PERSPECTIVES ON EVOLUTION / CREATION : The Bible Is Not a Science Textbook : It offers insight to human existence, beyond the scope of biology or physics.
There are some who believe that when God created the world, He also created fossils in order to test man’s faith in Scripture. Those same people believe that the universe literally was created in six days. The debate over this is raging again in Vista, where the Board of Education has ordered teachers to discuss creationism as an alternative to the evolution theory.
As a rabbi, I have no intellectual sympathy for two of creationism’s basic tenets: that the Bible must be read “literally,” and that it holds scientific truths. We Jews brought this wondrous book into the world, and while that does not give us a monopoly on its understanding, let it be clear: The Bible is not a science text.
I do believe that the Bible is divinely inspired. But in six years of graduate study in rabbinical school, not once was I taught to take it literally. In the words of the Talmud, “The Bible speaks in the language of humanity.” As a Jew, I marvel at our ancient text precisely because it speaks to me today. The power of the Bible is its honest portrayal of humanity and its ability to give insight to our lives, to add purpose and meaning and comfort. It can become a handbook to life itself. Taken literally, it becomes sterile, hackneyed, illogical.
The belief that one can learn science from the Bible is worrisome. Such a belief hurts good religion by evoking intellectual contempt for it. Outside of a few religious groups, does anyone truly believe that the universe was created in 144 hours, or that fossils are some theological test?
There are two accounts of creation in the Bible (Genesis 1:1-31 and 2:4-25). The first account is compatible with the theory of evolution: After all else was created, God created humans; we become the crowning glory of God’s work. The second account begins with the creation of man and woman, everything else following suit. In either case, what is conveyed is the religious belief that we were put on this planet by God. All who ever lived share the same creator.
Was the world created in six days? Jews never understood the creation story to mean six 24-hour days. The Psalmist said it best: “For in Your sight (God’s) a thousand years are like a day to us” (Psalm 90:4). Moreover, days as we know them were not created until the so-called fourth day mentioned in the Bible. What is important is that the world had a beginning, that the world is not ageless, which was the belief held by the ancient Greeks.
To their credit, the creationists understand that the Bible teaches two things about which science has nothing to say: how to live, and why life came about. Science is basically value-free. One cannot learn right from wrong in chemistry; biology does not teach us to prefer kindness. Science cannot answer the why of life: Why do we exist?
If we really are the products of random forces over an infinite period of time, whence do we derive ultimate value to our lives? Why are we any more valuable than a dog or a spider? Because we came later in the evolutionary scale? Realistically, is that a substitute for the biblical belief that human beings are created in God’s image?
Science ought to be taught in a science class, not theology. Religiously concerned parents who send their children to the public schools need to remind them that science does not hold the answer to all of life’s problems. If anything comes out of the debate between those who advocate either creationism or evolution, let it be that. For issues of theological concern, the world has a guide, undervalued perhaps, often misinterpreted. It has been around for almost as long as we Jews have been. It is one of the Jews’ greatest gifts to humanity--the Bible.
