Major Science/Religion Conflicts
 
An attempt to identify major conflicts between science and religion
Fundamentalist viewpoints responsible for most conflicts (quote Nibley's Before Adam:[quote]The LDS, inheritors of the Christian version of this teaching, are constantly converting statements of limited application to universal or at least sweeping generalities...
 
The apparently strange and extravagant phenomena described in the scriptures are often correct descriptions of what would have appeared to a person in a particular situation. You and I have never been in those situations.... They were reporting as well as they could what they had seen from a vantage point on which we have never stood.
 
So with Noah and the ark. From where he was, "the whole earth" was covered with water as far as he could see... But what were conditions in other parts of the world? If Noah knew that, he would not have sent forth messenger birds to explore. [an excellent point!] The flood as he described it is what he saw of it.
 
Why do Christians insist on calling it the first rainbow, just because it is the first mentioned? Who says that water drops did not refract light until that day? Well, my old Sunday School teacher, for one, used to say it. [He and I must have had the same Sunday School teacher :-)] [end quote] Also quote Sorenson about need of modern scholars to understand the scriptures.)
where did these fundamentalist views come from?
 
Most conflicts can be resolved by asking what the scriptures are really telling us. Others by realizing that science is still growing (quote discussion about quarks and laws of physics).
 
Separate articles address some of the major conflicts
 
Other thoughts:
  1. Creation of the Earth
  2. Physical History of the Earth
  3. Age of the earth
  4. "Day" means Period of Time
  5. Fall of Adam
  6. Peleg and the Division of the Earth
  7. Physical evidence is earth divided much, much, much earlier
  8. Division of Earth could refer to political division
  9. Noah and the Flood
  10. Flood was Local, not Global
  11. Too much animal diversity to kill it all and start over in just 4000 years
  12. Plants older than 4000 years are still alive.
  13. Too many animals, too far spread, to fit on ark
  14. Claims of flood equals baptism of earth not found in scriptures
  15. Babel and the origin of language
  16. History of Man
  17. Evolution
  18. Pre-Adamites
  19. Adam and Eve
  20. Garden of Eden
  21. Garden was local
  22. No death in Garden of Eden only
  23. Garden of Eden story gives clues about nature of man
  24. Nature of Man (behavior from genes or from spirit)
  25. Take hints from Garden of Eden story
  26. Given spirit (unique to man?)
  27. Given conscience (tree of knowledge of good and evil)
  28. Given free agency (can choose to partake)
  29. Clothes (to cover nakedness)
  30. Spoken to (unique to man? implies Adam could speak already)
  31. Taught to read and write and keep records
  32. Taught about God and plan of salvation
  33. Named animals (beginnings of science)
  34. Given pain in childbirth
  35. Man is that he might have joy (unique to man?)
  36. Has to work for his living (till the ground)
  37. Drive to learn and improve himself and society (cursed for your sake)
  38. (Look up scriptures regarding "the natural man")
  39. Miracles
  40. Stopping of the Sun
  41. Destruction at Death of Christ
  42. Light at Birth of Christ
  43. Star of Bethlehem