Imagine

Imagine a pyramid of bricks. Imagine that the pyramid is, say, about six feet tall or whatever you like. The base of the pyramid consists of a row of well made and solid bricks that we will call the foundation. At the top of the pyramid is a single brick which we will call the culmination. Now let us pretend that this pyramid is the Christian Bible, from the Creation at the foundation, to Jesus Christ standing upon the pinnacle, above whom shines the bright beacon of Heaven. This structure is held together with a mortar adhesive, which we will call faith.

Now, imagine another pyramid; same type brick as the other, but this one is much taller and broader and is cemented together with a mortar which we will call science. Let us pretend that this pyramid is everything that ever was in our universe. At the base is a line of bricks that we will call the big bang, and upon the topmost brick, we stand. Above us is the darkness of the unknown.

The Bible, as best as I can discern from the writings of scholars, tells us that the heavens and the earth are somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 years old. Science on the other hand, according to its scholars, places the age of the cosmos at twelve-to-fifteen billion years old and the age of the earth as four-to-five billion years.

Obviously, science and creationism are not close on this.

How do scientists determine that the earth is generally the age that they say and not a lot older or a lot younger? Actually, from what I've been able to find out, it is only a guess, but a guess based on the facts of measurements. After all, they say that if it's not measurable, then it's not science. Even with the best of today's technology and minds, a span of about a half-billion years, plus or minus, is as close as anyone can pin them down concerning the earth's age. Surely, billions of years is a very, very long time and largely unimaginable to most of us.

Science has many, many ways to measure things, and a big part of science is trying to figure out how to make better and more accurate measurements. It is never happy with the status quo. Scientists measure the rate of decay in certain radio active elements or in parts of those elements called isotopes. They can judge at about what time-period that rock layers were laid down on sea floors. They have ways of ascertaining the age of plant and animal fossils that are associated with rock strata. There are many other ways of scientific measurement, but determining the precise ages of very old things is not, and may never be, an exact science.

The main thing, at least for this sermon, is that the word of one scientist or group of same working together—no matter how prestigious their credentials—is not accepted as fact. They must precisely explain their theory, and what the measurement parameters they used were and the exact conditions under which they used them. Then, their data has to be independently verified under the same conditions as the theorists used, and it has to be verified by more than one scientist or group. But that isn't the end of it. Even if it is verified, it will continue to be picked apart by their peers until it can stand unashamedly naked in front of a skeptical world. Each of these steps may take years, even decades before the science will be widely accepted as fact.

Now, let's get back to our pyramids. If a single brick is removed, say at the base of each of our structures, what will happen? The one that is stuck together with hard and factual science will probably collapse, and if it doesn't fall, it will have to be torn down and rebuilt. All the joints will have to be secured with new mortar, and any bricks that were damaged will be replaced. A new and maybe stronger brick will replace the one that was removed. The ensuing structure may or may not be sturdier than the original. There is always someone standing by with a chisel, waiting for a chance to remove some mortar or some bricks.

On the other hand, the pyramid that is secured by faith, will keep standing. Why? Because, no matter what your eyes and other senses tell you, no brick has been removed. A foundation of blind faith is as strong and indestructible as the hand of God. If you see a hole in the pyramid of faith, then your faith has been shaken, and that is intolerable. Restoring faith is preferable to repairing or rebuilding the pyramid.

To science, the pyramid of faith doesn't exist, because it cannot be measured. To the faithful, the pyramid of science will just keep on falling every time that it is rebuilt. Actually, that is the way scientists like it.

"Eternity is a very long time, especially towards the end." Stephen Hawking