Science and the Judeo-Christian Faith

Purposes | Outline | Relating Science and Faith | Resources

INTRODUCTION

Many theologians and scientists have worked hard to reconcile perceived conflicts between scientific "facts" and scriptural "facts". Most Christians who try to relate science and Christianity end up taking one of the following three positions:

1. Subjugation of science to Christianity--the Bible teaches us about both spiritual matters and material things; since Scripture is infallible, if a conflict arises, the scientists must be mistaken. Examples of persons taking this position include:

• The Roman Catholic church's response to Galileo in the seventeenth century;
• Much of the scientific creationism movement in the twentieth century.

2. Segregation of science from Christianity--the Bible teaches us only about spiritual things, and science teaches us only about material things; therefore, conflicts should not occur. Examples of persons taking this position include:

• Galileo: "the Bible teaches us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go";
• Bernard Ramm, in The Christian View of Science and Scripture (1954: Eerdmans);
• Howard Van Till, in The Fourth Day (1986: Eerdmans).

3. Integration of science with Christianity--nature and Scripture are both revelations of God's nature; if we properly understand them both, then each should illuminate the other, and any conflicts should eventually be resolved. Examples of persons taking this position include:

• Sir Isaac Newton;
• S.I. McMillen, in None of These Diseases (1984: Fleming Revell);
• The instructor of this course.

Two additional viewpoints on the relation of science to religion have been espoused by prominent contemporary persons. In my opinion, these positions are contrary to Scripture and would be unacceptable to most Christians. Since the purpose of this lecture is to explore Christian responses to science / Scripture conflict, the following positions will be listed but not discussed further.

4. Subjugation of religion to science--science is our only reliable source of knowledge about the world; since the Bible is probably mostly myth anyway, if conflicts occur, Biblical data should be disregarded. Most secular humanists hold this position; the late astronomer Carl Sagan (Cosmos) was a well-known example.

5. Equating religion with science--the earth, living things, and man are all spiritual unities; leading to, for example, the denial (by Christian Scientists) of physical symptoms.

SUBJUGATION OF SCIENCE TO CHRISTIANITY

Adherents to this view usually regard Biblical statements about the world as divinely inspired, inerrant, and intended to be interpreted literally. Adherents to this view are devoutly religious and usually motivated by the desire to evangelize. Specific examples of scientific data being re-interpreted to support a particular religious viewpoint include:

• using the length of the Niagara River gorge, and its present erosion rate, to prove that the earth is young;
• using polonium haloes in biotite to argue that the earth was created instantaneously; and
• citing the presence pillow basalt on Mount Ararat as evidence that Noah's flood was universal.

Augustine (fourth century) warned that such efforts by Christians may backfire and cause the world to distrust Biblical teachings on spiritual matters.

SEGREGATION OF SCIENCE FROM CHRISTIANITY

Some adherents to this view may be reacting in embarrassment to the excesses of the previous position. Bernard Ramm, in The Christian View of Science and Scripture, asserted that few (if any) Bible passages had anything at all to do with science or technology. Examples included:

• things which are seen were not made of things which do appear (Hebrews 11:3) wasn't a reference to atoms;
• upholding all things by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3) isn't hinting at nuclear binding energy;
• canst thou send lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are? (Job 38:35) didn't anticipate the invention of the telegraph.

Howard Van Till, in The Fourth Day, insisted that only Scripture can answer external questions (e.g., the origin, status, value, and purpose of the cosmos); and that only science can answer internal questions (e.g., the properties, history, and present behavior of the cosmos).

INTEGRATION OF SCIENCE WITH CHRISTIANITY

If God created the universe (as Scripture claims); if He perfectly understood all physical and biological laws; and if He wanted to reveal Himself to a scientifically-naive people, we might expect Him to make the following sorts of statements about the material world:

• an assertion that He is the Creator of the cosmos and of mankind (without going into detail about His methods).
• beneficial instructions to help man live a long, healthy and happy life (without revealing any physical basis for the instructions).
• comments intended to inspire awe and worship of God's wisdom and power.

If God is all-knowing and always truthful (as Scripture also claims), then we have a right to expect that our scientific discoveries should complement what God has already revealed through the Bible.

Twentieth-century astronomers have reached conclusions about the history of the universe that agree with Biblical teachings:

• the cosmos has not always existed; it had a definite beginning;
• the cosmos could not have come into being via natural processes as we know them; something at the beginning transcends known physical laws;
• the cosmos is not eternal; it will likely come to an end;
• Biblical references to God as he that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in (Isaiah 40:22) are strikingly apt in light of current cosmological theories!

Dozens of Biblical commands appear to be medically beneficial. The Jews could not possibly have understood any scientific basis for these instructions at the time they were originally given. Twentieth-century medical research has reaffirmed the value of the Biblical commands. Examples include:

• sanitation (Deuteronomy 23:12-14);
• avoidance of animal fat in the diet (e.g., Leviticus 3:17);
• avoidance of anger and hostility--many Scripture passages, as pointed out by Redford Williams in The Trusting Heart (1989: Times Books).

CONCLUSION: An analogy

A mechanical drawing showing only a top view could be interpreted many different ways: this object could be a pulley, a wheel on an axle, a computer joystick, etc.

A mechanical drawing showing only a side view could also be interpreted many different ways: this object could be a sawhorse, a pyramid with an observatory on top, etc.

A set of mechanical drawings that includes both the top view (1) and the side view (2) can be interpreted unambiguously (the object looks like a rotor for a refrigerated ultracentrifuge).

Isaac Newton believed that God revealed Himself to man in two ways: by His word and by His works. We should expect to find harmony between the book of Revelation and the book of Nature, since both are authored by God.

If nature and scripture are the two books of God, then Science and Christian theology may be likened to a pair of eyes: each one takes in a different perspective; each view overlaps the other in some places; neither can claim to see everything; and neither is mutually exclusive. No one would claim to see better for having closed one eye and used the other exclusively.