Faith is a very personal thing. Some just 'believe' and will rightly argue that a simple, unquestioning faith is all God requires of us: which is perfectly true. During the times when the books of the Bible were written, when man had little understanding of the world around him other than what was immediately observable, this was certainly the case. So when Jesus called little children to him and told others they needed to emulate them in their simple faith and trust, he was right: for then there was no alternative. However, today there are many of us who cannot ignore the deeper understanding we now have of the world and, as a result, our faith can no longer be simple. If we are to maintain personal integrity between our belief in the Bible and the findings of modern science, we need to see an understandable connection between the two - or else we are forced to choose one while being in silent denial of the other. There are many Christians forced into this unfortunate position and such an illogical stance is a poor foundation for faith; this is surely building upon sand. If God truly was the creating force behind our universe - and heaven - and is the maintaining force behind our entire existence, then our faith would have a much sounder foundation if we could see some connection between his hand and the findings of science. For surely, if God is creator of everything, he must also be the father of science? I hope, in this book, to demonstrate this to be the case - and that you can found a Christian faith on a bedrock that fully accepts this. You will then no longer be in any state of denial and your faith will become rock-solid. So, if you are a thinking Christian, or someone who might become a Christian if everything added up for you in modern terms, then I hope this book will provide you with a solution.

I do believe the entire Bible was God-inspired, and while most books within its covers are straightforward enough to understand - given a modern translation to read - the bulk of it is sandwiched between two very hard crusts: Genesis, talking about the creation of our world, and Revelation, predicting its end. These two books employ very pictorial and allegorical language. To demand a literal interpretation of them is to demand the impossible: it requires acceptance of a talking serpent and pairs of the entire animal kingdom crammed into Noah's Ark, just to begin with. Like the parables of Jesus, these books demand thought - and that is why God gave us a mind: the true reason why we are in his 'image'. Now, while we are unlikely to get to the heart of Revelation, since evidence the end of the world is 'nigh' has yet to be revealed to us, it is somewhat easier to work on Genesis: for the creation has already happened! I believe that apparent contradictions within Genesis melt away if we look at it with the enlightened view given to us by the discoveries of modern science. I seek to show there are clues within this important book that can remove traditional barriers between science and religion: even such apparently contradictory things as divine creation versus evolution. I can even promise Christians that I will not require them to believe they are descended from apes! God is the perfect scientist, and I will show you why I believe he took a perfectly scientific approach in the creation of this world - and the next.

I also believe it is vitally important mankind learns to use all of the knowledge at his command. On the one hand, the scientist has a wealth of evidence about our universe and the long business of evolution, and on the other hand the theologian has what is taken to be the divinely inspired word of the creator himself: God. Because such people barely deign to talk to each other or consider the other credible, one 'hand' of humankind literally does not know what the other hand is holding. To deny evidence lying in either hand is to shut out essential clues that might throw light on what lies in the other. Together, the hands of science and theology hold all the clues necessary to piece together an illuminating picture of creation.

Imagine for a moment that a scientist and a theologian are sitting at the same table, each struggling to piece together their own complicated jigsaw puzzle. Neither is able to get very far and neither have a picture to go by. Neither of them has noticed that they only have four corner pieces between them: each is only using half the pieces of a single jigsaw! Working together they could assemble one beautiful picture - the cosmic jigsaw - just waiting for their appreciation. Ironically, all the pieces are already on the table.

There will always be Christians who prefer to hold on to more fundamental beliefs as they have been handed down through the Church and I do not wish to unsettle them too much, such is the fragile nature of many congregations. There is nothing wrong with a traditional belief. However, any believer who would like to help reverse the trend of disbelieving in God perhaps needs to consider who is more incongruous: the person who believes in science but does not believe in God, or the person who believes in God, lives every day benefiting from the technological advances of science, yet who denies God could also be a part of that science? I would suggest the probable reason why many congregations are dwindling in countries that fully embrace modern technology is that, in the eyes of most people, unlike the Bible, science is perfectly accepted as proven and any apparent contradiction between science and the Bible therefore presents an insurmountable hurdle. Yet sceptics still need something more than technology to warm their hearts and to satisfy their souls. As a result, many resort to New Age or pagan beliefs. That is why I am trying to offer a logical explanation to the Bible and the Christian belief: in the hope it might become a bridge that thinking people can use to get to the true heart of the creative force. If you choose to totally reject science then this book is perhaps not for you. On the other hand, if you have any niggling doubt that science might have a point now and again (perhaps when a modern drug helps to cure you), or if you believe in science but feel that formulae do not really explain how things came about, then why not read on with an open mind?

This book is aimed at ordinary people rather than academics: but ones who think. I have therefore kept it free from the jargon associated with metaphysics and philosophy, just as my views are free from the constraints set by theological dogma, the tunnel-vision of many scientists and the pigeon-holes so robustly constructed by philosophers and psychologists. I get down to basics. My background is one of research, design, technology, journalism and technical publications: of fact gathering, investigation, thought, consolidation and the presentation of complex facts as simply as possible. That is all I have tried to do here. That is why anyone with sufficient interest in the subject of where we came from and what maintains the beautiful unity of this world should be able to read this book without difficulty. I hope you find the results half as exciting to read as I have in making their discovery!

Jonathan Kingsley
England, 2003

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