Oct. 30, 2006
Please send corrections/updates/suggestions to: Joseph M Schaffer
PO Box 496
Luling, TX 78648 USA
Truthsquared@e-cepher.com
Truth
is the goal of both sincere readers of the scriptures, as well as the student of the natural environment around us. While other subjects are relevant and interesting, scriptural truths are often construed as clashing against natural truth, cerebralist vs. theist, delusional nihilism vs. irrational piety. For some instances we can consider the trial of the Papal institutional view of an earth-centric cosmos vs. Galileo in 1633, and the evolution/creation debate that was publicly followed with great fanfare and known as the “Monkey Trial” in Tennessee vs. John Scopes in 1925. Contradictions, claims, and firm stances have been at issue on levels both great and small throughout human history in an attempt to stake out the human understanding of our existence. Even in ancient Babylon, while it seems that a few mathematicians understood that likely the earth was round, religious leaders promoted the concept that the earth was flat.
Natural categories are much more easily folded into clear and distinct separate classes, even when little is known about the subject. As flower petals can all be classed together, and categorized as separate from plant leaves. That is, until plants are discovered which have leaves that can become petals during certain seasons, at which time the definition as to what makes a petal a petal, and a leaf a leaf are refined in order to perpetuate the human desire for nice, clean categories. A similar situation is occurring today regarding the definition of what makes a planet a planet, and not an asteroid or some other special resident. Supposedly this has been resolved, until some other object disrupts the definition established by the International Astronomical Union in August of 20061. For instance the defining of an object orbiting the Sun would preclude the many similar objects found circling other stars. They have been reported as planets, but the new definition would technically render them nameless since the star they orbit is not our “Sun”. Many of these categories are man-made, defined in such a way as to help us to intellectually comprehend the creation in which we live, even while the creation blends from one to the other without such limits. The conflict between the blends of nature and the determination of man to have clearly defined definitions sometimes leads to intellectual conflict.
It is important at this juncture to state that categorizing our collection of known facts is valuable, but failing to understand or remember that the boundaries of those categories are artificially derived and that new information will often require modification of the definitions. They help to explain the reality, but do not shape nor influence the reality. A resulting paradigm shift may also be needed, and failing to do so could and will often lead one down a path of imaginary conclusions, as logical and delightful they may be.
This need for categorical understanding has often been applied to scriptural hermeneutics and exegesis as well, often with misleading results. How many messiah figures have passed through history without the expected conclusion? Even the one who did fulfill every scriptural evidence was misunderstood as to the immediate outcome.2
Students of nature, who are often grouped in the ‘camp’ of scientists with some level of validity, find it convenient to point out the error of students of the scriptures and claim them to have ignorance. However, caution must be used. They fail to realize that scientific conclusions have been grossly error in ignorance at times as well.3
Rationalization of either truth set can have other limitations. For instance a single set of facts can have multiple interpretations, some of which may not be apparent to the person or persons drawing on the facts under scrutiny. While some of the interpretations may seem logical under analysis, the difficulty is to determine which interpretation, or theory, is in fact the accurate one. Which explanation harmonizes best with all known facts? Obvious errors can readily be ruled out, however at times the harmonization sits alongside other harmonized theories, putting the conclusions at risk of being circular proofs. In turn this requires more fact findingand study in order to determine a high degree of validity to a given theory.
There are two basic methods that are readily available in the physical realm: One that has been initiated by Francis Bacon toward the end of the 16th century, now known as the “scientific method”. This requires a collection of data based upon an initial theory drawn from observation, with control group, variations of the elements under study, and a conclusion. Rarely are multiple theories investigated, most often for reasons of keeping the study within conceptual limitations, as too much data would make an analysis more difficult. And it would be an unusual event that the end of a study would arrive at multiple conclusions, despite the possibility. These are often supplied by others who analyze the results. Previously established understandings tend to suppress new conclusions that differ greatly, and event that pure logical would not prevent, but implicates the human logician as having enteric influence. This method has proven beneficial in gaining knowledge that has lead to many advances in technology, such as the design and improvement of the semiconductor, the study of medical science, and horticultural improvements, and the use of not yet fully understood quantum mechanics, to name but few.
