 |
|
Title: The Science of God: The Convergence of Scientific and Biblical Wisdom
ISBN: 076790303X
Author:
Gerald L. Schroeder
Publicate Date: 1998-10-20
Publish: 1998-10-20
List Price: $14.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
 |
|
|
|
|
Amazon Lowest New Price: $4.75
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $2.95
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.17
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Customer Review: |
|
1: Can science and religion be reconciled?
For many, the answer to the above question is "no" but for me as a Christian, I've never found them to be so separate in focus so as to need a reconcilitation. True religion and proven science harmonize very well, and Schroeder has written an interesting, thought-provoking book about the seeming parallels between what the Bible states and the findings of biochemists, astrophysicists, and even paleontologists. His explanation of the six creative days of Genesis was fascinating.
|
2: Must read, along with Genesis and the Big Bang.
Schroeder's theories are invaluable for anyone with strong ties to both the physical sciences and the veracity of the Bible. Without his books I would have been content to think about Bible for Bible and science for science. With his books, each one enriches and enhances the other. Science of God is his most important book, but the nitty-gritty of his time dilation theory is better-explained in Genesis and the Big Bang. Must-read.
|
3: brilliantly written
a fantastic book giving new insights into old historical problems, very readable even for the le-man, I highly recommended it.
|
4: When does the biblical calendar begin?
Very interesting! It is a study of the first chapter of Genesis in light of recent findings in physics, microbiology, and astrophysics. Something I found intriguing was about our (the Jewish) calendar.
". . . Logically, the calendar should start with the creation of the world. That would be the generations since Adam plus the six preceding days. But such is not the case. Two thousand years ago, long before there was any controversy over hundred-million-year-old dinosaur bones and cosmic ages reaching into the billions of years, the starting date of the biblical calendar was set at the creation of the souls of humankind (Gen. 1: 27), and not at the creation of the universe, the "In the beginning" of Genesis 1: 1." (Page 45)
That is something I intend to ask my rabbi!
The author then goes on to explain how, using cosmic background radiation, it can be shown that all the 16 billion years leading to Adam took place in six days. Since the first chapter of Genesis and science are in agreement as to the order in which events happened, this makes wonderfully good sense. Whether or not I am convinced will depend on what the rabbi says when I ask him about when the calendar begins - or other research to follow!
Another fascinating subject was the mention of the age differences prior to the Flood:
"Prior to the flood at the time of Noah, the life spans of the persons being discussed ranged from 365 years to 969 years, with the average being 840 years. Sexual maturity (the age at which a woman first gives birth) was reached at 65 to 187 years (average 115 years). Both averages are approximately ten times the current values for developed countries, obviously far from today's reality. Whatever one may think of the pre-Noah longevity, by the time of Abraham, just ten generations after Noah, life span had so decreased that the Bible required an explicit miracle for Abraham, age 99, and Sarah, age 89, to conceive a child (to be named Isaac, from the Hebrew word for laugh, as Abraham did when the angel said he and Sarah would be parents the following year; Gen. 17: 17).
"The cause of this dramatic decrease in life expectancy is not stated. However, the actual age data as listed in the Bible are instructive. . . . Prior to Noah there is no strong trend either increasing or decreasing longevity. Following Noah, a trend is clear. Life span becomes shorter through the generations. The biblical concept is that change takes place over time and through generations, just as did the development of the world in the first chapter of Genesis." (Page 15)
I do wish he had gone into more detail as to what he thinks may have caused the decline in age. Was there something that the Flood brought about that changed the environment? Regardless, I did find the book illuminating.
|
5: A for effort
This was an interesting book. Not that any of his ideas have been picked up after reading this, but I appreciate the different points of view and they were refreshing to read. His attempts to reconcile the so-called rift between the Old Testament and modern science is nothing if it isn't tidy.
|
|
|
|
|
