Acts of God: Weighing Biblical Events with Natural Science

'Acts of God' explores the dialogue that is possible between Biblical interpretation and natural science, using concrete examples rather than in esoteric philosophical terms. It counters the widespread polarization between a general public that is in the grip of a militant atheism and a two-thirds world where religious belief is expanding. There are a large number of biblical accounts that provide fertile ground for the enquiries of natural science. In the examples chosen, all but one of which are taken from the first 5 books of the Bible, the Torah, a rational, scientific approach broadly supports their historical authenticity. After an introduction to the general topic of how we read the Bible and how particular ways of reading the Bible have provoked an apparent conflict between scientific discovery and religious orthodoxy, seven topics are taken in turn. The first example is the Creation, followed chronologically by Noah's Flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Egyptian famines in the time of Joseph, the plagues that precipitated the flight from Egypt of the Israelites known as the Exodus, the parting of the Sea and finally the crossing of the River Jericho and the conquest of Canaan in which the walls of Jericho came tumbling down.