Science and The Bible

I don't find science and The Bible to be contradictory at all. Isaac Isamov's "Beginnings."
quotes the book of Genesis a lot, and puts forth the proposition by British chemist A.G. Cairns-
Smith that clay may well have been the original replicating system for DNA. "It is a common substance that readily
forms crystals. Some organic substances can speed the formation of clay crystals and can attach themselves to the
clay, forming clay/organic replicating systems. Those organic compounds that best fit the clay are "selected" so that
the organic portion of the system slowly becomes more adept at replicating and begins to be the predominant port of
the system. Eventually the organic portion can get by on its own and the clay is pushed to one side, so to speak,
having served as a scaffolding that is no longer needed." - (Beginnings - Isaac Isamov, chapter 5)

Genesis simply says God formed man out of the "dust of the ground," or some such variation, depending on the
translation you read. Christian tradition narrows that down to clay, probably because of the symbolism of the name "Adam."

This from a Church of God website: "And The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7). The Hebrew for man is pronounced aw-dawm, from which Adam is derived. It's also related to aw-dawm-ah, which means red earth, or red clay - indicating the natural earth elements that composed Adam's body, and the body of every human being since."  No conflict with science there.

"It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in." New American Standard Bible (©1995) The Book of Isaiah was writtten long before Galileo or NASA. I find it interesting that Isaiah compares the universe (heavens) to a stretched out curtain. (As in the "fabric of space-time?") I don't see any conflict with science there either.

The Bible is full of that sort of thing, if you read it the way it's supposed to be read, realizing that there are several levels of meaning and a lot of symbolism involved. Taking only the literal meaning is like hearing Bob Dylan sing "The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind," and thinking there is a physical piece of paper somewhere blowing around with the answer to all of life's mysteries on it. There may be, but I don't think that's what he meant, so I haven't been looking. The Bible has also been a rich source of inspiration for artists, writers and musicians as long as it's been around. 

"What would Jesus do?" It's a question myself and many others ask themselves when faced with a decision. To me, what Jesus taught is a lot more important than who he was. Whether Mary was artificially inseminated by aliens or born miraculously to a literal virgin. Whether he was secretly married to Mary Magdalene a la "Da Vinci Code," or a celibate member of the Essene cult, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you," is a pretty good code to live by. That's what Jesus taught, and it would certainly be a better world if everybody followed that so-called "Golden Rule." Imagine!