Science and Bible—Waswe Hem Tru Tufala Againstim Each Other?
START bilong datfala raoa wea kamap midolwan Galileo and Catholic Church hem kamap plande handred year bifor Copernicus and Galileo born. Teaching abaotem wei wea earth hem midol bilong universe hem samting wea olketa Greek bifor bilivim and datfala savveman Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) and man for studyim universe Ptolemy (midolwan 100-200 C.E.) nao teachim datwan and mekem datfala teaching kamap big.a
Teaching bilong Aristotle abaotem universe hem kamap from olketa idea bilong wanfala Greek savveman saed long mathematics, Pythagoras (600-500 B.C.E.). Pythagoras ting circle and sheip wea olsem ball, olketa nao perfect sheip. Aristotle iusim datfala idea and sei universe hem raon olsem ball and hem garem staka moa sheip olsem ball insaed long each other, olsem insaed long wanfala onion. Each wan long olketa hia hem crystal, and earth nao barava stap long midol. Paoa from God wea stap long circle aotsaed, hem muvim olketa star hia for go raonem earth. Aristotle bilivim tu hao sun and olketa nara samting long universe olketa perfect, olketa no garem eni mark long olketa and olketa no savve change.
Teaching bilong Aristotle hem wanfala idea nomoa, hem no really samting saed long science. Long tingting bilong hem, hem no stret for sei earth hem savve muv. Hem againstim tu disfala idea wea sei earth hem muv insaed long space. Hem sei sapos earth muv, gogo bae hem slow daon and stop sapos no eni paoa for muvim hem. From idea bilong Aristotle hem fitim savve wea olketa scientist garem long datfala taem, no eniwan changem datfala teaching go kasem samting olsem 2,000 year bihaen. Nomata long olketa year bihaen 1500, datfala savveman bilong France Jean Bodin tu sapotim datfala teaching. Hem sei: ‘Only man wea krangge, or no savve long physics nomoa, bae tingse earth, wea hevi and hard for muv gud savve spin raon seleva and go raonem sun; from sapos disfala earth hem muv lelebet, bae iumi lukim hao evri bigfala taon and haos, smolfala taon and olketa maunten, bae foldaon.’
Church Followim Teaching Bilong Aristotle
Nara samting wea lead go long datfala raoa midolwan Galileo and church, hem happen long olketa year bihaen 1200, and man wea insaed diswan hem datfala Catholic savveman Thomas Aquinas (1225-74). Aquinas hem barava tinghae long Aristotle, wea hem kolem Nambawan Savveman. Aquinas stragol for faevfala year for mekem teaching bilong Aristotle join witim teaching bilong Catholic church. So, olsem Wade Rowland talem insaed buk bilong hem Galileo’s Mistake, long datfala taem wea Galileo stap “datfala teaching bilong Aristotle, wea Aquinas mixim witim teaching bilong church, hem kamap wanfala main teaching bilong Church bilong Rome.” Tingim tu hao, long datfala taem no eni independent grup saed long science stap. Church nao kontrolem education. Plande taem Church nao markem olketa samting saed long religion and science tu.
Evri samting hia nao lead go long datfala raoa midolwan church and Galileo. Bifor Galileo hem start for studyim universe, hem raetem wanfala pepa wea story abaotem motion. Insaed datfala pepa hem kwestinim plande idea bilong Aristotle wea plande pipol tinghae long hem. Bat, really samting wea mekem olketa tekem hem go long kot long 1633 nao, hem wei wea Galileo strong for sapotim datfala teaching wea sei sun nao midol bilong solar system and wei wea hem sei Bible sapotim datfala idea.
Taem hem defendim hemseleva, Galileo talem hao hem biliv strong hao Bible hem Word bilong God. Hem sei tu, Bible hem buk wea olketa raetem long wei wea fitim olketa man nating, so taem Bible storyim wei wea sun hem muv hem no minim datwan nao samting wea really happen. Nomata olsem, olketa putim Galileo long prison from hem no acceptim wei for iusim teaching bilong olketa Greek savveman for minim samting long Bible! Long 1992 nomoa Catholic Church just talemaot hao wei wea olketa judgem Galileo hem no stret.
