Science & Faith

The Bible is not a manual of modern science. Trying to read Genesis 1 as a biology or geology treatise is making a literary genre mistake.

Hermeneutical Approaches

Scholars distinguish between two approaches:

Concordism

It holds that every factual statement in Scripture must be taken as conveying a scientifically valid truth claim.

Perspectivism

It maintains that the theological message of Scripture is expressed in terms of the cultural perspective and worldview of its first readers.

Genesis as Theology

The purpose of the creation narratives in Genesis is not scientific, but theological. The narratives reveal who the creator God is, what kind of relationship he has with his creation, and his ultimate purpose for it.

The creation account was written to combat the pagan myths of the time (Babylon, Egypt). It teaches who created (the one and good God) and why (for order and fellowship), not how (detailed physical processes).

Diverse Crest Visions

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Young Earth Creationism: Holds that God created 'the heavens and the earth' fully formed in six literal 24-hour days, approximately 6,000 years ago.
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Evolutionary Creation (Theistic Evolution): The narratives in Genesis leave room for God to oversee evolutionary processes to accomplish his purposes.
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Intelligent Design: Proposes that certain characteristics of the universe are best explained by an intelligent cause.

Church Position

The Church established a magisterium on the interpretation of biblical texts, and it was possible to develop a theology of creation in which evolutionary theories are not only not incompatible with faith, but are in good harmony with it.