The Bible or Science: Which Should We Believe?
Christians are Scorned for Being Non-scientific
Every day we Christians are bombarded with scorn, amusement, and ridicule from the dominant media and scientific establishment. We are considered as examples of the Neanderthal man, who, according to their theory, was unsophisticated, pre-scientific, and dragged his arms about in search of nuts and berries. Meanwhile, the humanist elites want us to believe they are educated, filled with knowledge, and brimming with scientifically-backed opinions. Theirs is supposedly the realm of light and life and ours the portion of alchemy and darkness. Humanists, often flashing their credentials in science and logic, do all they can to beat down the competition (that would be the church), and rule society from their well-researched heights.
The paradigm has been successful for them. At the universities Christian students expect to be openly mocked in the classrooms and down-graded by their instructors. Years ago, my English 101 teacher handed out Ds and Fs to all Christian students he identified. In his opinion we were all deserving of rotten grades because we held to a disproved religion, and obviously could not think clearly. In the consideration of men like this science has long emptied the Biblical message of its force and the final eulogy is waiting to be given.
Christian Pastors and Professors are Abandoning Biblical Truth
Meanwhile, in the Christian camp, our own professors, and many pastors, have elected to teach and defend the humanist positions wherever current scientific theory conflicts with Scripture. The academic world, and the world in the church, have come to the conclusion that, if given a choice between science and scripture, we ought to believe the science and repudiate (or, less confrontationally, re-interpret) the Bible. Logic often informs our disaffected brethren that science, by its nature, is irrefutable, but Scripture can have any meaning if viewed from a different perspective. In their minds, science is rightly inflexible but Scripture could mean anything, though they would not use that phraseology.
Science is Not Infallible
One of the deceptions that has captured us is that of believing current scientific pronouncements to be infallible, a position traditionally reserved for scripture alone. There are at least three reasons I can think of that explain why that is simply not the case. When we recall the Biblical teachings on the sin nature of man, we gain an insight into why science is often not irrefutable. For, men of science, like the rest of us, are prone to all the sins of mankind. Scientists sometimes lie outright, or at least dissemble, such that the very science they purport to be promoting is in fact, not factual. If what has been reported by such men as science does not actually follow scientific principle then it does not fit the definition of science. For instance, when Dr. Alfred Kinsey released his famous report(s) on human sexuality, he bandied them about as if they were reliably-constructed scientific research. The books contain charts and graphs just like real science texts. What he did not reveal to his readers is that 25% of his human subjects were found in prisons, and the balance in gay bars, bath houses, and in other fringe groups of society. The study was presented as if it reflected cutting edge research on a normal American population. It did not. The study was purposely skewed to present its readers with a warped view of reality, that had nothing to do with scientific research and everything to do with advancing the kingdom of darkness.
It would be comforting to believe that these types of bogus studies are rare. However, after reading numerous reports of falsified science, it is pretty easy to conclude that scientific studies often reflect the opinions of their sponsors more than they objectify actual truth.
The recent scandal at the University of East Anglia gives another example. Now, in January of this year the same science department that had ardently published for the global warming position has released a new paper declaring that global temperatures started dropping in 1997 and a cooling trend is under way. Even if we are willing to disbelieve conjectures about falsified science we still have to conclude something rotten was going on. It may have been a case of incompetence. Maybe they got the interpretation wrong, which would be an example of a second type of error scientists can make. Sometimes their experiments and methods are just badly done. Scientists are subject to human error in their methods, as well as in their ability to draw correct conclusions even from well-gathered data. In many cases it is not the scientific method that fails but the person doing the science that goes awry.
God is Perfect, Scientists are Not
These kinds of errors should give us pause before believing science over scripture. Our Bible testifies as to its and our God’s perfections. We believe scripture to be without error. God’s word is not fallible, and it is not intended to be malleable any more than God Himself is malleable. His word is given as the perfect expression of Himself. This is why we do not subjugate scripture to the changing theories of science. It is scripture that is sure and science that should be in the dock. If we love our God more than our reputations, more than our desire to gain respect in the public square, then it is easy to believe Him. This is why I enjoy science, but I believe God first. When we believe God first we are taking one long step toward Christian civilization, and that is a step we badly need to take.
For Christian Culture,
Don Schanzenbach
Suspender Man™, Don Schanzenbach, has long been an outspoken advocate of recapturing culture for Christ. He holds a MA in applied Biblical studies and a doctorate in applied theological studies in the field of political philosophy and government from New Geneva Seminary. He has been thinking, writing and speaking on Christian culture for two decades.
Yo Don!
A very practically good article Don. A point to file away. Almost all religions believe that the universe is eternal. Science, until Hubble demonstrated to Einstein that the Universe is expanding, believed that the universe was static and eternal. The Hebrews had it right from the beginning. The Universe was created and is not eternal. Science had it wrong and still has it wrong because of the desire to create any alternative explanation other than a God drives the scientist priests nuts.
On a personal note, all is going well, I’ve been at work since Sept./Oct. I had been on unemployment for 9 mths. A first time for everything. Joshua is back at school and will get his BA in Architecture this spring. He’ll stay two years until he wins his Masters. We’re proud of him, naturally. Pray for Phil’s safety. He is in Afganastan and Sarah is worried as well as we are.
Talk with you soon! Rich
Thanks for the article. What is really tragic is seeing the high number of church leaders that want so badly to be liked by the secular world that they are willing to cave on these kind of issues. Then, when the science is proven wrong, they still refuse to repent and look for other theories to justify their compromises. What we need is a grassroots spiritual reawakening of the lay people. The big problem is our leadership (both political and spiritual).
I agree. This era is a lot like the times of Martin Luther. There is a large entrenched professional class of religious leaders who will not acknowledge or teach truth. It appears many times that the greatest concern is to keep tenured positions or pulpits while knowingly approving of disobedient behavior in the church. We have heard a preacher in a supposedly conservative church get up in the pulpit and declare that all forms of education are equally acceptable whether it be public schools, Christian schools, or homeschooling. So, I guess when God says, ”parents teach your children” that can just be ignored and the parents can do whatever they want. Experiences like that leave the faithful remnant discouraged and wondering where to go for teaching and support. I write these articles knowing that literally hundreds of Christian lay people are spending blocks of time each week reading and sharing them with their families and friends. People often use them for devotionals with their families. Meanwhile, I am pretty sure it is rare for these same articles to be recommended by church leadership. Too controversial etc.
Anyway – thanks for your kind comments.
Don S.