What The Bible Does Not Say

 The perceived conflict between the Bible and Science comes from misunderstandings as to what the Bible claims and also confusion about the claims of Science.

Two examples:

Some say: The Bible teaches that the earth is only 6000 years old. This contradicts evidence from Science.

Some say: Science proves life occurred on earth by accident, without purpose. This contradicts the message of the Bible.

We need to be careful to understand the limits of both Biblical knowledge and Scientific knowledge. 

The ancient Old Testament scriptures view Creation and the Creator in ways that are philosophically different from the viewpoints of our modern culture.

We need to be careful to not impose on Scripture our cultural viewpoints. John Walton, in his commentary on Genesis, argues that in reading the Old Testament, we must avoid "intellectual imperialism".   

The Old Testament (first half of the Bible) was written by people embedded in the ancient Near East culture. The oldest portions were probably written in a proto-Hebrew text 3500 years ago.

There is no hint of our modern scientific culture and we should not impose our culture on our reading of these ancient texts. (Indeed the concept of science does not appear until the late Renaissance!)

In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the author, C. S. Lewis, has one of the book's heroes, Eustace, meets Ramandu. Ramandu explains that he had once been a bright shining star, hanging high in the heavens above Narnia.

Eustace is shocked at Ramandu's claim to be a (literal) star. 

“In our world,” said Eustace, “a star is a huge ball of flaming gas.” 

Ramandu responds: “Even in your world, my son, that is not what a star is but only what it is made of.”

Our modern scientific culture only looks at what things are "made of", mass, energy, etc.. We weigh and measure everything. This was not the viewpoint of the ancient Near East. 

Modern science has a culture that emphasizes understanding material structure (atoms, molecules) and emphasizes the physical laws of matter and energy. 

This is not a concept that, in its modern form, appears in Scripture.  This does not mean that scientific concepts do not appear in Scripture but that the modern cultural viewpoint is not there.

It is reasonable to believe that the Creator of the universe

 -- a universe with physical laws -- uses those laws and processes to do his will. 

Isaiah 40:22 says

"He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, 

and its people are like grasshoppers. 

He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, 

and spreads them out like a tent to live in."

This passage is in a discourse on God's power -- and His compassion. It is not a geography lesson or scientific discourse on celestial mechanics.

(In that passage, it also says, 

"He tends his flock like a shepherd:

    He gathers the lambs in his arms

and carries them close to his heart....")

I love the Old Testament (indeed I blog on it daily!) 

" The Bible was written for us..., but it was not originally written to us, but to the [ancient Near Eastern] people of Israel." (John Walton)

The Old Testament was written in an ancient agricultural and  patriarchal society of men, wives, children, flocks.

The emphasis on fruitful reproduction (of humans, animal flocks, vineyards) dominated the culture. Powerful men had more than one wife.

There was that strange rite of circumcision.... 

Followers of God were to put a railing on their roofs as an act of compassion for their neighbors. (Deuteronomy 22:8)

The Creation Story of Genesis 1 breaks Creation into six parts, called Days. 

In Day 4, the sun, moon and stars are created; these objects are to 

"serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years...."

The object which marks out the time of days is created on Day 4.

And the six days of creation in Genesis 1 are collapsed into a single "day" at the beginning of the next chapter. 

Insisting that Genesis 1 provides a historical timeline is contrary to the purpose of that chapter.

In classical Jewish and Christian thought, across several thousand years, there are many interpretations of Genesis 1. Claiming that the Bible teaches a 6000-year-old earth is forcing into the Bible something it does not say.

(I can elaborate further, if wished -- email me!)

The Bible is not a magical book of incantations that miraculously somehow teaches science to a modern society. 

It consists (I believe) of writings by a variety of men (and a few women?) "God-breathed" by the Holy Spirit, to write in their own culture and their own language.

(2 Timothy 3:16-17)

We do damage to Scripture when we attempt to enforce on the Bible (especially the Old Testament) our culture's scientific viewpoint.

Many believe that there is conflict between the Bible and Science. 

This is due to misunderstandings about what each claims as truth.

I've argued that the Bible does not say a lot about the domain of science. Because of the culture we live in, I need to spend time clarifying what Science does NOT say.

What Does Science Say About Our Universe?

 The universe is rich and complex, with hundreds of billions of galaxies with hundreds of billions of stars!

The earth teems with life!

There about 500 species of living primates.

There 37 species of canines and 41 species of felines.

The earth teems with life!

The universe has logical, measurable processes. 

In the domain of science we study these processes through experimentation, measurement and conjecture, followed by more experimentation.

Agreement

Both the Bible and Science describe a universe that appears to have had a beginning.

