Always a timely topic, the debate over the origin of our existence seems never-ending. From where I stand, I am caught right in the middle: a Christian, anthropology student working for a genomics company. More recently than ever, I’ve felt compelled to “pick a side.” It’s got me thinking, is it really that simple?
Fundamentally, the argument revolves around the desire to explain our existence; our planet, humanity, and the universe. The ways in which each side goes about attempting to explain this existence are vastly different, and who really has the authority to say that either one is wrong? The scientific evidence stands in favor of evolutionists, but at the end of the day, both sides are theoretical — no one was there at the beginning.
It’s the same battle with the discussion of mortality; Christians, among other religions, believe in afterlife and evolutionists say life ceases. Again, no one can say definitively that one side is right or wrong because there’s no coming back to tell the tale.
What about other religions?
People seem to forget that there are dozens of other divine proclamations on the origins of humanity aside from the Christian story of “Genesis.” All that’s to say, to keep ourselves sane, we want an answer one way or the other, but the unsettling truth is, we will probably never know.
As a Christian in science, I’m caught between a rock and a hard place. If I choose to work in science and read, write, and learn about evolution — then I’m not a “true believer.” On the other hand, colleagues may discount my work with knowledge of my religious beliefs — marking me as ignorant or blinded.
Simply put, no matter what I say next, there’s no way to make both sides content. Such is the nature of the argument, though, we will never all agree.
Even so, consider the following. The Christian model breaks down the process of creation into seven days. Day one: heavens and the Earth, day two: the horizon, day three: dry land — and so on. It’s worth noting the continuities between evolution theories and this day by day story of creation.
First, the Earth was formed, and then much of the planet was covered in water for a time. The Christian model of creation follows roughly the same planetary evolution timeline up until the creation of life — this being the largest disagreement other than ‘how it all started.’
Every Christian denomination interprets the Bible differently from literal to loose. After all, the Bible is a piece of literature written by a set of individuals during a time when people were searching for a moral compass.
As with any publication, its content has a highly biased, narrow perspective. People do their best to recount events of the world, but there is no way to know that what is written is what actually happened. With that in mind, is it fair to say that what is written is what all Christians believe?
All things considered, I’d like to propose the following interpretation. “Days” as we know them, a 24 hour period including the alternation of day and night, were not introduced by “God” until the fourth day of creation. Humans created the concept of days to keep track of time — another human construct.
Is it possible then that each “day” of creation, so to speak, is actually an eon or perhaps an era? If God is omnipotent and everlasting, then a “day” to us would be a blink of an eye for him. His version of a “day” may be eons from our perspective. Something to ponder — food for thought.
