Genesis and the Big Bang: The Discovery Of Harmony Between Modern Science And The Bible

This is the best treatment I’ve seen of the topic of reconciling Genesis with the scientific data that the universe is 13.7 Billion years old. Although the book is self contained, those not previously exposed to Einstein’s Theories of special and general relativity may struggle with some parts of this book. Those theories are explained, but the treatment is brief for those not already familiar Einstein’s work. The author is a Jew, and it is amazing that he cites ancient Jewish sages that figured out Genesis centuries before Einstein was even born. I seldom recommend books, but I can endorse this one for those who are willing to put a little effort into the reading. If you are already comfortable with Relativity theory this is not a difficult book. It is not a Science book, but offers a compelling interpretation of Genesis that completely reconciles the Biblical account with modern science. The book is orthodox in that it does consider Adam to be the first human. The book also demonstrates that the Biblical and Archaeological timelines agree for all events AFTER the creation of Adam. For this reason, it says nothing that would offend a Young Earth Creationist. To oversimplify, the Genesis account can be taken literally for all events AFTER the creation of Adam. Events prior to that, however must take into account the effect of Relativity on the observers perception of elapsed time. The book agrees 100% with the order of events of Creation, and explains the seeming difficulties such as light being created before the Sun. I’m familiar with most of the attempts to reconcile the Genesis account with Science, but this is the only one I’ve seen that doesn’t have holes. I again repeat my surprise that Jewish Sages arrived at essentially the same interpretation of the Genesis creation account hundreds of years before the scientific rationale was known.

Schroeder's insight helps to bridge the gap between science and the bible (particularly Genesis). After the first days of creation, the bible very much follows the geological and historical record, so why is Genesis so seemingly out of alignment? (for me, this has always been a tough nut to crack) This book presents a viable explanation of the reconciliation of the two opposing viewpoints, utilizing astrophysics, the Theory of Relativity, and the theory of the Big Bang to hypothesize a secular model that might overlay on the traditional theistic belief of the six days of creation. I urge people to weigh the reviews here carefully because there are several negative reviews here that might have caused me to skip over this book. Some seem to suggest incompetence on the part of the author and/or mistakes, but none offers any substantial explanation. I am not a Ph.D., but I have a decent background in physics and while this book may be based on principals and equations that are not for the layman, Schroeder does an excellent job of presenting the case for a marriage of the secular and theistic viewpoints that anyone can easily grasp. He is also an unquestionable authority in his field, with an impeccable reputation.

When Torah and natural science seem to conflict, one or the other is being incorrectly interpreted. That's the principle Gerald Schroeder propounds and defends in this remarkable volume. And I can only think that Moses Maimonides would have been delighted. What Schroeder argues, basically, is that the biblical account of creation in six days can be read as taking place over six _literal_ days -- and that not only does this reading fail to conflict with modern science, indeed science itself supports that reading. The solution? The six days are "God's time," reckoned from within one frame of reference, and the millions of years with which science deals are "earth time," reckoned from within another. The two are reconciled by the theory of relativity. Moreover, this reading is firmly grounded in traditional Jewish texts that predated the theory of relativity by one or two thousand years. I'll let Schroeder fill you in on the details. But whether those details are sound or not, his _approach_ is refreshingly sane. On the one hand, we have various sorts of Bible-thumper insisting that all our knowledge must come from the Word of God and nothing else -- an insistence that turns easily into anti-intellectual ranting against science. On the other, we have various sorts of scientistic yahoo insisting that religion is bunk and science is the royal road to truth. Rubbish, on both counts. The Torah does indeed bear signs that it is a Divine communication, and people who believe this are being entirely reasonable. (See, e.g., Lawrence Kelemen's _Permission To Receive_ for a defense of this view.) However, the Bible itself insists that human beings are made in the Divine image, that rationality is that very image, and that the "natural" universe provides abundant evidence of the workings of the Divine. And it is _this_ view, in one form or another, which -- as a matter of history and logic -- gave rise to modern science in the first place; without the "substrate" of rationalism implied by the view that the entire universe is the creation of a single rational Mind, "empirical" science can't even get started. There's no need to decide between the Bible and science; they can't really be separated anyway. So it may be that some of Schroeder's details require revision (and I understand that some of them are in fact revised in his next book, _The Science of God_). Nevertheless the lesson to learn from this book is still sound: that whenever science and Torah seem to be at odds with one another, the proper procedure is to suspend final judgment, think, and wait. Further information may provide unexpected resolutions. (And by the way, the review below picks on Schroeder for an absolutely ridiculous "error." The big, round figures used in those calculations aren't anywhere near precise enough to locate us in the "middle of the fifth day" as opposed to the sixth, and Schroeder doesn't say they are.)