The universe obeys certain processes; the study of these processes is the goal of science.

The universe and life within it is complex, intricate, beautiful and awe-inspiring.

My life as a Christian and as a scientist has included times of pleasure and joy -- and excitement as, occasionally, I've gotten a glimpse of the intricacies of the universe!

But what are the conflicts between the Bible and science? Let's explore what each does NOT say. (I will do that in the next post.)

What Does the Bible Say About Our Universe?

 (0) The universe is intended to display God's power and majesty.

"The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge...

... In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun."

(Psalm 19)

In all these passages, we see God as the Creator of the universe, as the one who created all things and continues to maintain all things.

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

(Romans 1:20)

(1) The universe had a Creator.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

(Genesis 1:1)

(2) The universe is majestic and "good" (Hebrew towb, beautiful.)

"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."

(Genesis 1:31)

 Creation is called "towb" seven times in Genesis 1.

(3) The earth is full of incredible living things!

“So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems ... according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

(Genesis 1:21)

(4) The universe involves processes, in natural, organized fashion. See this description in Day 3 of Creation: 

“Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.... The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds."

(Genesis 1:11-12)

Note the deliberate, consistent process, trees, fruit, seed, more trees....

(5) The universe has a special creature, "mankind" (Hebrew adam), who has a unique role in this creation and with this Creator.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness ...

So God created mankind in his own image,

    in the image of God he created them;

    male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

(Genesis 1:26-28)

(6) Some phenomena have both a physical and spiritual explanation.

Acts 12:23 on Herod's death:

"Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died."

There are two explanations here for Herod's death.  Which is correct? 

• Did an angel strike him down?
• Or was he was eaten by worms?  

Both are true!

A digression -- the universe is beautiful

Beginning in Job 38 and continuing for three chapters, God challenges Job to step up and explain, even control, a variety of natural phenomena.

"Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.

...

On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—

while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?"

Have you ever given orders to the morning or shown the dawn its place, ...

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail,..."

(Me: No -- but I'd like to!)

“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades?

    Can you loosen Orion’s belt?

...

Do you know the laws of the heavens?

(Me: No -- but I'd like to!)

If we are here as the result of a Creator, the Creator who challenges Job to "give order to the morning", then our response will be 

"Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory

in the heavens...."

(Psalm 8)

(There is also a natural, built-in desire to explore the universe around us. This is part of the calling to be a scientist!)

Childhood: Science, Christianity

In this blogpost I briefly summarize my childhood interests.

My father was a university professor.

My mother was a science teacher, history teacher and accountant....

My childhood home in Houston, Texas, USA, was full of books. 

My mother taught me to read before I began school.

I loved pictures of planets and galaxies. (How big the universe was!!)

I saw the rings of Saturn through a small telescope. 

We watched the first satellite go overhead our home in Houston.

I drew pictures of the constellations.

I used a primitive handheld counter to count through the integers. 

I watched thunderstorms and lightning move slowly across the Chisos Mountains in West Texas.(See the beautiful volcanic dome in the background!) 

I did childish experiments with pillbugs in my backyard in Houston.

In high school I wrote a paper on amino acids. I decided to be a microbiologist!

In high school I also photocopied the first 100,000 digits of pi from the nearby college library!

My parents' religious life was sporadic. Beginning when I was about eight, we began attending a church. 

In my teens I had a friend, Tim, who was my competitor for "smartest" (nerdiest?) high school student. 

Tim and I challenged each other regularly. (He was Sheldon Cooper and I was Leonard Hofstadter -- or the other way around?)

Tim invited me to his church and I began attending regularly. There I came to believe 

• that the Creator of the Universe personally cared for me,
• that God had entered His universe in human form,
• and set up a system in which I was freed to enter His kingdom. 

In retrospect, that is pretty wild. (I'll say more later.)

So I made a conscious decision to be a disciple of Jesus, and, as a member

of His Kingdom, place all my brokeness under God's control, relying on a promised gift of forgiveness and personal renewal.

Several small changes occurred at the time.

(1) Over several months I discovered I liked other people and I really began to care for others.... so I lost some of my nerdy shyness.

(2) I began to question and then discard the racism I inherited from my upbringing in Texas.

(3) I was still very deeply in love with the universe. (At no time did I sense a conflict between my religious beliefs and my beliefs about science.)

Through 50+ years as a Christian and 47 years as a professional mathematician, my Christian life and my love of science have strengthened each other.

It is common to claim that Christianity and Science are in conflict. Are they? Are the Bible and Science truly in conflict? 

I want to examine that question in four parts:

• What does the Bible says about our universe?
• What does Science say about our universe?
• What does the Bible NOT say?
• What does Science NOT say?