science and religion

Apparently Bill Nye the Science Guy has agreed to participate in a debate about evolution with a creationist. I haven't read about the debate extensively, but I'm seeing things about it occasionally on Facebook or sidebar advertisements, so recently I've been thinking a lot about the idea that science and religion disprove each other. It seems like most people are convinced that you can only believe one or the other. I used to think so too, but now I don't. I have been studying geology for four years and my experience has only strengthened my faith.

My impression is that when religious people say they can't believe in science, what they generally mean is that they are uncomfortable with evolution, the earth being 4.6 billion years old, and the creation. I think most of us were trained up in Sunday School to believe that God created the earth in six literal days, that it all happened "magically" (not quite the right term, but hopefully you get my meaning) just because God said so, and that Adam and Eve were made from scratch by God. So when the idea of an old earth and evolution are brought up it seems to conflict with our religion and we feel like we have to reject it. That doesn't mean we object to the science that has been used to develop computers, cell phones, advanced medical treatments, faster and more efficient cars, or flushing toilets.

I admit that there seem to be conflicts there. Over time I've gotten to the point where I don't have a problem with the earth being old or with it taking more than six literal days for it to be created. Considering the history behind where we got the Bible, I don't think we necessarily have to take the word "day" literally as 24 hours. When I consider the creation of the earth as told by geology, I think it's pretty amazing that God and Jesus Christ knew all that and much more and that they planned everything so that a planet would be created where humans could live.

However, I do still have some problems with the theory of evolution. I do think there is truth to it. I think there is plenty of evidence to support it. But it does rub wrong with my conception of the creation of Adam and Eve. Evidence from the geologic record seems to indicate that there was a progression from ape-type creatures to humanoids to humans, and there are things about that idea that I don't really like. I believe that there is something special about the human species, namely, that we are God's literal spirit children. I'm still stuck on the ideas I picked up in church to some extent, and that makes me inclined to think that God created Adam and Eve from scratch. With modern science it seems conceivable that someone could create life from scratch (in a test tube, if you will). But if He did create them through the process of evolution, that would seem to mean that Adam and Eve had parents who didn't quite make the cut. Does that mean their spirits weren't quite good enough to belong to human bodies and be God's children? That seems harsh to me and I don't really like it.

At this point my conclusion is that we don't know enough. Our understanding of spirits is pretty minimal, and I think that's one reason why it's hard to fit the things we know about spirits with the theory of evolution. I'm okay with waiting until we have more understanding. Scientific evidence suggests that there is truth to evolution. I think we should continue to study and teach it because if we understand evolution we might be able to use that understanding to bless our lives. But I also know that my faith is true and real. My personal experiences have proven that to me.

I think the best way to receive answers is to continue to obey God's commandments. Many answers to our gospel questions don't come immediately. They come when we continue to be faithful and obedient. Gradually (through study and experience) we learn and understand concepts until eventually we are prepared to understand the question we started with long before. If we continue to learn and grow in the gospel, we will gain further light and knowledge concerning spirits, the creation, the nature of God, and other gospel principles that are important in understanding why we are here and how we got here. If we reject God and refuse to accept the scriptures, we will never experience that growth. So, interestingly, it seems to me that in order to fully understand science we have to also accept religion, because at some point the two will meet in the middle and the issues will be resolved. If we reject religion, the two will never meet and we will miss out on important parts of the whole picture.

Adam and Eve

Last semester in my English class I read Paradise Lost and wrote a paper about it. If you haven't read it, it is an epic poem about the fall of Adam and Eve. I thought it was a very interesting work, but it was also extremely bothersome because of the truths that are missing or distorted. There has been a lot of damage done throughout the history of the earth because people didn't understand or know the whole story about Adam and Eve. A lot of people think that Adam and Eve's choice to eat the fruit was a sin and that if they hadn't done it then we all would be in the garden living care-free lives. Many people have interpreted the story to mean that women are sinful or less intelligent than men or an inferior sex, which has led to women being unappreciated or suppressed. They don't know or appreciate that the choice to eat the fruit was a wise one, that it was a necessary step in order to bring about God's great and marvelous work on the earth.

The bible dictionary says that "The aggregate of the scriptures certifies that his transgression in the garden of Eden, although designated as a 'fall,' was necessary to the advancement and spiritual progress of humanity on this earth, and Adam rightly should be honored, not denigrated," (Adam) and that "Latter-day revelation confirms the biblical account of Eve and gives us an awareness of her nobility." (Eve) I love that--Adam and Eve should be honored for the choice that they made. I think I've always had a sense that they were noble and great people, not wicked and disobedient. They made a choice that was necessary so that all of us would have an opportunity to continue our spiritual progress on this earth by obtaining physical bodies. After they had left the garden, Eve was happy because she realized, "Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient." (Moses 5:11) If they had remained in the garden and not partaken of the fruit, they would not have been able to have children and they wouldn't have been able to understand the gospel. Our spiritual progression would have been stopped, because there were things we could not learn or do unless we had the opportunity to have a body. 2 Nephi 2:25 confirms that the fall happened so that God's spirit children could come to this earth: "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."

I am grateful for our wise and noble first parents and the great choice that they made, a choice that made it possible for me to continue in my spiritual journey towards eternal life. The choice they made was hard, because it meant that they would have to leave the garden to work hard, have children, suffer pains and trials, and ultimately face death. But they had faith and were loyal to Heavenly Father and committed to obeying His commandments, and because of that we can all receive eternal life, "the greatest of all the gifts of God." (D&C 14:7)