This is a fascinating explanation of how a literal interpretation of the first chapter of Genesis and the evidence which is actually in science can be reconciled. I am almost finished with the book (only 186 pages) and am then going to read it a second time. I know that I will get so much more from it doing that. This is a must reading for anyone who has thought that a person has to be either in the Bible camp or in the science camp. My favorite part was how Adam and Eve could be the first humans of our species but not be part of mankind that was created on the sixth day. Oh, another good part is the relativity of time and how 15 billion years and 6 days could be speaking of the same period of creation. And then, learning the actual meanings of various Hebrew words is good. And then, how the scientific world ignores the fossil record that supports special creation. Oh well, I'll stop there.

Fantastic book that has verified what I have been contemplating about Genisis for quite a while. In fact it stunned me that this book seemed to have been reading my mind proving to me that Yehova, Yeshua and the holy spirit was the real source of my thoughts. I just wish people who know absolutely nothing about physics could understand this book and work it into there sermons about Genesis. So many times a non believer will start reading the Bible at Genesis and stop with Genesis. The concepts of time dilation are pretty simple if you leave out the proof and refer the reader to an appendix for the physics discussion. In fact , strip all of the physics proofs out and put them in the appendix.

Can you be a creationist and an evolutionist? Gerald Schroeder's answer, validated through the use of einstein's special and general relativity, fossil records, trends in biological organizations, and of course biblical statements and commentaries, is an astounding YES. How is it possible? The bible says the world was created in 6 days and in one day he rested. The answer is time dilation. What might be perceived as 6 24 hour days might actually have been reflective of a much longer timespan (15 billion years). And how do we explain the Neanderthal man or Homo erectus, when the bible tells us Adam and Eve were created 5768 years ago? The answer is Neshamah ("soul" in hebrew). God gave Adam and Eve soul, something that was not given to the earlier forms of man-like creatures. This book is filled with more interesting insight showing the mutual agreements between the biblical explanation for the creation of life, and the modern perspectives on origins of life as researched by modern physicists, chemists, and biologists. I highly recommend this book for those interested in origins of life and religion.

Excellent book. Well written although some of the scientific concepts are not easy to grasp. The author makes a compelling argument that reconciles the Bible's account of the creation with scientific discoveries. In doing so he is pretty even handed although he is clearly a believer in creationism. He can not prove the Bible and I think understands that no one ever will because as the Bible testifies of itself, "the just shall live by faith" and "not by sight". But, he pokes enough holes in what many accept as scientific "truth" so that neither can anyone prove that the Bible is wrong. This is exactly as God intended. In the end each person must decide for themselves. This book is helpful.

I have a few books on the subject, this appears to be a counter component to a book I'm reading now, "God and Science", and "Finding God in Science". Gives a full view of the theory. Anyway, it's interesting.

I love that this book presents complicated matters of cosmic physics and quantum mechanics in such a way that a lay person like me can really understand the points that are being made. For the first time in my life I can see the parallels between the biblical texts and the physical sciences, rather than the differences.

Muy buena exposición, quizás demasiada técnica en algunas partes pero aprendí mucho y recomiendo el libro. Me gustaría leer más de este escritor.

A huge debt of gratitude is due to the author for his powerful and comprehensive analysis of creation theory from both scientific and biblical perspectives. I hold a 2.1 in chemistry and have studied Biblical Hebrew for 7 years. The author is vastly more qualified and experienced than I am scientifically and so whilst being able to follow his arguments I would have neither the knowledge nor comprehension to assemble and explain them as he does. I have also carefully checked his arguments from the Hebrew text and cited scholars and find them trustworthy and highly insightful. I admire how he makes his points so lucidly yet avoids designating them as the only possible conclusion. The challenge is left for the reader to make a personal choice.

Seems I have got the pirated version the quality of the pages is very poor whosoever the seller is please send the real book not the pirated one

About time that religious people put up a real defense against the raging atheist war that would have our founding fathers turn over in their graves.