The Bible and Science
One of the problems confronting some Christians, especially young people, is the so-called conflict between science and the Bible. Is this conflict as serious as some would try to make it? Can science and the Bible be reconciled or are they two systems of thought with no common ground?
Years ago the Apostle Paul wrote to the young preacher, Timothy, saying, Keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called (1 Timothy 6:20). In other words, he is saying not all that is taught as science is really scientific. It is science falsely so called because it is not truth. If one desires to be a true scientist, he must believe the truth.
It is regretfully pathetic that much that is being taught these days as science is nothing more than science falsely so called. Since it cannot be proven as truth, it is theory without fact.
I personally believe in true science 100%. I strive to be scientific in everything, especially the Bible. I am convinced that the Bible is definitely scientific because it is truth. It has never been proved to be otherwise.
Back in the 1940's Dr. Harry Rimmer, the eminent scientist and preacher, went about the country offering a thousand dollars to anyone who could prove any scientific errors in the Bible. With the money on deposit in the bank, it was ready to be paid if needed. But it was never paid. Even though on one occasion the claim was contested and taken to court, the verdict was given in favor of Rimmer and the scientific accuracy of the Bible.
It is thought by some people that all true scientists are atheists. Though there are some who declare themselves to be scientists and at the same time atheists, there are many more who not only accept the teaching of the Word of God as truth, but personally believe in God as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and all of life.
Scan back over the pages of scientific discovery and you will see that most of the honored discoverers were men of simple faith in a personal God. Among them are such names as Sir Isaac Newton, Professor Dana, Michael Faraday, Lord Kelvin, Sir David Brewster, Thomas Huxley, Louis Pasteur, and many others.
One time Michael Faraday, the renown physicist, was found by his friend, Sir Henry Acland, in tears with his head bent over an open Bible saying, "Why, oh why will not men believe the blessed truth herein revealed to them?"
Many of our accomplished scientists would say, as did one of them, "The more I study and the more I learn of the mysteries of this world, the more sure I am of God, and the more unreasonable unbelief becomes."
It should be kept in mind that all science deals with limited knowledge. It is ever searching, and certainly we give all due respect to those who are giving their lives to research in the field of science. But irrespective of these, we must agree that science has its limitations. The Bible on the other hand deals with ageless truth. It is the Word of God which gives us the complete plan of God from the beginning to the end.
We often hear the expression modern science, but what is termed modern science today may be outmoded in a few short years. For example, modern science in the fifteenth century taught that the earth was flat. It was said that as one went to the horizon he would fall off into an abyss peopled by monsters and all sorts of fearful things.
Modern science in medicine years ago believed in bloodletting, so that poison could be gotten out of the system by means of leeches sucking the blood of the sick person. Now, of course, we know that blood is very much needed.
"Modern science" once taught that the atom was solid like a hard rubber ball. The Greek word for atom means "that which cannot be cut." We know now that the atom can be cut and that there is much inside of it.
In his search for reality, the true scientist has made more and greater discoveries concerning God's vast creation. So it will continue to be in the future. And what we call modern science now may be very much out of date twenty-five years from now. We are proud to think that modern science is wonderful simply because it comprises most of the latest that is known and because we happen to be living at present. But soon our children and grandchildren will be laughing at what we called modern science. Science is ever-changing.
God never changes. The Bible never changes. The Bible is the infallible truth of God and there is no true scientific discovery that has ever created any conflict with the truth of the Bible. Of course, there are theories that are being taught that conflict but theories are not fact. There are ideas being voiced that conflict with the Scriptures but these ideas are not necessarily facts. Do not be quick to ignore the Bible simply because of what somebody says. Read the Bible! Study it for yourself! Go to it scientifically! Determine to see what God has declared in His Word, for in science the true scientist says, "We must see." He is not willing to go on faith; he deals with fact. The Bible declares in John 3:3, Except a man be born again, he cannot see. ! To see and understand the facts which God has established in the universe we must be made ready to see. To do this we need a God-nature. We must be born anew as Jesus said, born from above. We must be willing to acknowledge Christ as our Sin-bearer and receive Him into our life. Then we shall have light. God will give understanding. We shall be able to see with the eyes of the Son of God. Thus, if you would be scientific, earnestly desiring to know truth, turn to Him who is Truth and who declared, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Consider Christ and His claims on your soul. Let Him show you what truth really is.
J. Allen Blair
Defining the Christian Life
Dr. Blair has written 12 books. Most are based on a book of the Bible and present doctrine in an understandable fashion, and are written in a devotional commentary style. His book, Living Consistently, is very different in that Dr. Blair draws the profile of a Christian from a biblical perspective.
This book is sub-titled, When Life Goes Up and Down. The chapter titles are very descriptive of the goal: Believe and Know It, Talk with God, Worship God, Share the Good News, Claim Victory over Sin, and others.
This is an excellent resource to give to new believers, as well as those who want to pattern their lives after Jesus Christ. We'll mail them directly as a gift if you so desire (include addresses).
$6.00 each plus $2.00 p/h = $8.00 delivered
REFLECTIONS with Dr. Blair
It was in the garden of Eden that the voice of the Lord echoed through the garden, Adam, where art thou? It was not that God could not see the trembling man, clad in a flimsy garment, and crouching behind a tree. He was all too visible to the eyes of the One who sees all things. It was not that He did not know. He knew the man He had formed without spot or blemish, the highest of all creatures, had fallen from his high estate and now lay defeated in the mire of sin. It was the broken-hearted cry of a shepherd seeking the lost.
Do you realize that you are part of Adam's family? You are a partaker of his sin. What can you do about it? Trust Christ, the eternal Redeemer, who died on the cross for your sin. Receive Him as the Lord of your life.
The Mouth and the Checkbook
A message in print is waiting for you when you write or call this month. The title, It All Belongs to God. Dr. Blair discusses your holding power in this message. Write or call, today!