Genesis and the Big Bang Theory: The Discovery of Harmony Between Modern Science and the Bible

by Gerald Schroeder

Book Overview

Here is a ground-breaking book that takes on skeptics from both sides of the cosmological debate, arguing that science and the Bible are not at odds concerning the origin of the universe.

The culmination of a physicist's thirty-five-year journey from MIT to Jerusalem, Genesis and the Big Bang presents a compelling argument that the events of the billions of years that cosmologists say followed the Big Bang and those of the first...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553354132
• ISBN13: 9780553354133
• Release Date: December 1991
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating - Jewish Natural Theology

This is an absolutely fascinating book. We have seen so many "Science/Religion" books from a Christian perspective (and almost always an evangelical Christian perspective); Schroeder's Jewish perspective is just stunningly fresh, relying as he does on Maimonides and the Talmud (among other sources). By the time I finished this book, I had fallen in love with Maimonides - very down-to-earth, very all-truth-is-God's-truth. Schroeder's Jewish perspective on the Scriptures is worth the price of the book all by itself. His comments on the "evening-morning" sequence of the creation story, taken from Nahmanides, were beautiful. "Evening" in Hebrew is related to "confusion, disorder", whereas "morning" is related to "clarity, order". Thus the "evening-morning" sequence, while it seems intuitively backwards, is actually making a huge point about creation, and how God brought order out of disorder. Just wonderful. And his use of relativistic time-dilation as a means to harmonize the biblical six days with cosmology's 15 billion years was sharp (although I'd have liked to have seen at least some sort of thumbnail calculation, even just as a footnote); I hadn't seen anything like that before. As a working physicist, Schroeder can certainly be trusted to know what he's talking about; he's not speaking out of ignorance, but out of real, deep understanding of the physical realities he discusses. This is certainly one of the better books of its type I've come across.

Simple and straightforward

I will not attempt to add fuel to the debate as to whether or not Dr. Schroeder has a valid arguement by reason of proofs. He has done that quite well himself. This was one of the best books I have read in recent years and having read it after "The Science of God" I found it to be much more basic. In fact, I feel this work to be a wonderful starting point for the layperson being introduced to the possible truth that 6 days and 15 billion years are both the correct timing for the creation of the universe. One great aspect of Dr. Schroeder's works is his "silent encouragement" for readers to seek out the truth. The fact that he doesn't just pick up any Bible and attempt to glean his hypothesis from present translations but rather has a deep understanding of the Hebrew and Greek languages it was written in is refreshing. One thing science tends to do is dismiss religion in general and Christianity in particular without studying it as deeply as it would, for example a rock formation or new bacteria. This is rather hypocritical. Religion on the same token is no better. I often hear educated men with doctorates stand behind a pulpit and chop science to bits without any real knowledge of what they are discussing. Religious leaders who dismiss science away as God's way of sending confusion into the world, but at the same time find it easy to believe the words of their doctor (medicine is a science) or their computer technician (computer science) are rather hypocritical themselves. People from all walks of life and with all types of beliefs tend to "pick and choose" their own version of the truth and perpetuate it as long as possible. Until everyone puts down their stereotypes and digs deeper into the "truth" as a whole, we will forever wage this complex if not childish battle between science and religion.

Brilliant reconcilation of Science and Bible

Schroeder's idea is fascinating and challenging. I find that the argument is plausible.I am inclined to say that some of the previous reviews do not reflect a serious attitude on the part of the reviewers. For one thing, our universe is expanding, and that's why the recent trend is towards believing that there is a beginning.Then, the book's argument is that IN THE BEGINNING, just after the big bang, the universe was expanding at a very fast rate, so that the passage of time would appear to be much slower that our present situation. This is how we arrive at the 6 days to 16 billion years correspondence.It is well known that our universe is ever expanding, yet the rate of expansion keeps on decreasing. And I don't see that the author is wrong in this respect.

Finally, an approach in the right direction!

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.

Superb presentation of the harmony between science & religion

Dr. Schroeders book explains that the Biblical story of creation and the scientific theory of the Big Bang are in agreement; the world was created in 6 days AND 15 billion years, simultaneously. Using relativity, experimental and theoretical science, physics and the Jewish sages, he shows how science and religion are compatible. It is easier to read if you have a basic background in physics and math, but I think he has done a wonderful job of simplifying the theories to a level that someone without this knowledge can still easily read and understand this book. Highly recommended!