Science and religion
Timoci Gaunavinaka, Nausori Father Kevin McGuire claims that there is no clash between “Science and Religion” (Fiji Sun 6/2).
The Book of Genesis in the Bible tells us that God created the Heavens (including the millions of stars, each with their planets and their moons in the whole universe) and earth in one single day (first day) and spent the next five days creating everything else (including man) on Earth only. On the seventh day he rested.
Jewish history begins with the covenant established between God and Abraham around 1812 BC or about 3800 years ago. This is the same religion that all Christianity branch out from.
The earliest record of human (Homo Sapiens) skeleton found was dated back to almost 200,000 years ago.
Science states that planet earth has been evolving for millions and millions of years bringing us to where we are today. We are still evolving now as we speak and the movement of the Tectonic Plates that causes earthquakes and tsunamis is still physically transforming the world we live in.
At the biological and genetic level, links and similarities between various species are been discovered suggesting that they may have evolved from one species to another. In the attempt to counter the extinction of various species and maintain those that are surviving in their current form, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was enacted by the United Nations in 1992.
Fiji’s rectification of this international agreement led to the establishment of our Department of Environment as the agreement requires. The dinosaurs whose bones are currently being dug up on every continent are never mentioned in the Bible. Science states that they all perished some 65 million years ago (based on radio carbon dating).
If these monsters had lived in the era of man, we would have been eaten out to extinction suggesting that man evolved to be what we are today long after the dinosaurs have perished.
But this would directly contradict the Bible that we were all created in six days and may have lived happily together for some time. Now, can the learned priest/ Father please enlightened us on how he can reconcile these two contradicting ideologies and teach it to students in our faith-based school as he claims without compromising the accuracy of their contents?