The Relationship Between Science and Religion in Genesis

Dr. Craig discusses Stephen Jay Gould's idea of non-overlapping magisteria, which teaches that science and religion are totally separate areas of inquiry, in relation to his work on Genesis 1-11 as mythohistory.

QUESTIONER: My question was that in understanding now Genesis 1 through 11 as mytho-history, how would you see that impacting our understanding of the relationship between science and religion? It sounds like that would sort of focus solely on those theological truths which would seem to sort of lend support to Stephen Jay Gould's idea of non-overlapping magisteria.

DR. CRAIG: We'll get into this a lot more in the second half of the book. I hope you've noticed that at no point have I tried to draw in modern science to guide our interpretation of Genesis 1-11. This whole study so far has been based on a hermeneutical analysis of the literary types involved. I think what this means is that it leaves us able to follow the scientific evidence where it leads. Given that this is a mytho-history, I don't think we can calculate when the world began to exist based on this tiny little mytho-history. Instead, I think we need to turn to modern science to tell us when the world began to exist and when mankind began to exist on this planet. It is with this genre analysis in mind that in the second half of the book I feel free then to turn to what modern science has to teach us about the date of human origins.

QUESTIONER: Right. But as far as sort of the overlap between science and sort of claims of science . . .

DR. CRAIG: I do think they overlap. I don't agree with Gould in that respect. I think that there are certain claims, particularly historical claims, that Christianity makes that we should affirm. I would say, for example, Genesis' teaching of the beginning of the universe and creation by God is something that should be affirmed.

QUESTION: Thank you.