The other is one that is often not well recognized in the science world, but does have it’s use, and is often employed for reasons of no available alternatives. It is also very often refuted on the basis of not being ‘scientific’. This is the analysis of emerging patterns. In contrast to the scientific method there is no control group, data is gleaned from events that occur with little or no intentional directorate or purposefully influenced control. How can we learn about the earth, when there is only one earth? The moon as well is singular, no control group outside of its spectrum is possible. In fact an additional moon or moons would distort the study of a single moons affects on the earth.
This method proves valuable data even in advancing technology and discovery, such as in July/Aug 2005 when the Discovery space shuttle suffered damage during lift off. Subsequent use of the on-board camera to inspect the shuttle while still in orbit revealed pieces of ceramic coated gap filler fabric protruding from between two heat protection tiles. NASA officials feared that the protruding fabric could cause turbulence upon reentry, which in turn would heat the protective ceramic tiles to a temperature near or above their designed endurance.4 What study was available to make this determination? As one NASA official put it, “… the only data we’ve got comes from the shuttle and that’s all there is in the world.”5 And the only single data point available to provide an ‘emerging pattern’ regarding extruding gap filler fabric was a shuttle in 1995 that had a tile region raise from the normally expected 2,300ºF to nearly 2,800ºF.6 In this case, the emerging pattern had but a single reference point, but it was a pattern that potentially saved lives when it was referenced and turned into action.
This paper is not an attempt to solve the conflicts in every detail that may have arisen, are currently at issue, or will arise in the future. Instead it is an attempt to detail one method by which the natural and the scriptural set of truths can be resolved, based on current knowledge bases of both scripture and nature.7
This method would hold both parties as ignorant of factual truths from their opposite spectrums, and in fact will tend to alienate both factions as they adhere strictly to their emotionally charged positions. The tension created by the struggle over the imaginary definitions as though these man made boundaries were more important than the facts themselves create a situation where a valid analysis of truth is difficult to maintain without being distorted into one faction or the other, both by accusation and by hostile takeover. Both extremist factions on this and other issues are often guilty of both of these moral corruptions, which often lead to verbal and intellectual warfare.8
Quite simply they can be readily resolved and investigated peaceably. Students of the Bible are directed both to scripture and creation to understand God.9 There is no need for controversy; in fact such behavior only serves to detract from the factual gleaning toward any gain of further knowledge. The method is simply a continuation of the pattern set for harmonizing the full set of scriptural truths.
It does require that current theories and mental models be understood as subservient to established facts. Theories can be used to temporarily fill in where lack of concrete discovery exists, but they are merely penciled in, ready to be erased and modified or replaced as required. Scientific method is used where available, emerging patterns where it is unavailable. And scriptural truths (not religious doctrines, which are tantamount to theory) are given equal weight with natural facts (not theories).10
Often at conflict is the accepted method by which we came to exist. Was it progressive from a big bang, to single cell life, to modern complexity as the evolutionists determine, or was it sudden, explosive, and all matter in the universe came into being some 49,000 years ago as some intelligent design advocates hold?11 So let’s examine this and see if any resolve can be made between the two.12
What facts are known?
Natural: The earth is geologically 4.54 billion years old.13
Scriptural: The earth and all life on it were created in seven ‘days’.14
How can an attempt to resolve these two truths be accomplished?15
A simple attempt at harmonizing the two would result in a potential result that would better fit with the facts than emotional attachment to either source alone. The natural world’s harmonious structure decries at least an unbiased investigation into the possibility of a supreme being in order to properly assess the attempt at discovery where
we came from, and the scriptural texts point us to the natural world as evidence toward an enhanced comprehension of the pronounced supreme therein16.
The one truth is silent in word17, but contains volumes in material discovery, which requires interpretation in order to acquire intellectual comprehension of it.
The other recorded in the imagination18, allows for intellectual discovery to verify its reliability and to resolve interpretation.19
For instance, the scriptures elucidate a historical chronology which would indicate that the seventh creative day would be approximately 7,000 years long.20 A purely scientific and/or emerging pattern view from paleontology would propose that the oldest human remains discovered to date are from 16,000 years ago.21 Whereas a strict interpretation of the scripturally provided chronology would place the dating of man at 7,000 years.22 Is this a contradiction, or is it possible it can be resolved?
