Science as a methodology holds no allegiance to any religion – Biblically based or not. Many scientists pay no attention to how well their work comports with religious views. There are hundreds of religious traditions that I have no idea of what they want science to say, and the same is true for almost every scientist.
In the western world it is primarily fundamentalist Christianity that seems to see some aspects of science as a threat. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if science, in its endeavors to understand how the world actually works, could be left unfettered? If “truth” is universal, then religions that claim to be true should be appreciative of science confirming and adding to their truth, not standing as judge and jury over science.
How about those scientists who are religiously neutral – neither caring whether they confirm or contradict scripture? They should be the most impervious to claims of bias for or against the Bible. If their work shows a young earth, then that should be counted as a significant support for a young-earth. And similarly for old earth. It is best if they are disinterested in the conflict, and continue to pursue their work without feeling an allegiance to one side or the other. But that does not eliminate their conclusions from being brought to bear in the debate. When an impartial scientist publishes, then that new information becomes valid data for whoever sees it as important.
So I am willing to accept the clarification from my “fundamentalists vs. scientists” to your “scientists who believe the Bible is correct vs. scientists who believe the Bible is wrong”. For now I will refrain from addressing an incorrect assumption that is implicit in saying “scientists who believe the Bible is correct”, since it is not germane to the current line of thought. And a side note, you actually lost a majority of the original members on your side by correctly restricting it to just “scientists” instead of the more general “fundamentalists”.
Do any of these names sound familiar to you:
John Ankerberg
Gleason Archer
John Battle
Michael Behe
William Jennings Bryan
Walter Bradley
Jack Collins
Chuck Colson
Paul Copan
William Lane Craig
Norman Geisler
Robert Godfrey
Guillermo Gonzales
Hank Hannegraff
Jack Hayford
Fred Heeren
Charles Hodge
Walter Kaiser
Greg Koukl
C. S. Lewis
Paul Little
Patricia Mondore
J. P. Moreland
Robert Newman
Greg Neyman
Mark Noll
Nancy Pearcey
Perry Phillips
William Phillips
Mike Poole
Bernard Ramm
Jay Richards
Hugh Ross
Fritz Schaefer
Francis Schaeffer
C. I. Scofield
Chuck Smith Jr.
David Snoke
Lee Strobel
Ken Taylor
B. B. Warfield
I don’t know all of them, but some of them I have frequently had presented to me as paragons of Christianity. And all of them, at least according to Reasons to Believe, are fine with an old-earth. That puts them on my team.
More locally, you know who The Barbarian is (was), Alate-One, and a few other TOL posters who have moved on – they are Bible-believing scientists who are trained in Biology and still accept the Theory of Evolution. Local guys, on my team.
Do you think Lord Kelvin was an infidel, because he was an ardent advocate of a millions-of-years old earth (and an opponent of Darwinism)? How about Ken Miller, the staunch Catholic who authored a major biology text that includes evolution? Are you are aware of the “Clergy Letter” and the “Rabbi Letter” in which over ten thousand spiritual leaders have signed their names avowing that “We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth”? If we were to visit their congregations, do you think we might find a Bible-believing scientist or two who does not join with you in opposing old-earth and evolution?” All on my team.
And finally, I wonder how it is that I have spent so many years working side by side with colleagues, some of whom made their deep belief in Christianity known, but happily accepted the old-earth results we were getting.
Now, can you tell us who the new members are that, in expanding my “fundamentalists” to your “scientists who believe the Bible is correct”, joined your team – who, based on science, disavow an old-earth and disavow the Theory of Evolution?