Faith Science - A Way of Escape

1 Corinthians 10:13(KJV) - There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

I had a fascinating dream last night and when I awoke this morning The Lord spoke to me about it. He said that Faith Science is a way of escape for many people. Many educated Christians become disenchanted with their faith when they discover major conflicts between what they believe and the natural facts laid out before their eyes. They are told that The Biblical account of Creation points to an earth that's at most 100,000 years old yet the scientific fossil record points to millions. They are told that Adam and Eve were the first humans but find out in school that the bones of pre-historic man predates them. They learn about the Ice Ages, dinosaurs and mammoths but can't reconcile this information with the popular interpretation of Biblical history. Then some of them get the bright idea of rejecting their faith. Fortunately, it doesn't have to happen that way and we're here to help.
 

"Do you know that cloning, synthetic biology, entropy, and the Ice Ages can be traced to the Bible? Can the discovery of the Higgs Boson, or God Particle, by scientists in CERN or FERMILAB help us perceive the spirit realm? In Faith Science, author Donnell Duncan exposes scientific mysteries hidden within scriptures then employs the scientific method to approach the study of faith. In this radical departure from common knowledge, Duncan seamlessly blends scientific research and scriptural truth. Are you ready for the impact caused by this collision between faith and the scientific method? If so, prepare for the ride of your life.

'Mr. Duncan meticulously analyzes the scientific process and shows how it can be effectively used to understand Christian faith. I came away with a stronger understanding of how my scientific background can further strengthen my relationship with God.'

-Shanta Whitaker, Ph.D. Associate Director of the Health Professions Advisory Program, Yale University"

Here's a sample to whet your appetite!

An Introduction to The Gap Theory

On Monday, July 20, 2009, Yahoo News published an article written by Jeanna Bryner entitled, “Comets Killed Ice Age Beasts.” According to the article, the discovery of lonsdaleite nanodiamonds just off the coast of southern California closed the deal. It provided the strongest evidence to date of the catastrophic event long suspected as the cause of extinction of large ice-age animals and the Stone Age group known as Clovis people. Until then, those hexagonal diamonds had only been found in meteorites and impact craters. This was due to the high temperatures and pressures necessary for their formation.

Evidence of arctic life discovered in temperate or tropical areas has caused scientists to point to Ice Ages. Large surfaces of the earth were covered with ice sheets (large continental glaciers) during those time periods. An exhibit on the Ice Ages from the Illinois State Museum shows some interesting facts. On their Web site is the quote, “If a type of animal lives in a certain type of climate now, we may infer that its ancestors lived in that type of climate, too.”

Ice Ages occurred due to changing continental positions, uplift of continental blocks, reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere, and changes in the earth’s orbit during four approximate time intervals:

• Late Proterozoic (800 to 600 million years ago),

• Ordovician and Silurian (460 to 430 million years ago)

• Pennsylvanian and Permian (350 to 250 million years

ago)

• Neogene to Quaternary (4 million years ago to present)

As evidenced by the Ice Ages, the general consensus in the international scientific community is that the earth is billions of years old. Theoretically, it makes sense due to the clearly defined strata of the earth and the presence of fossils at varying depths. Experimentally, it makes sense based on carbon dating methods. Fossils used to reconstruct prehistoric animals like mammoths and dinosaurs support this theory. The discovery of human-like bones in the earth’s strata is evidence of the existence of prehistoric man. In addition, the scientific evidence used to support the past occurrence of the Ice Ages is relatively strong.

There is also evidence of a sudden destructive event that caused the end of civilization. Dinosaurs and mammoths did not gradually become extinct but died suddenly. The earth’s strata tell the story of a thriving planet that underwent a catastrophic change. Occasionally, more information like what I just mentioned becomes available concerning what happened. Without getting into specific data, it’s popularly understood that the earth is much older than what we assume from our common understanding of the Bible. Scientists and Christians clash bitterly over this issue without any acceptable resolution.

As a student of geography and physics in high school growing up in a Christian home, I didn’t care to understand why things didn’t match up. When I was in school I agreed with the scientific evidence, and at home I agreed with the biblical evidence. As long as both spheres of my life remained separate, it didn’t matter to me. However, my first degree in applied physics opened the door for me to question my beliefs. Everything changed when I was invited to participate in the 2000 Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California.

The big bang theory formed the foundation of my project, Cosmic Microwave Background Rotating Polarimeter Experiment (CMB ROPE). During one presentation to my peers I was asked to justify my participation in the project even though it contradicted with my Christian beliefs. I told them that I always separated my Christian beliefs from all academic pursuits. That answer satisfied my peers but did not satisfy me. Hence, after almost a decade of searching for answers, this book came to life. The gap theory might be controversial, but at least it’s a valiant attempt to connect science and faith.