Science and the Bible

I remember a discussion I once had with a friend who declared adamantly that science proved the Bible wrong. This is the mindset in so many people today. Science is glorified as the ultimate truth. If any stream of knowledge appears to contradict it, it is dismissed as backward and superstitious. We as Christians are looked down upon because we hold to the Bible - because we say the truth is found in a 2,000-year-old book.

Some of the most important issues Christians face today in relation to the secular world have to do with the field of science. Over the next few days, I will be exploring different areas in which science is often portrayed as coming into conflict with the Bible.

But the underlying question for us as Christians is: What place, if any, does science hold in Christianity? I've struggled with this myself as I take larger steps into the real world. Some ideas seem to be so appealing when backed up by so-called science that we may be tempted to lose faith in Scripture.

This brings me to my first point. The Bible is completely infallible, that is, it cannot error in any way. For example, we cannot read the Gospels and then go deny the accurate historicity of the Pentateuch. Jesus quoted the Old Testament as historical fact.

One objection I have heard is that General Revelation is just as important in revealing God as Special Revelation. In Psalm 19, we have these two ways in which God reveals himself to us clearly described. The beginning part of the Psalm (verses 1-6) discusses God’s creation, General Revelation, and how it shows forth his glory. It 'sings' his name to the end of the earth. The latter portion of the Psalm explores God's Word, his Special Revelation to man. It may be asked, as previously mentioned, why we can't take science on equal standing as God's Word. After all, it is used to reveal God alongside his holy law. But there are two errors in putting creation at the same level as God's Word.

The first one lies in the fact that creation is fallen. In Romans 8:20-22 we see that creation is fallen under the curse of sin. It is in decay because of sin. Therefore, we can't take science as ultimate truth. Science is the study of this world in which we live, a world of imperfection, marred by sin. God's Word, however, has remained perfect and holy throughout the ages.

General Revelation and Special Revelation serve two different purposes. If we look back at Psalm 19, we notice this. Nature is said to sing forth God's glory. God's law is described as enlightening man's soul. While a general awe at God's power can be taken from studying creation, it can't bring us to a deep and intimate knowledge of our Creator. This is why we can never let science take precedence over the Word of God.

Secondly, Science changes. The things we take for granted now as truth were said to be false in centuries past. One example of this was the theory of spontaneous generation. This idea was postulated by Aristotle when he noticed that rotting meat became covered in maggots. The theory was formed that living organisms can spontaneously form from nonliving matter. It was tested many times, using the scientific method. Time passed, and it became a generally accepted idea.

It was not until many years later that the idea was proved wrong. The earlier science had been conducted correctly but the experiments had some flaws. Science is never perfect. And it will never reveal absolute truth. Something taken for granted as true today may be proved wrong tomorrow.

And yet, God remains the same. And his word is always truth. Our foundation is not on a knowledge that shifts and changes as time passes but on a solid rock.