We quite often hear about contracdictions between Bible and Ccience. But is it really so? Can we have examples where Bible and Science converge?
1. Creation
For millennia, Creation theory was ridiculed for believing that the Universe was created and not evolved. In the latter half of the 20th century did evidence come out
overwhelmingly on Creation side. As Dr. Arno Penzias (one of the three who received a
Nobel Prize for identifying the "background radiation" that became one of the
pillars of the current Big Bang cosmology) writes, "science has finally
vindicated
Moses (Author of the Penta books) over Aristotle ( page 78 in Margenau and Varghese,
Cosmos, Bios, Theos, Open Court, 1992.)"
2. Faith of Abraham
Abraham was a maverick for believing that all the
forces of the cosmos are really a single force. This is the contention of
science for the past 100 years and the driving force behind the search for the
Unified Field Theory (
That we call the Omniptent, Omnipresent, Omniscient God)
3. Logic defied
Bible's account of Creation and of events that defy the laws of physics --
and even defy logic -- implies that the laws of logic are not absolute -- i.e.
it is not impossible for those laws to have been created otherwise, and even
now, the Creator could supersede them or adjust them at whim. An inkling of this
kind of thinking opened the way for modern mathematics, breaking away from the
Euclidian view that the axioms of geometry are absolute "self evident truths,"
and laying the ground for Einstein's relativity. Indeed, later attempts to
demonstrate that mathematics is based on logic have all failed. Thinkers today
question the absoluteness of logic itself. (Tzvi Saks,
On the Nature of Truth in Mathematics, in B'Or HaTorah vol 9,
pp. 95-103- "Mathematics!
Another one of my mistakes")
4. Divine Providence & Principle of Uncertainity
Bible, by presenting the concept of Divine Providence within nature, requires a
universe that is only loosely linear, rejecting the determinist concept that
cause and effect are inherently linked. This is an outcome of the Principle of
Uncertainty, first enunciated by Heisenberg in 1928. Over the
past 30 years, experimentation has repeatedly affirmed this concept. (John Gribbin,
In Search of Schrodinger's Cat, Bantam, 1979. Uncertainity is an inherent characteristic of the
universe, that there are no perfectly knowable ("discrete") states. As
Heisenberg himself put it to the philosophers of his time: Without discrete
causes, there are no pre-determined effects -- and determinism is out the window)
5. Matter not an isolated Entity E=MC2
Bible does not talk in terms of matter as a self-contained substance, but as an
event, a '
word'. Today we understand matter as simply a dynamic of concentrated
energy, as in the familiar formula E=mc2. Or, in physicist
David Bohm's definition, "That which unfolds,
whatever the medium".
6. Witnesses & Intuition
Bible relies on
witnesses and observation over intuition. This is called empiricism. It is what distinguishes the Scientist from the
Hellenist or medieval philosopher.
7. Role of Human Mind
Bible recognizes the role of human consciousness as an active, rather than
passive participant in forming reality. This
is the basis for the standard model of quantum mechanics first enunciated by John
von Neumann in 1932. (1. Tzvi Freeman,
Knowledge
and Reality, Chabad.org., 2001; 2.In
Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. Eugene Wigner later
became the major proponent of this idea)
8. Concept of Synergy
Bible consistently relies on the concept of synergy: The whole is greater than
the sum of its parts.
In old testament -Israel as Nation, in new testament - the Church, Jesus' teaching of unity in prayer are all ruled by this principle.
This has become an essential principle in many modern
disciplines, from sociology to chemistry too.
9. Quantum
Bible, in many halachic applications, relies on "quantum" -- smallest possible
increments of change within space and time. This was the postulate of Max Planck
that opened the field of quantum mechanics.
10. Genetics
Bible describes all of humankind as descending from a single man and a single woman.The overwhelming genetic evidence concurs,
although the dating is still somewhat skewed. They're still catching up. {Men (y chromosone) from Noah. Women (mitochondrial DNA) from Eve. The women on
the ark were from various families, while the men were from a single father and
mother.}
11. Cosmos
Bible describes planet earth and the entire cosmos in holistic terms. Science
today is moving sharply in this direction, in life sciences and in physics and
cosmology.
12. Archaeological evidences
Bible provides inference to many of the customs, beliefs, politics,
technologies, etc. of ancient times at which historians once balked and
archeologists have only recently confirmed.
13. Governance
Bible prescribes constitutional governance. public education and popular involvement. Sociologists describe how these elements generate stability and
productivity in a society.
14. Environment
Bible prescribes a responsible stewardship of our environment which is the creastion and gift of God. First man Adam was put in charge of the garden Aden. Today we have
demonstrated that such an approach is the only one possible for sustainable life
on the planet.
(This article is partly adapted from various sources)
