An article by
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lee Chai Peng (17 August 1998)

The majority of geoscience students in the Malaysian instituitions of higher learning are Muslims. The rest are Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and others.
Tensions arise when it comes to the teaching on the origins of the earth and life when Muslim and Christian students who have grown up with the Koranic and Biblical teaching that the world was created in six days are presented with the prevalent geological alternative that the earth is over 4.5 billion years old and life has gradually evolved through time. Students trying to cope with these two different world-views do not receive much help from most existing textbooks on geology which just present the naturalistic evolutionary explanation as the only acceptable theory for the existence of the universe and life. Creation accounts are relegated to myths which contradict known facts and thus are thought to be naïve and unbelievable. Turning to the bulk of the existing literature produced by religious groups such as the Institute for Creation Research for answers is often no help because they have also taken an either/or stance in their attempts to use “science” to argue for creation while countering evolution.

The tension is left unresolved and most of these students try to cope by giving the answers expected in order to pass their examinations – depending on whether they are trying to obtain a geoscience or theology/philosophy of science degree. The more conscientious student is particularly affected as he feels like a hypocrite giving answers he does not believe in just to pass his examinations. It is therefore imperative that some way be found whereby such tensions can be resolved so that the Muslim or Christian student is free in his conscience and be at peace with himself when pursuing his geoscience degree or engaging in historical geology research without compromising his religious convictions.

Having taught courses on palaeontology and historical geology in a local university for many years I have discovered from discussions with the students in my classes that the tension is largely due to a lack of understanding of the nature and role of natural science and its boundaries vis-a-vis those of religion. The tension is resolved if the student is helped to see clearly the relationship between natural science and religion. This often requires the student to develop and accept a multi-dimensional view of life instead of the one-dimensional view that most people have grown accustomed to. There are many facets of truth and reality, some seemingly contradictory but not necessarily so.

The student must first be taught that there are boundaries to the two types of knowledge based on the purposes and procedures of natural science and religion. Scientific knowledge is arrived at by seeking purely naturalistic answers to explain observable phenomena. It has no satisfactory explanation for supernatural phenomena such as the miracles recorded in the Bible or Koran. Although some of these miracles could have resulted from natural events like earthquakes, the timely intervention of such events for the benefit of certain believers was what rendered them as miracles. Religious knowledge on the other hand, is derived from divine revelations from a supernatural source – God. Miracles are recorded in the scriptures and historically attested to by individuals or even whole groups of people. These records may be disputed by those who come later as to their authenticity and reliability but this does not mean that they never occurred just because they cannot be explained by the present day scientist. If there is a God powerful enough to supernaturally bring into existence all that exists, time is no longer a relevant question as He could do it in six minutes or six days or six billion years. A six day creation though deemed impossible in the natural should not be ruled out in the supernatural. It would, however, not be deducible using natural scientific methods such as radiometric dating. It could only be known by faith in the supernatural revelations as it is beyond the limits of our science.

The dispute that arises concerning our origins is actually one of interpretation. If one choses to interpret what exists by looking into the geological record in a purely naturalistic way, one’s conclusion would probably be the current evolutionary hypothesis as it seems to be the most logical model to explain the present state of things. Nevertheless the model is unable to explain many issues and is being challenged and modified within the scientific community all the time. We have to learn that what is logical need not be true as it is based on the interpretation of the currently available facts and new interpretations are needed to replace the former ones when new facts are discovered.

Nevertheless, what we have now is this wonderful universe and world we live in, teeming with all sorts of life whatever their origins. One can and should continue to study it from many different approaches realizing that our understanding of its nature and origin is still rather incomplete. A Muslim or Christian student should therefore continue in his study of natural science following its self-imposed limits and methodology while not denying the possibility of a supernatural explanation of origins which could only be known and accepted by faith in the accuracy of their revealed scriptures except in instances where these miracles impinged upon and left their mark on the physical world. In such cases the sciences like archaeology may be employed to check on the accuracy of some of these historical events by trying to uncover confirmatory details about the places and people mentioned in the scriptural accounts.

By
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lee Chai Peng
Department of Geology
University of Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur.
(17.8.1998)