Could evolution and the Bible go hand in hand?

Ok TheoMorphic,
We both agree that at some point there was, in all likelihood, a beginning. And you would like to leave a "question mark" as to the cause of that beginning. But that's a pretty big question don't you think. If there is a beginning (to time, space, matter)what was there prior to that beginning? Nothing? Let's assume that there was nothing. My question then is, how does something begin from nothing? From some big "bang"? There is nothing to trigger that "bang" right?

"all of these ideas are extremely compatible with a belief in a God."And why couldn't they be? I assure you, my daughter won't miss out on all of the amazing things nature and science have to offer. I'm a huge fan of these things and take them in as often as possible. And in studying the Bible a little closer (on my own, without the theories and principles that ministers and priest like to interject), I'm finding that science fits right in.

This is a question that theorticians are attempting to answer. It is not going to be easy.There are suggestions about multidimensional objects moveing through a 10 or 11 dimensional space and when they collide a big bang happens. I think these say that the whole thing doesn't have a beginning.I have found a site or two but it is way, way to difficult to be worth reading. If I find one that is a popularization I will post it.If you are asking this question about the ultimiate origin of the universe, you will not get a very solid answer. We will wait and watch. If there is not answer right now, so what?

Kind of a meaningless question, don't you think? If time has a beginning, you can't say there's anything "before" that, because "before" and "after" are time-relative concepts. It's like asking "if you're outside of Nebraska, then where are you in Nebraska?"There's no "before the beginning of time" because you can't have "before" unless you're within the boundaries of time.

err... no the question mark doesn't equal nothing. I just don't know. What happened before the big bang (actually i really am not as familiar with the big bang as i should be... so lets change it to the beginning). Right now i just have no idea what that cause (if any) could be. this doesn't mean i think there was nothing... this means i don't know what was there.Yes it is a pretty big question mark... but it doesn't bother me all that much to have it there. I recognize that what existed before the beginning of the universe (get ready for a no true scotsman fallacy) couldn't be studied. If it could be studied, well it wouldn't really predate, or be outside of our universe. If we were to find the cause of this universe... what caused that? and that? and that?There will most likely always be a limit as to what humans collectively know. And i don't see any possible way that in my lifetime that limit will be reached... so i'll just have to accept that question marks will exist.

Very good point crashfrog! Hmmm....

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This is the problem I had growing up. The story of creation that I was taught, never made sense when you compared it to real hard evidence. That's why I can't quite swallow the "creationist" fodder.

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What, talking snakes, fire breathing crocodiles, determining the color of sheep by what they're looking at when they mate, and the sun stopping in the sky don't seem to mesh well with science? Gee, I wonder why... Anyway, have a good read at the articles on those sites, and come to your own conclusion - it'll probably be more productive than debating here, until you have some questions that you don't think are resolved there.------------------
"Illuminant light,
illuminate me."

Your right TheoMorphic, we don't know and will likely never know. But if we just don't know, then isn't it then within the "realm of possibility" that there is a god? And that god could have created the beginning? We can't say that what the Bible says about creation is false. We simply don't know.

"What, talking snakes, fire breathing crocodiles, determining the color of sheep by what they're looking at when they mate, and the sun stopping in the sky don't seem to mesh well with science?"Sometimes I think that the Bible is taken too literally.

"too literally" there are a number here who would agree with you on that. Also try this on for size:
http://www.physicspost.com/articles.php?articleId=40&page=1This guy I have seen on TV, he is very good at explaining things. However, don't expect to "get" this. It is hard. But it is the kind of thing which may lead us to understand why the universe is the way it is.

Right, exactly. Perhaps a God is responsible. I personally don't know.But specifically about the christian bible, we can with some certainty say it is false. Or at the very least contradictory to the evidence we observe today. (The bible says the earth is young, and god never lies, while the evidence says the earth is old. So either the earth is actually old, and God lied about it being young, or the earth is young and made it look old, and so he lied about never lying). The point being the bible should be used for a spiritual, moral, and ethical guide... and should not be used to influence our working body of knowledge.

I have to state that there is a problem involved in using the bible for a spiritual moral and ethical guide because of contradictory passages and cultural differences inherent in the span of time between then and now.I think it is far better to start with nothing and use your modern mind.It is likely that because of personal preferences and simple human tendencies we would end up with pretty much the same thing we have now.
I have said it before and it is worth repeating that you cannot judge people by the face they put on in public.I have known people who you would pass by for fear that they were vile scum and I would trust my daughters lives in their hands.Conversly I have met with dignified, "successful" people who I would not allow to clean toilets.It is when all shit hits the fan that you know the truth behind the masks.It makes you wonder why we spend so much time in falsely advertising a persona that we do not really hold to in private.

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And in studying the Bible a little closer (on my own, without the theories and principles that ministers and priest like to interject), I'm finding that science fits right in.

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But why this need to make science fit into the Bible?The inspiring, useful thing to take away from the Bible is it's lessons on how to live a good life and to treat each other well. (You do have to edit some of the bloody, cruel, and ruthless stuff out, but bear with me).Science is the explanation of natural phenomena using naturalistic explanations. It is a powerful tool which helps us skip past our built-in human biases and thinking errors to get closer to the truth about the natural world.They really don't have anything to do with each other, either in purpose or function.I think that belief in God and scientific inquiry are compatible, but to try to shoehorn science into the Christian Bible, or vice versa, cheapens and misuses both.

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But if we just don't know, then isn't it then within the "realm of possibility" that there is a god?

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Well, sure, but it's also in the realm of possibility that the Great Galactic Goat created the universe.What you are proposing is a "God of the Gaps" fallacy, which means that you are insering "Godidit" into this gap in our knowledge.It may be that some supernatural entity created the Universe, but we do not know.I often think that the main difference between some believers and non-believers is that the non-believers don't mind not knowing, while the belivers have great discomfort with the notion of "We don't know, and we may never know."Personally, I am OK with not knowing.

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And that god could have created the beginning? We can't say that what the Bible says about creation is false. We simply don't know.

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Oh, I am afraid that we do know that the Bible is quite incorrect about creation.Just because we aren't sure about "The Beginning" doesn't mean we don't have some idea of how the Earth began. Psysical phenomena leave physical evidence, you see, and much of this evidencedoes not support the Biblical account.Besides, how can there have been night and day, and plants, before God created the sun?