DO SCIENCE AND THE BIBLE AGREE?

I definitely believe that if all the facts were in and properly understood there would be no disagreement between what the Bible says and what scientists discover about the material universe.  Both are God’s creations.  My personal understanding of some of the content of science and the Bible will change because all the data is not yet in and I will have to revise some of my views.

What I would like to do is write about some of the problems involved with this issue and explore attitudes that might help us to be more open to persons on opposing sides.

There is no doubt that conflicts in this area are widespread.  Representatives of science make claims that students of the Bible say are wrong.  And Bible scholars make claims for the Bible that scientists say are wrong.  Each accuses the other of being wrong.  One example is the age of the earth.  Scientists claim millions, if not billions, of years for the earth’s age, while some Bible scholars claim an earth that is only six to ten thousand years old.  By the way, there are old-age earth proponents who are Bible-believing Christians.  The young-earth proponents, of course, disagree with them, and vice versa.  I mention this so that people do not think all Bible-believing Christians are only of one mind concerning the age of the earth. 

If God created the universe and the earth, and if God created the Bible as true, then how can what they reveal be in conflict?  If the scientific observations of our world are viewed and interpreted accurately, and if the Bible is interpreted accurately, they will be in harmony.  Apparently, either scientists misinterpret their data, or Bible students misinterpret their data, or both.  It is pretty difficult for the issue to be resolved when each side argues that the other is wrong without honestly reassessing their data.  “Go where the data leads” is a good motto, but make sure the data is properly interpreted.

The reason many Christians are bothered by certain scientific claims is because they believe that it puts the truth of the Bible in jeopardy.  Their thinking is "if the Bible is not true, then how can it be trusted to tell us the truth about important matters such as how to be saved from a perverse and corrupt world?  Because the truth of the Bible must be maintained at all costs, therefore, science must be wrong when it says the earth is millions of years old, because the Bible obviously shows the earth to be young."

I definitely side with the necessity of maintaining Biblical authority, but not all interpretations are necessarily right.  Arriving at correct Biblical understanding is an ongoing process.  Some Biblical teachings are clear, while others need more study.  It also needs to be considered that if scientific discoveries are correct and they conflict with what we believe the Bible says, then scientific discoveries might best serve to help us reinterpret our understanding of Scripture.  For example, when astronomers of the past said that the earth revolved around the sun it went against the church’s interpretation of the Bible that the sun revolved around the earth.  Scientific discovery changed how the church interpreted the Bible.

Could it be that Christians are missing some Biblical interpretation that would square the Bible with facts discovered by science?  On the other hand, could scientists also be misinterpreting their data?  Such has been shown to be the case on a number of occasions.  A big part of the problem comes when neither side is willing to consider other possibilities.  Why is it difficult to say that a resolution is possible only if more data is discovered?   Why not withhold final judgments until further information becomes available?  How wonderful would it be if all sides would be willing to try and work out a solution, or at least agree to be less dogmatic until more data is forthcoming?  Then again, one must be dogmatic if right, right?  Admittedly there are people not willing to give up their views even if they are shown to be wrong.  Others appear to have reconciled both sides in a way that makes sense to them, which of course, may be right or wrong.  Others believe they have a correct understanding of Scripture and scientific interpretations of data must then be made to conform.

When understood rightly, I have no doubt that science and the Bible agree.  My own approach is to keep trying to learn about science and the Bible and then make any adjustments needed in order to arrive at a clearer understanding.  I try and reconcile what I can and leave the rest open for further input before reconciliation of both sides is attempted.  I feel quite comfortable saying, “At this point, I don’t know”.  Or, “I have come to a conclusion about this or that.”

I should at least say something about conclusions I have made regarding the present day evolution-creation controversy.  Much of long-standing evolution teachings have recently been shown to be problematic.  In my thinking, and I am not alone in this, further scientific findings have helped make belief in evolution more difficult, if not altogether false.  I realize that evolution must be held onto by those who reject the idea of a Creator.  What other explanation do they have to explain the world coming into being?  But is that honest in view of many findings which were not known in Darwin’s day?  Even in Darwin’s own writings he states that if certain things were known, his views would be false.  Antony Flew, a long-standing and world-renowned atheist, after considering the newer discoveries, has changed his view and has doubted evolution as the explanation for the origin of the universe.  Here is one person to be commended for his honesty in light of the data.

Some Biblical truths are difficult to maintain in light of current scientific observations, for example, involving stars.  To help reconcile the problem I am aware of one interpretation of Biblical data that is open to the possibility that the Bible may allow for an old (millions of years)  planetary system or star system, but still hold to a literal 6-day recent creation of 6-10 thousand years.  If such could be established, it would go a long way in resolving some of the issues involving opposing parties.  I know that young earth people are trying to demonstrate that our whole universe is young, but until the star issue is settled, I am not yet convinced of their success.  Neither am I convinced of all that the old-earth believers say.  However, I do tend to be less convinced by how old earth arguments interpret parts of the Bible and more convinced by how young earth arguments interpret parts of the Bible.  Can it be said for certain that scientists have made a solid case for the age of stars?  God knows.  I don’t, yet.

I believe the Bible to be right when it says that God created the universe and that He created man in His image.  Science can find out information about the material universe and how it works, but it is not the job of science to assign meaning to creation.  The Bible gives light on the meaning of creation.  Here are a few thoughts on what it means to be created by God: 

(1) Being created means that all of creation is dependent upon God for its existence.  Dependency means that we can never be self-sufficient.  Even though we are separate entities from God, we must rely of God and each other for our continued existence.  We need to be thankful to God and to each other for what we have.  We live in a designed universe where everything depends on something else for its well-being.  Unfortunately, we have involved ourselves in what the Bible calls sin.  Sin is a force within us that causes us to turn our attention into depending on ourselves so that all we do is for our own glory and security.  We need to come back into a proper partnership with God to find peace, contentment, and have an eternal life with our Maker.

(2) Being created means that we should not give ultimate worship and allegiance to anything other than God who created us.  Idolatry is forbidden because we give homage to something that is not our true “Father”.  Therefore, we are not to be ignoring God and His will, by pursuing material things and having them be our gods.  In the kingdom to come, I believe that our pursuit of material things and our proper worship of God will be in a proper harmony that is difficult to achieve in this age.

(3) Creation means we belong to God and have a purpose.  He is our rightful owner just as whatever you would make would be your own possession.  Also, if you or I make something it is with a reason – what we make has a purpose.  So it is with God.  If we belong to God then He has the right to expect us to respect Him and fulfill the purpose for which we were made.  If we sew a dress or make a bird house we expect it to serve its purpose.  God made us for a purpose and we find our greatest fulfillment in life when we are pleasing God and living the way He designed us to live.  It was good that God made us with freedom to choose things.  Unfortunately, we often choose to ignore God and thus fail in our purpose.   Realizing God’s purpose for your life answers the question “why am I here?” 

God created all things.  How He did it may forever remain a mystery to us.  Science can give us great insight into what He created and how it works. When we study it, God’s creation is certainly marvelous to behold.  It increases our appreciation for the great mind of the Creator.  Hopefully, the knowledge that science has discovered will lead us to our Creator, despite the effects of sin which are destructive to us and the universe.  God did not create the world to be inhabited by evil and one day He will make a new heaven and earth in which dwells righteousness.