There is one element of the paleontological measurement that remains theoretical, that is the accuracy of the measurement. To date no one has, by scientific method, nor by emerging pattern watched an object form, get buried, then re-measure the object over a period of 1,000’s, 10,000’s, and more years. The capability to maintain accuracy is at best based upon logical inference but not actual measurement of the calibration source. Should any part of the environment for that source suffer an unknown disruption that could contaminate the results between the period it was deposited and the time it was harnessed and used for calibration, it could skew the results by unknown multiples of error.23 Hence a resolution would provide that any measurements would have to be normalized to fall within the unbroken chain of eye witnesses that recorded the age of mankind from Adam, captured in what is known as the Hebrew scriptures. Thus, to harmonize this, a human fossil would of necessity be something less than 7,000 years old.24
Now the apparent conflict between the 7,000 and the 160,000 (or millions depending on which anthropologist is referenced) age of human existence would threaten to disperse one to lean toward either the scientific or the religious in order to provide oneself with a comprehensible model that makes the simplest sense, especially when the thought is carried to an apparent logical conclusion that this would also mean that the earth is only 49,000 years old, which appears to violate the very geological evidence laying around us.25 This would seem to suggest that either God lied when his Word was written, or he lied when he created the physical earth by implanting misleading artifacts.
There can actually be several methods to resolve these two elements that do not require the need to slip oneself mentally into the emotionally charged regions of either extreme. Simple reasonableness26 could resolve the whole into a best available model based upon established facts, and missing knowledge filled in with scientifically established data when available, and when not available then by use of catalogued emerging patterns. Modification will be expected, and differing interpretations accepted.27 Variations of the model could be personally extracted, stretched, and turned in order to test theories and ideas, however the publicly agreed upon model would be utilized as an agreed point of discussion, unity, and from which to develop further study and reference during communication.28 This is no different from the current process employed within scientific circles.
In using this example of the age of the earth, we can merge the facts available from the two divinely supplied sources, and result in a determinate value. According to at least one source29, the age of the earth is 4,500,000 years. According to the scriptural passage the creative period lasted for 7 days30. Given that no human recorded the actual events that predate Adam, we are left to determine how to resolve the two apparently differing values. No scientific experiment can be performed to replicate the results, so one must derive what can be glean from an emerging pattern frozen within both records, the natural writ and the holy writ. One theory might be that each creative ‘day’ was of a specific and equal length. This is a common concept that makes the conflicts most apparent. If the simplistic value of 7,000 years31 were assigned to the total, then the 4,500,000 measured length of time must be compressed within a period of 49,000 years. Since the creative book does not harmonize with this specific interpretation, then the values interpretively assigned to the creative days must be inaccurate. Based on measured elements of the creation, it would be physically invalid, or in mathematical terms:
4,500,000,000 49,000.
The interpretive model must be improved.
Alternatively, if more weight is given the measurements of the physical book of creation on this subject, then an attempt at correlation remains problematic. In fact it only serves to shift the problem to the other side of the issue. This would require each creative day to equal 648571428.571429 solar years. This is problematic due to the scriptural expectation is that the seventh creative day measures to be approximately 7,000 years. Hence this model would fail scripturally, as:
648,571,428.571429
It must be remembered that the creative ‘days’ may be merely descriptive of the events that occurred within each day to mark it as differing from the other. Alternatively the six days may actually be a representation of incompleteness, the unfinished creative process, and not tied to any time length at all32. For the purposes of this paper, it will be expected that the six days, while perhaps symbolic, do indeed correlate to the specific age of the earth. Even in scriptural interpretation, while the most probable hypothesis is held up as the standard for common reference, every hypothesis that harmonizes with the whole of scripture must be considered until ruled out. However one hypothesis that will be entertained here would be if the creative days were inversely “logarithmic-like”33 in scale. For instance, the seventh creative day may actually be 7,000 years, but there is no scriptural limit to the actual length of each creative day. In this model, the seventh creative day would equal approximately 7,000 solar years, while the sixth day was approximately 63,879, and so on. Other models in the future may prove to be more accurate, however this should be sufficient to indicate that a resolve between the two books of truth are truly harmonious, and should not be forced into a position of constant conflict as the media and supporters of either camp would lead the majority to believe. Since the sum of all creative days can be resolved to 4,500,000,000 then this model can be determined to be probable both for the physical measurement and the scriptural presentation of fact.
Upon improved understanding of physical dating techniques, this method would require new calculations, and perhaps even scaling. However it provides evidence that harmonization is possible. Given the premise of Occam’s Razor, this could also be the most likely conclusion.