Samting Iumi Lanem From Datwan
Wanem nao iumi savve lanem from olketa samting hia wea happen? Wanfala samting, Galileo hem no daotem Bible. Bat hem daotem teaching bilong church. Wanfala man wea savve raet abaotem religion hem sei: “Luk olsem, wanfala samting wea iumi savve lanem from Galileo hem wei wea disfala problem hem no kamap from Church hol strong long teaching bilong Bible; bat hem kamap from church no hol strong long hem.” Taem olketa letem teaching bilong olketa Greek savveman for affectim teaching bilong church, olketa willing for followim teaching bilong olketa man winim wei for followim teaching bilong Bible.
Evri samting hia mekem iumi tingim disfala warning long Bible: “Keakea: maet samwan hem kasholem iufala for spoelem iufala thru long olketa idea and iusles tingting wea giamanim man wea followim kastom bilong man, wea fitim olketa samting bilong world and wea no followim Christ.”—Colossians 2:8.
Nomata distaem, plande Christian religion gohed for acceptim olketa idea and teaching wea barava difren from wanem Bible teachim. Wanfala example, hem nao teaching bilong Darwin abaotem evolution. Plande church acceptim datwan winim wei for acceptim teaching abaotem creation wea Genesis story abaotem. Taem olketa church sei teaching bilong Darwin nao tru wan, hem olsem wei wea olketa bifor sei teaching bilong Aristotle nao tru, and tu, olketa mekem evolution kamap wanfala main teaching long church.b
Tru Science Hem Agree Witim Bible
Evri samting wea iumi storyim finis hem shud no mekem iumi les long science. Tru nao, Bible talem iumi for lane from olketa samting wea God wakem and luksavve long olketa nambawan fasin bilong God wea showaot from datwan. (Isaiah 40:26; Romans 1:20) Bible hem no buk for teachim science. Bat hem for showimaot olketa standard bilong God, olketa fasin bilong hem wea creation no savve teachim iumi, and tu, plan bilong hem for iumi man. (Psalm 19:7-11; 2 Timothy 3:16) Nomata olsem, taem Bible storyim olketa samting saed long nature, hem barava stret evribit. Galileo tu sei olsem: “Bible and nature, tufala evriwan God nao wakem. . . Tufala evriwan tru so tufala no savve againstim each other.” Tingim olketa example hia.
Wanfala samting wea moa important winim wei wea olketa star and planet muv, hem nao wei wea olketa law stap wea kontrolem evri samting insaed universe, olsem law bilong gravity. Luk olsem Pythagoras nao fasfala man wea storyim olketa law bilong nature. Hem biliv hao man savve iusim mathematics for minim wei wea olketa samting long universe hem muv. Tu thousand year bihaen, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton pruvim hao olketa samting long universe followim olketa law.
Fastaem wea Bible hem storyim olketa law bilong nature hem long buk bilong Job. Long samting olsem 1600 B.C.E., God hem askem Job: “Waswe, iu savve long olketa law bilong olketa samting long skae?” (Job 38:33) Long buk bilong Jeremiah wea hem finis for raetem long 580 B.C.E., Jeremiah storyim hao Jehovah nao creatim “olketa law bilong moon and olketa star” and “olketa law bilong universe and earth.” (Jeremiah 31:35; 33:25) From diswan, wanfala man for story abaotem Bible, G. Rawlinson hem sei: “Wei wea nature garem staka law hem samting wea olketa man wea raetem Bible talem and samting wea science talem tu.”
Sapos Pythagoras nao fasfala man long science for storyim diswan, diswan minim toktok long buk bilong Job hem kamap wan thousand year bifor Pythagoras raet abaotem wei wea olketa samting long universe followim olketa law. Tingim hao goal bilong Bible hem no for storyim olketa physical samting nomoa, bat hem for mekem iumi bilivim hao Jehovah nao Creator bilong evri samting hia, hem nao creatim evri physical law.—Job 38:4, 12; 42:1, 2.
