin Bemel ·
You Can Be Faithful to Science and Scripture
While showering after PT (physical training) during OIS (Officer Indoctrination School) I overheard two of my colleagues debating one of life’s eternal questions: Was the world created according to the story in Genesis or through the process described by cosmology? One chaplain said to the other, “it happened in six days like we have now. How do I know? Because the Bible uses the Hebrew word yom which means day. I can prove it, ‘rabbiiiiiiii!’”
Called out of my shower, soaking wet, I wrapped myself in a towel and reluctantly entered the fray.
On its face, it would seem that the concluding phrase to each of the descriptions of the six days of creation, “vaye hi erev, vayeh hi voker, yom (fill in the number one to six)” conclusively proves G-d created the world in six 24-hour long periods of time. Intellectual honesty requires acknowledging that since G-d is omnipotent He could have done so. The original Hebrew can be read to support creationism.
But, just as English is a language of science and literature, Hebrew is one of spiritual concepts. Rare is the word that has only one meaning. Yom is not such a word. A more accurate translation is: a period of time with a beginning and an ending. Throughout the Bible, yom means day but also year.
Cosmology shows the world developed in six stages or eons. The Hebrew text supports this concept too. As well, discussions in the Midrash, a compendium of expository material, indicate the creation story may be allegorical.
So was the world created in six 24-hour days or six eons? The best answer is: Yes.
My friend, a world-renown scientist at UCLA, says, “Science explains the how and the what. But it cannot explain the why.” Likewise, the Bible is not a science textbook. To my mind, taken together, the two form a more solid explanation than each element separately. You can be faithful to both.
I respect people who interpret the creation story literally. Through this belief, they bind themselves more closely to G-d.
I respect cosmologists who seek to uncover age-old mysteries and expand human knowledge.
If you find yourself uneasy about the side of this debate with which you disagree, hopefully, this explanation will ease your discomfort.
What part of this debate troubles you?
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