This basic premise can be applied toward every human study, from what are known as the physical sciences, to human behavioral training. This can also offer a glimpse into realizing that human efforts to understand their condition, when accomplished outside of harmonious resolution between both the holy creative library and the holy written expression of facts, only leads to conflict, error, and misdirected conclusions. Resolving both expressions of holy spirit is not only possible, but is the best method for having a planet harmoniously joined in forward progress in technology and education, but also would help render the earth devoid of illogical yet intellectual (or even intellectually lacking) conflicts.
1 http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/iau0603/index.html accessed Oct. 29, 2006
2 Acts 1:6,11; 3:18
3 In the late 1500’s, Tycho Brahe provided the most accurate measurements of the heavens up to his day. His results caused him to realized that either the stars were too far away for their parallax to be measured with his most modern equipment, or that the earth was the center of the universe. He chose to promote the latter in contradiction of Galileo’s conclusions, perhaps because Galileo had less accurate equipment. Similar Brahean blunders are repeated at times within the halls of science.
4 The shuttle disaster in Feb. 2003 which had similar failures was a cause for concern that reminded of the need for heavy caution.
5 http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/library/news/2005/space-050803-usia01.htm accessed Oct. 21, 2005
6 http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/space/sts114/3290289 accessed Oct. 21, 2005
7 Genesis 1; Isaiah 40:26; Romans 2:1
8 James 4:1,3 (hdonh; note though often translated as “lust” could also indicate intellectual “pleasing”); Often selfish reasons, such as funding, stated goals, lack of or for belief in God, and prominence will drive the intensity of the claims being promulgated.
9 Romans 1:20; 2Timothy 3:16.
10 Caution must be given that unwitting interpretations are not viewed as scriptural truths. For an example
of this see The Watchtower 1999, Aug. 1, p. 10, “Bible Interpretation-By Whose Influence?” On the other hand interpreting the physical evidence is fraught with similar risks. It is much like trying to determine the emotional tone of email, you have the factual words in front of you, but are you reading the intent of the message correctly? A researcher may have the factual evidence mentally grasped, but reading what was cause and effect have long been a struggle for fields of study that range from forensic scientists, to lawyers, and to students of earth’s history. For every hypothesis, and alternative hypothesis must be allowed until they have been proven false. For a well written overview of this see The Watchtower 2000, Dec. 1, p. 29,
“Must You Believe It?”
11 The concept of Intelligent Design in this discussion is considering a somewhat strict interpretation of ID but which includes a supreme being, a.k.a. god. Some would hold the creation account to indicate the earth was only 6,000 years old, however this does not fit within even the strictest interpretation of the scriptures without subjecting definitions to extreme distortion. There are too many varieties of ID as there are too many varieties of evolutionary theories to included each in this paper. Evolutionary theories are often modified by nihilist preferences, funding, and discovery, while often ID theories are often modified by fundamentalist hijacking, opportunity, and religious rationalization. It should also be noted that, ID as is popularized in the political spectrum has some significant theological failings that are akin to Gnosticism, in that it is an attempt to use the opposing side’s momentum against them. Many neo-religious Creationists have adopted forms of “science” in what astronomer Isaac Asimov once referred to as “The Judo Argument.” i.e., if science once knocked down their beliefs, then they want to use science’s own
momentum as an offense. They know that faith in God carries no weight in science, and in turn begin to hinge their faith on science alone, which carries only limited weight in matters of religious faith. Avoiding such fruitless attempts, which have not been resolved for 1,000’s of year now, we find far better use of our time and effort in the preaching and teaching work. If debunking all erroneous scientific thinking, or pursuing scientific advances, had been our commission at Matthew 28:19,20, then Jehovah’s Witnesses would be renowned for such works. But the actual assignment is far more harmonious with God’s will in an attempt to reach the hearts of those seeking the same peace and happiness we look forward to in the paradise earth under God’s Kingdom. It is a very dangerous sect of Christianity. Possibly more so than evolution theories, in that it is a pretender in the realm of theism. (See also The Watchtower 1986, 9/1 pg.
30 “Questions From Readers”, published by Jehovah’s Witnesses)
12 This method is not intended to examine the details as to how the timing was measured, as improved methods will most likely force this date to be modified in the future. But rather this document is intended to provide a brief over view of how to resolve two sources of truth, rather than determine what sciences and details need to be improved.
