Science and Scripture

by

Philip Stott

Science and Christianity have an intertwined history. Even atheist historians of science find themselves having to admit that it was only under the Christian worldview that one could expect nature to behave in a way that would make science a reasonable pursuit. In spite of the fact that some steps towards a beginning in science had been taken by other cultures it was only in the Christian culture of  Europe, and in particular that of Reformation Europe, that science came to fruition.

The great pioneers of science, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Euler, Maxwell, Faraday, Kelvin and many others professed Christianity and accepted the Bible as God's revelation to mankind. Many spent much time studying the Scriptures. Newton claimed the most important aspect of his work was in showing the greatness of God. Maxwell noted that his great pioneering work in field theory was inspired by the Scriptural revelation of the way God himself is and works.

But during the twentieth century science was taken over to a very large extent by secular humanists. Such a world-view actually has no rational basis for expecting science to succeed. Yet secular humanists have cultivated the idea that science is essentially an atheistic domain which is at loggerheads with Christianity.

In fact there have been three main topics on which Christianity and science have come into obvious and serious conflict. It is largely on the basis of these three areas that the idea that science implacably conflicts with Scripture have been deliberately cultivated. These three areas are:-

The theory of evolution. This originally dealt with ORGANIC EVOLUTION but logically proceeded to MATERIAL EVOLUTION leading to various theories of origins, the most popular currently being THE BIG BANG.

The age of the earth and the universe and their mode of formation. This topic embraces UNIFORMITARIANISM, GEOLOGICAL TIME and ASTRONOMICAL TIME.

The centrality of the earth in creation. This topic usually comes under the heading GEOCENTIRICITY, GEOCENTRISM OR GEOSTATIONISM.

Geocentricity was the first major point of conflict. The inerrancy of Scripture was challenged and the ensuing "Galileo affair" had a profound effect on both scientists and Bible scholars. Since that time the scriptures have been interpreted ever less in accordance with understanding of ancient languages and ever more as a harmonisation with  "scientific truth". The influence of geocentrism on science has been equally profound. The rejection of the possibility that the earth could have a special place in creation led to the Theory of Relativity, the rejection of the "aether" (the medium through which light propagates) and its consequences - Quantum Theory - the whole of "Modern Physics". It is also the basis for assuming that the laws of science discovered here will be the same elsewhere - probably a good assumption if the earth is not in a special position, a bad one if it is. The whole of astrophysics depends critically on this assumption.

Geological time, popularised by Charles Lyell, was the second major point of conflict between Christianity and science. In his famous book "Principles of Geology" Lyell argued for an age of the earth far greater than could be accommodated by scripture. Later editions ridiculed the book of Genesis, particularly the section on Noah's flood. Since Genesis is the foundation on which the whole of Christianity is built his book became an attack on the whole of Christianity.

Evolution is a very old hypothesis which was long rejected by the scientifically knowledgeable as untenable in view of the obvious necessity for a designer to account for the complexities of life. When Charles Darwin proposed Natural Selection as a mechanism which could produce ever increasing complexity without design it suddenly became possible to be as Richard Dawkins put it, "a fulfilled atheist". Since then evolution has become perhaps the most commonly used weapon in attacking the credibility of the Scriptures. Its influence on society at large has been immense. Karl Marx noted that Darwin’s book was the foundation for "Scientific Socialism" (Communism). Stalin pointed out that "Evolution prepares for revolution and creates the ground for it." Many would argue that no other "scientific" concept has had such influence on not only the progress of Christianity, but the whole of society.

There are other topics which could be considered relevant. Archaeology has at times presented challenges to the Bible. However archaeology is a question of history rather than science, and challenges have been answered as new discoveries have thrown light on one disputed point after another. I believe the stage has been reached where few, if any,  now consider Archaeology a serious challenge to their faith or the credibility of the Scriptures. In the case of the three topics mentioned above this is certainly not so.

In  "General Considerations" I look in more detail at the broad claims made above, present what I hope are thought-provoking insights into the workings of science, and also into the interpretation of scripture as influenced by science and scientists. I would suggest looking through these general consideration before going on to whichever of the topics on the side-bar you would like to consider further.