Andrew Parker received numerous requests to place the creation account in Genesis 1 under the scientific microscope. Eventually he obliged, and his impartial, detached report – The Genesis Enigma – was not what he expected…
Does modern science – while agreeing with Darwinian evolution, the Big Bang theory and the complexity and deep age of the universe – prove the order of creation as described in the Bible to be true?
This is the question accidentally stumbled across by Andrew Parker, a Professor of biology, and explored in The Genesis Enigma. Inexplicably, a parallel does indeed exist between science and the first page of Genesis. But most interesting are the implications of his findings – this is a mystery that may not be the only one of its kind.
The Genesis Enigma is certainly a mystery in that, unlike the problems of missing links and complexity in evolution, it cannot be explained by science. Andrew’s conclusion is that this belongs to a “family” of such problems, and that science, considering the way it works and progresses, will never solve them.
The big question is of the real solutions to these problems – are we seeing signs of God?
Andrew has never been a religious person. He has always been irritated by creationism. But following The Genesis Enigma, where he was forced to consider religion in a rational, scientific climate, he has found atheism wanting, too. Here’s why.
It is impossible to perceive everything in the universe given the limitation of our senses – a limitation revealed by science. Andrew expands on this idea by trying to comprehend those things we can’t sense but that we do know exist through specialized instruments. This is in fact so difficult that we always fail to comprehend them fully. Unfortunately we are subconsciously led to believe that what we see, smell and hear is all that’s there around us. But we must factor into our thought that we are unable to take into account those invisible entities that we know are there. The next step is to accept that there are probably entities in the universe that we do not know exist – that we have been unable to detect with scientific instruments.
Now, can we really use current science to explain the universe in its entirety? Can we even say for sure that science will progress to detect everything that exists?
We do not know what created the energy at the heart of the cosmological Big Bang – the energy that, re-cycled over billions of years, makes up all the animals, plants and rocks we find today. Maybe this was something we know nothing about, something beyond scientific explanation, even. Maybe it was God – a personal God, as portrayed in the Bible. An entity that cannot be contemplated in the same way as the material objects and life-forms in the universe that are bound by the laws of physics.
If God exists, it is perhaps not surprising that there are some things in the universe that are inexplicable to humans, even using our most rigorous scientific methods. Maybe the Genesis Enigma is one such thing.
“Atheists and theists have made up their minds and are now working like defence lawyers for their particular cause. I remain open-minded with no religious axe to grind. I have let the evidence assemble itself into a viewpoint, and in that viewpoint there appears a gaping hole after science has done all it can or will do in the future. If God is considered the occupant of that space, then suddenly a lot of things make sense.
I am not providing a counter-argument, nor am I re-working the evidence into an increasingly convincing case. I am presenting new evidence from science that may support the existence of God. I employ a refreshingly rational way to view the whole subject of science & religion so that I can feel satisfied I have not cheated myself (I have no suppressed doubts at the back of my mind) - God feels so much more real that way. I feel much more involved on a personal level.”
Andrew Parker, 2009
In other words, we can believe in God without having to concoct ways to disprove science. That way, we can get close to God with a new level of confidence.
Another take on the science and religion debate is to accept that spirituality exists, but rather to question whether it is God-given or has evolved as a characteristic in humans. This was suggested by Lord Robert Winston, who considered spirituality as something that might have helped humans to get through a difficult period in their history, such as the ice age, in which case it might have evolved. An interesting point.
Summary of The Genesis Enigma
Why is the Bible’s creation story depicted as it is? The creation account in Genesis is both bizarre and exceptional, providing an answer to how the earth, life and the universe came to be but without any apparent rationale. And all in just a single page. Ironically, the way to solve the enigma of Genesis is to involve science, the medium which appears to contradict the Bible most brutally. Following a recent scientific discovery, a complete solution to this enigma is only now possible. Owing to a reinterpretation of the earth’s ancient rocks and fossils - and their comparison with animals today - our scientific understanding of the history of the earth and of life has become complete.
Now for some shocking news.
Excepting the obvious and absurd fiction that the world was created in seven days, The Genesis Enigma will reveal that our new scientific understanding corresponds precisely with the creation account in Genesis. This is an extraordinary parallel – nothing comparable has been discovered before. The Genesis creation account is depicted as it is because – astonishingly – the precise wording to describe the events and the sequence with which they are placed in fact tells the true story of life’s history.
The accuracy of the Genesis creation story could not be the result of a lucky guess - no human could have put together this story and in this way, particularly in Biblical times. The author of the account had precisely predicted the true history of the earth and of life.
Published in English by Transworld (UK & Australia) and Dutton (Penguin Group) (USA). In the USA, The Genesis Enigma is available from:
Amazon.com
BN.com
Borders.com
Indiebound.org