13 http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/age.html accessed Oct. 19, 2005; disputing the method for determining the age is outside the scope of this document, however the methods presented herein could be used to examine the claimed measurement. Dating of human remains and artifacts would require a separate resolve.
14 Genesis 1:2-2:3; determining the mean point of each day is also outside the scope of this document, however future analysis and discovery may provide a source of data by which some of the length of the days can be more accurately determined than the conclusions made herein.
15 The order of the two accounts, both the natural and the scriptural are in general agreement, with some vagueness and overlapping on the part of each due to lack of specific information or resolution.
16 See footnote 9.
17 It could be argued that the language of mathematics could be used to express the contents, but such claims would be limited. Any camp on this subject has the same challenges that have yet to be realized, such as solving for a comprehensive formula which could distinguish between an intelligently carved stone, such as petroglyphs as found along the King’s highway on the Big Island of Hawaii, or the Beishan Mountain China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and the rock from which they were carved.
18 Intellectual communication, whether verbal, written, body motion, etc… requires the use of imagination on the part of both the transmitter and the receiver.
19 Proverbs 3:19-21; 1Thessalonians 5:21; 1John 4:1; 5:20
20 ”All Scriptures Inspired” pgs. 284-298; published by Jehovah’s Witnesses; that we are approximately
6,000 years into that seventh day is being ignored for the purposes of this discussion, one can assume a position as if we were at the end of that seventh day.
21 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1295624 accessed Oct. 21, 2005; others caution that errors in measurement allow for this to actually be in the 100,000 range. For the purposes of this discussion, it is being assumed that the fossil is both human, and that theoretical extrapolations that would trace the ancestry back some hundreds of thousands, or millions of years back are left to the realm of theory. See also: http://www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/humanorigins/ha/a_tree.html
22 Note end comment of footnote 15.
23 The fact that the accuracy of carbon dating, potassium-argon dating, and others are still argued without solid resolve would indicate that while improvements in the accuracy are being made, not all unkown affects have been resolved. For instance, regarding a similar type of decay which has long been determined to be even more stable than carbon and potassium-argon decays is radioactive decay, which can no longer be claimed as unaffected by the environment around it. Claus Rolfs, a physicist at the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, has discovered that certain conditions can actually reduce the half-life some at least some isotopes from thousands of years to just two or three years. Rolf concludes this has ‘profound implications for measuring the ages of the earth and the universe’. “Half-Life Heresy: Accelerating Radioactive Decay” http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/mg19225741.100 accessed Oct.
23, 2006
24 Unless it was possibly Adam, Eve, or a very early offspring, which could put it at 7,000 + the time of
Adam’s creation until the start of the seventh day.
25 See footnote 10.
26 Philippians 4:5.
27 A person who relies on the word of god would not want to be known as having a character that is ‘not open to any agreement’ (1Timothy 3:3) but would rather be seeking the interests of their companion
(Philippians 2:21) and peace (Romans 12:18). This would be necessary and true in an attempt to resolve expressed and measurable truths as well.
28 Given that a person would have essentially forever (Psalm 22:26) to seek out natural truths (Eccelsiastes
3;11), there is no need to be impatient. All truth will eventually be uncovered even if a circuitous route is taken in the discovery. (contrast Psalm 94:4)
29 http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/age.html, referenced Oct. 30, 2006.
30 Genesis 1:2-2:3.
31 This would be the roughly 6,000 years since man’s creation based upon Biblical chronology, plus the
1,000 year reign of Christ which would conclude the day of rest which commenced in Genesis 2:2. Insight on the Scriptures, vol-1 p. 545, under the subject of “Creation”, subheading “Length of Creative Days”. There are many reasons not to tie the length since man’s creation to the creative days, however for the purposes of demonstrating the process of resolving conflict, we will commence with this over-simplistic view. Note The Watchtower, 1976, July 15, pg. 436 ¶ 20, subheading “Time Factors That God Has Not Revealed”. Some fundamentalists try to hold to a view of the total creation being 7,000 years, which would only serve to pronounce the conflict yet further.
32 The Watchtower, 2004, April 1, p. 6, article entitled “Identifying the Wild Beast and Its Mark”, under the subheading, “Six Repeated Three Times-Why?”
33 ”Logarithmic-like”, since actual equations fit best into 4,500,000 years with a value of 9.1256 instead of a standard log. Based on 10.