Wanfala nara example for tingim, hem wata cycle. Samting wea happen nao, wata savve go ap from sea, hem kamap olketa cloud, foldaon olsem rain or snow long land, and then hem go bak long sea moa. Fastaem wea olketa man story abaotem diswan, hem long samting olsem 300 B.C.E. Bat, Bible hem story abaotem diswan plande handred year bifor datwan. Example, long olketa year bifor 1000 B.C.E, King Solomon bilong Israel hem raet olsem: “Evri river ran go long sea, bat sea no savve full. From ples wea olketa river kam from, hem tu ples wea olketa go bak long hem moa.”—Ecclesiastes 1:7, The Amplified Bible.
And tu, long samting olsem 800 B.C.E. profet Amos, wea wanfala shepherd and farmer, hem raet abaotem wei wea Jehovah nao “Man wea kolem kam wata from sea mekem hem kapsaetem antap long earth.” (Amos 5:8) Solomon and Amos no iusim enikaen spesol toktok for explainim wata cycle, bat, tufala evriwan talem stretfala samting nomata wei wea tufala talem hem lelebet difren.
Bible storyim tu hao God “hem no hangem earth long eni samting,” or olsem The New English Bible hem talem, hem “hangem earth long space.” (Job 26:7) Disfala toktok hem kamap long samting olsem 1600 B.C.E. Taem iumi tingim hao pipol long datfala taem no garem big savve saed long science, iumi luksavve hao, wanfala spesol man nomoa bae talem hao wanfala hevi samting olsem fit for hange nating long space. Olsem iumi storyim finis, Aristotle hem rejectim disfala tingting nomata hem stap winim 1,200 year bihaen!
Waswe, iu sapraes taem iu luksavve hao Bible talem toktok wea barava stret, nomata pipol long datfala taem garem tingting wea no stret? Diswan hem wanfala long olketa samting wea pruvim hao Bible hem kam from God. So hem wise for iumi no kwiktaem for bilivim olketa teaching or idea wea difren from wanem Word bilong God teachim. Olsem history showimaot finis, teaching bilong olketa man, nomata olketa garem hae education, hem savve change olowe, bat “toktok bilong Jehovah hem stap for olowe.”—1 Peter 1:25.
[Olketa Footnote]
a Long samting olsem 300 go kasem 200 B.C.E., wanfala Greek man wea nem bilong hem Aristarchus of Samos raetem wanfala pepa wea storyim hao sun nao midol bilong universe, bat olketa rejectim idea hia and chusim teaching bilong Aristotle.
b For barava minim gud disfala topic, lukim chapter 15, “Why Do Many Accept Evolution?” insaed datfala buk Life—How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or by Creation? wea Olketa Jehovah’s Witness pablisim.
[Box/Olketa Piksa long page 6]
Tingting Bilong Olketa Protestant
Olketa leader bilong datfala Protestant Reformation tu againstim idea hao sun nao midol bilong solar system. Samfala long olketa nao Martin Luther (1483-1546), Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560), and John Calvin (1509-64). Luther hem sei olsem abaotem Copernicus: “Disfala krangge man hem laek for changem full science saed long universe.”
Olketa hia ting olsem from olketa no really minim wanem nao samfala scripture talem, olsem datfala samting wea happen long Joshua chapter 10, wea storyim wei wea sun and moon “no muv.”c Why nao olketa hol strong long olketa teaching olsem? Datfala buk Galileo’s Mistake explainim hao nomata datfala Protestant Reformation brek awe from Roman Catholic Church, hem no “lusim olketa main teaching” bilong Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, wea “olketa Catholic and Protestant tu acceptim.”
[Footnote]
c Taem iumi iusim olketa toktok olsem “sun kamap” and “sun go daon,” olketa no really stret saed long science. Bat toktok hia stret nomoa taem iumi iusim long toktok bilong iumi evriday, from taem iumi man long Earth luk go long sun, luk olsem hem kamap or go daon. Long sem wei tu, Joshua hem no story abaotem universe; hem talem nomoa samting wea happen followim hao hem lukim.
[Olketa Piksa]
Luther
Calvin
[Credit Line]
From the book Servetus and Calvin, 1877
[Piksa long page 4]
Aristotle
[Credit Line]
From the book A General History for Colleges and High Schools, 1900
[Piksa long page 5]
Thomas Aquinas
[Credit Line]
From the book Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 1855
[Piksa long page 6]
Isaac Newton
[Piksa long page 7]
Winim 3,000 year go finis, Bible storyim wata cycle bilong earth