Religion and Science

defense of our faith index

7. RELIGION AND SCIENCE, OR RELIGION VS. SCIENCE?

Although it is not a scientific document, the Bible has some remarkable things to say about life and our creation. Biblical writers have made beautiful and accurate observations about the Universe that are amazingly accurate, even without the benefit of modern scientific tools and knowledge.

If the Bible is Truth, then it has to all be true. Most Christians believe that what the Bible says is inspired by God's Holy Spirit, and is supernaturally guided by God to be true and accurate for all men, at all times. This idea is called "biblical inerrancy", which means that the Bible does not contain errors. Does this apply to scientific statements, or just religious statements?

Sometimes it is amazes to me to see the battles that rage, for example, between the anti-theistic evolutionist camp and the creationists¹.

What does the Bible say about our world in terms of science? Does the Bible contain scientific errors? If it did, what would that mean for Christians?

Is our faith dependent on the scientific accuracy of the statements in the Bible?

What is the purpose of the stories in Genesis about life and creation? Do these conflict with modern knowledge?

The answers to these questions are controversial, and the truth might surprise all of us. Let’s take a look at what God has said about His creation through the words of His inspired writers.

Goals

Goal 1: To understand what "science" says about God, the Universe, and Origins, and why; and to understand what the Bible says about God, the Universe, and Origins, and why

Goal 2: To find out if science (or scientists) conflicts with the Bible and if so, where

Goal 3: To find out about the roles of Science and Religion in defining our world and our world view

When asked what was Carl Sagan's perspective on religion: "Carl did not want to believe. He wanted to know."

Ann Druyan (Carl Sagan's widow)

Book Resources for this Study:

Evolution and Faith
Edited by J.D. Thomas, ACU Press, 1988

(I believe that this book is now out of print, but you may be able to find a used copy through Amazon, or from a used bookstore --ST)

Heart Exam

Rather than take anybody's claims about science vs. the Bible at face value, we should ask ourselves these questions first :

What exactly does the Bible say about the universe and the world around us that we can check against modern scienctific knowledge?
The Genesis account of creation and the Flood are the two stories at the center of most clashes between science and the Bible. Why?
What is the message of Genesis? What is the message of Science?

What Does the Bible Really Say?

Where the Bible does make clear statements about the physical world, it does so with remarkable accuracy, uncharacteristic of the times of its authors.

In each of the following cases, the Biblical writer had an opportunity to either state the widely held erroneous belief of his day, or to state a factually true description. In each case what was stated was true, demonstrating knowledge beyond the writer's ability and thus necessarily from God.

Biblical Fact As Stated In Bible	Reference	Common Belief of Day in Which Author Lived
Blood is essential to life.	Lev. 17:11-14	Disease and spirits reside in blood. To cure disease, bleed patient.
Both male and female possess "seed of life."	Gen. 3:15; 22:18	Male has baby in him. Woman = incubator.
Eating blood of animals forbidden.	Lev. 17:12,14	Raw blood used as beverage.
Don't eat animal that died naturally.	Lev. 17:15	No restrictions on manner of death.
Quarantine of certain diseases	Lev. 13-15	No isolation of diseased.
Don't eat pork, scavengers (in Moses' day).	Lev. 11	No food restrictions.
Principles of avoiding bacterial contamination - one person to another.	Lev. 15:19-33	No rules of hygiene or isolation.
Human waste products to be buried.	Deut. 23:12-14	Human waste left on ground.
Human body can be opened for surgery.	Gen. 2:21	First operations done secretly because populace threatened doctors.
Burning clothes, washing self after contact with deceased man or animal.	Num. 19:5-22	No recognition of contagion problems.
Earth is round, day and night taking place simultaneously.	Isa. 40:22, Prov. 8:27, Luke 17:34	Earth is flat.
Earth is not physically supported.	None mentioned and Job 26:7	Earth held up by four elephants or Atlas (a man), etc.
The North is Empty (Our North Pole points out of our galaxy).	Job 26:7	Seeing a few stars to the North refuted this idea until 1932.
Space and stars are too large to be measured or counted.	Gen. 15:5, Jer. 33:22	Attempts to number the astronomical bodies went on until 1932
The creation sequence - plants, water creatures, birds, mammals, man, in that order.	Gen. 1:11-28	Most had man first. All varied from correct concept.
The age of everything in the creation is the same.	Gen. 1:1	Different times for different objects.
The continents have floated away from a singular original land mass (Pangea).	Gen. 1:9, Gen. 10:25	Each continent was autonomous (until 1970).
Hubert Spencer's scientific principles.	Gen. I	No scientific system of statements.
Lightning is produced naturally.	Jer. 10:13; 51:16	Gods throw lightning bolts.
All men are blood relatives.	Acts 17:26	Men have different origins.
The water cycle.	Eccl. 1:7, Job. 36:27,28	Gods pour new water on land continuously.
Use of genetics in livestock.	Gen. 30:30-43	No recognition of inherited physical properties.
Snow and ice seen as valuable.	Job. 38:22	Snow and ice seen as a scourge and waste.
Seaworthy ratio for ship construction 30 - 5 - 3.	Gen. 6:15	Ships ratio not considered; only the beauty.
Concepts of id and ego.	Rom. 7	God induced behavior explanations.
Animals can be changed (mutated).	Gen. 3:14	No change possible.
Directional correctness.	Luke 10:30	Directional error.
Distance accuracy.	Luke 24:13	Errors in distances.
Hittite nation's existence.	Gen. 23 and elsewhere	Denied until 1906.

Source: John N. Clayton, "Checkable Biblical Accuracy"

What Does God Want us to Know?

It is important to understand the goal of science, and compare it with the goal of the Genesis account. Both scientific discovery and the Bible writers explain the same things, but from different points of view.

The actual, historical events must coincide, but the descriptions may be quite different.

Take, for example, two witness’ accounts of a meteorite falling to earth over Australia. One witness is a Japanese astronomer, viewing the event through a telescope just as the rock enters the earth’s atmosphere. The other is an Australian aborigine watching the night sky from a rock outcropping. The meteor falls to earth just a few thousand yards from the aborigine, exploding with a tremendous flash, killing several livestock, and leaving a crater two hundred feet in diameter and thirty feet deep.

Would the accounts from each observer be different? How about the explanation of the cause? Would either observer be more tempted to lie? What about an explanation for why the event happened?

Which observer would be able to give the best account of the event? Why? Can we learn something from each?