Science and the Bible

By Dr. Ron Jones

Did you hear about the superconducting super collider experiment happening in Geneva, Switzerland? Two counter rotating beams smashed together millions of high-energy protons traveling at the speed of light. It’s the ultimate science project and it has scientists from around the world sitting on the edge of their seat to the universe.

What’s the point of the super-sized experiment? Apparently scientists are looking for something called the Higgs boson, an undiscovered particle that is necessary for the Standard Model in physics to work. The Higgs boson has another name. Some call it the “God particle.” As one reporter said, “Scientists in Geneva hope that the super collider experiment will shed light on the origin of the universe.”

All of this and more makes the book of Genesis more relevant than tomorrow’s newspaper. As the history book of the universe, Genesis sheds light on the origin of life and so much more.

Genesis is critical to our understanding of so many Christian doctrines including the nature of God, the nature of man, and the nature and consequences of sin. In Genesis we discover the origin and definition of marriage. Could anything be more relevant today? It informs an understanding of work, the weekly day of rest and our relationship to the environment. It explains how death, disease, suffering and bloodshed came into the world. It sheds light on our dark side and the origin of evil. The book of Genesis also establishes the unifying theme of the Bible which is our need for a Savior to redeem us from the penalty and power of sin.

I’m convinced that if we stumble in our understanding of the book of Genesis, we will veer off course in a thousand theological ways.

Genesis is not without controversy. The first ten words of the Bible set the framework for a worldview not everyone accepts. It says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Do you believe you are a created being or the product of protoplasmic pond scum that evolved by random chance over millions of years into the complex creature that you are? Well, since you put it that way, right?

Some people say that science and the Bible are at odds with each other. We’ll never get the scientists and the theologians together. Is that true? The truth is that science and Scripture harmonize in the first ten words of the Bible. Let me show you how with a short lesson from high school science.

Scientists tell us that in order to understand how anything forms we need to consider five things. You might want to write these down: time, force, action, space and matter. I know, I know. That sounds about as exciting as watching paint dry. Hang with me. I promise you this gets real exciting. Now go back to Genesis 1:1 and read again how the Bible begins.

In the beginning (time) God (force) created (action) the heavens (space) and the earth (matter).

Isn’t that awesome! The next time you’re tempted to think that science and the Bible don’t mix, consider this: It might just take some time for science to catch up to what God already knows.

 

Comments

yalesrl says:
Thank you for acknowledging in your last sermon that there are those sincere and devoted believers who find it difficult to accept the “young earth” hypothesis and who are convinced that the earth is millions of years old. Obviously, I , a faithful attendee at IBC and a devoted Christian, am one of them. A blog, being the place for free and open discussion, I will venture into some discussion of this matter with admittedly some in trepidation. Let me first affirm two things: 1. I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. There is no doubt that I have a personal relationship with him and that He is the Lord of my life. 2. I believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. Having said that, I also confess that I believe that the evidence that supports a long developmental history of the earth’s existence is confirmed and convincing. I do not find it to do any particular violence to my faith to maintain this conviction. In fact, I find this understanding to be remarkably confirming to my faith. I believe: 1. That the Sovereign God is the singular Creator of all that is. I believe that He is the Great Architect and Great Artificer of all that exists within the universe. 2. I believe in “heilsgeschchte” – salvation history as defined by Oscar Cullman; meaning that the will and purposes of God control events of all time and history. 3. I see no reason to exclude the evolutionary process from the realm of possibility in terms of procedures and processes a Sovereign God may choose to use to accomplish His will and purpose. You have indicated that for many who share my beliefs the task is to in some way reconcile science and the Scriptures. I believe that the Holy Scriptures always have preeminence and that our understanding of all things scientific, natural or earthly is informed by Biblical precept. I further believe that all procedures, processes or mechanisms identified in the “natural world” are but realizations or expressions of God’s sovereign order. In short, I believe that God uses whatever means He wills to accomplish His purposes and I believe that He may well have used an evolutionary developmental process in bring this world and His creation into being.
nlevonian says:
I listened to your sermon again to see why I felt so put off. As a scientist I'm always interested in and eager to participate in reasoned discussion. And as a Christian I'm always eager to deepen my understanding of the Bible. I was puzzled with my reaction. On the second hearing it was obvious. You must have said, "Any normal person would interpret this as..." about two dozen times. Rhetorically, it's an appeal to authority. But the authority of the "normal"? It made me feel as any thoughtful point I might raise to the contrary would be regarded as distinctly "abnormal". This sort of cuts off discussion right from the git-go, doesn't it? I worry that debate is unacceptable at IMC, and that I am , too. This makes me sad.
sunukim02 says:
With all due respect to two gentlemen above, if I may, I would suggest a series of books by Jonathan Sarfati titled "Refuting Evolution", "Refuting Evolution II" and "Refuting Compromise". A contemporary book by Lee Strobel titled "The Case for a Creator" is also good reading material on the subject of creation and evolution. God bless you.
Dennis Myers says:
First time reading. Informative, easy reading, correct. Looking forward to read more.

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