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.
