Science and Genesis: A Personal View

Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw originally appeared in Science & Mormonism Series 1: Cosmos, Earth, and Man (2016).

Abstract: Given their status as targets of humor and caricature, the well-worn stories of Adam, Eve, and Noah are difficult for many people to take seriously. However, we do an injustice both to these marvelous records and to ourselves when we fail to pursue an appreciation of scripture beyond the initial level of cartoon cut-outs inculcated upon the minds of young children. In this chapter, Bradshaw shares five personal lessons learned from the Book of Moses and Genesis 1-11:

1. God’s plan is more vast, comprehensive, and wonderful than we might imagine;

2. Scripture is a product of a particular point of view;

3. It is profitable to read these chapters “literally,” though not in the way people usually think about the word;

4. There is a deep relationship between Genesis 1-11 and the liturgy and layout of temples;

5. There is more in these chapters than meets the eye.

In the words of the world-renowned Latter-day Saint chemist, Henry Eyring, “There are all kinds of contradictions [in religion] I don’t understand, but I find the same kinds of contradictions in science, and I haven’t decided to apostatize from science. In the long run, the truth is its own most powerful advocate.”

To download this chapter in PDF format, click here.

About the Interpreter Foundation Book Chapter Reprint Series

The purpose of this reprint series is to make individual chapters from books published by The Interpreter Foundation more accessible to readers. Chapters from large format books will be made available as pdf files, while chapters from smaller format books will appear within the Interpreter journal, making this content available in a form suitable for many popular digital readers.

Although in some instances the formatting and pagination may have been changed, the content of this chapter, like others in this reprint series, is identical to what appeared in its original book publication. It has not been updated to incorporate research that has appeared subsequently nor to reflect the current practice of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to use the full name of the Church and to avoid terms such as “Mormon” and “LDS.”

Contents