cyclical...
I appreciate your honesty and openness, and I will respond in kind. Know that where the Bible is clear in its teaching, I am immovable in my belief in what it teaches, since I definitely believe the Bible is without error in any area to which it speaks. I will try to indicate where that applies and where the Bible is less specific.
1. How to square science and Scripture --
As indicated above, that is relatively easy for me. If the Bible speaks clearly about a subject but is in dispute with science, it is the Bible that is correct, as science sooner or later will find out. Even if Scripture is less clear, then to the extent that it is clear, the Bible is correct and for the science to be believed, it must conform to Scripture. One important caveat, whenever science and Scripture seem to disagree, it is important to review what Scripture says to see if we might be be misunderstanding its teaching, That would have saved the catholic church a lot of headaches over the years since Scripture fully supported Galileo's theory and lent little credence to the catholic position.
In fact, Scripture and Science rarely conflict, which is to be expected since science is really the discovery and understanding of the Universe that God created and the natural laws that He established.
In fact, there are two primary areas where Scripture and science disagree (the age of the universe, etc., and evolution vs creation), and if those who are prone to back science in the debate were to be honest, they would admit that their positions are based on theories, not scientific facts -- a huge difference that they are unwilling to acknowledge.
2. The Bible is not clear on the age of the universe, our solar system, the earth, or Mankind. What it is clear from Genesis 1 is that the Earth is 3 days older than the sun, the moon and the stars, and 5 days older than Mankind. I am fully convinced that the Universe and all that is in it was created in 6 literal days.
Moreover, Scripture is not explicit about the age of creation, so we cannot be dogmatic about it. I think Scripture does prohibit anything but a "young earth" model, but "how young" is a question that is not addressed. I infer from a number of passages that the earth (and thus the Universe as a whole) is some 6,000 to 10,000 years old, but that is nothing more than my interpretation -- as I have noted, Scripture is silent on the subject.
3. The dinosaurs are not spoken of extensively, only alluded to in a couple of places, so we do not know much about them. They were created on day 6, along with all other land animals. My personal guess on the demise of the dinosaurs is that they died out after the flood, when the vapor canopy that surrounded the earth collapsed to help fuel the flood. Without the canopy, they were exposed for the first time to the full intensity of the sun's ultraviolet rays, and they were unable to live in the new environment. That is strictly my own opinion, though, and not the explicit teaching of Scripture. That same change in the environment, though, would also explain the steady decline of the lifespan of early man after the flood.
4. The Bible does not say whether we are "alone" in the universe, but inferring from Scripture (mostly from God's reasons for creating man and the universe), I conclude that we are "alone". I use "alone" in quotation marks for of course Scripture tells us that there are myriads of fallen angels who followed Satan in his rebellion against God, and twice as many holy angels who remained faithful. Angels neither die nor reproduce, so their number has been and always will be exactly the same as when they were first created.
From what you say, I infer that your study of Scripture and its history has been based on sources of liberal theology. For a balanced study I would suggest you read some conservative (Bible believing) scholarship -- I think you will be shocked by the difference. Good conservative scholarship may be found at The Master's Seminary (TMS.edu) and the Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS.edu) among other places. Also recommended are books by John MacArthur, the head of TMS. Liberal scholarship is by definition written by those who do not believe that the Bible is trustworthy or that it is the Word of God to man. It is strongly and irrevocably committed to be against Bible believing Christianity and Scripture teaches that only Bible believing Christianity is true Christianity -- all other versions are false religions. If you do not understand that, you will never understand the various arguments.
One other thing. Before beginning a comparative study, pray that if there is a God, that He would reveal Himself and His truth to you as you study. He will reward that, for He says that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
Best of luck to you and may God bless you.
mlsoft
PS -- It might be useful for you to know that I have a science oriented background, with a BS degree with a major in Zoology (Biology is an undeclared major) and my course load was pre-med, with all the usual courses in cytology, embryology, genetics, anatomy, organic chemistry, math, and physics. I was a very confirmed, anti Christian, agnostic at the time, not accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior until some 15 years after graduation. I completely rejected the theories of evolution even in my college days, believing that they defied all logic and rules of scientific evidence.
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