Taking every thought captive for obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10.5)

The Question
Hasn’t science disproved the Bible (6)?
Some time ago I enjoyed dinner with a prominent biologist, a man who was also a very fine and gracious Christian. Our conversation turned to the matter of evolution, in which I asked him to explain his views on the origins of life and, in particular, human life.

He proceeded to summarize his understanding, which followed the template of evolutionary thinking as taught in America’s public schools: Life originated from a single cell, through a series of random mutations and adaptations. Human life arose out of the great chain of life which has been evolving over millions and millions of years.

I asked him about the spiritual nature of the human being. Did he believe people are spiritual, and that they can commune with God?

Indeed, he affirmed that belief as dear to him. He then tried to account for this by suggesting that at some point in the evolutionary process, when humans had developed to an appropriate stage, God infused His image into them, and human beings arrived at their present – and, he believed, final – form.

So he didn’t believe in Adam and Eve, as the Bible teaches?

No. He took all that as poetry or myth or something along those lines.

But, I continued, you will agree that a straight reading of the text of the Bible – not only in Genesis, but in many other places – encourages an understanding of life as created directly by God, including Adam and Eve as the original humans?

Yes, he agreed. This is what the Bible clearly teaches; however, he was quick to add, we have to read the Bible through the lens of science if we truly want to understand what it says.

And precisely here is the problem with science and its claim to have disproved the Bible: Science insists that its view of life and the world is the only workable way of understanding the data of the cosmos. Everything is matter and energy, and we only understand truth when we begin with a materialistic and rationalistic approach to knowing truth as the protocol to which we adhere.

During the 19^th century, when the scientific community began encroaching in earnest on the teaching of Scripture, Bible scholars from both the liberal and evangelical perspective bent over backwards to accommodate the scientific template in their work of Biblical interpretation. In the process, the plain teaching of Genesis and all other passages of Scripture that teach about cosmic and human origins, was shoe-horned into the iron slipper of evolutionary and scientific thinking, and the plain meaning of the text was abandoned. Very few Bible scholars today will agree that the teaching of Genesis 1-3 represents what actually happened in history.

This way of approaching Scripture morphs into a multitude of shapes, all of which represent one or another form of a hermeneutic of convenience. Those who practice such a hermeneutic are not content to allow the Scriptures to speak for themselves, and for the Spirit of God to lead us throughout His Word in order to gain light from various places to illuminate difficult or obscure passages (1 Cor. 2.12, 13). Rather than submit to the Spirit of God, those who practice a hermeneutic of convenience follow winds of doctrine from the spirit of the age to reinterpret Scripture’s difficult teachings in a manner agreeable to the temper of the times.

Yet the plain teaching of Scripture remains, and it is always available to any who are willing to remove the blinders of this or that contemporary perspective or conviction, submit to the disciplines essential for sound Biblical interpretation, and listen as the Spirit compares Scripture with Scripture to reveal the mind and will of Christ and God.

At one point in our conversation, I asked my dinner companion why he could not accept the plain teaching of Scripture about the origins of life. He answered that he was a scientist, and he had to follow wherever the science led. I asked if he agreed there are disciplines and skills peculiar to the interpretation of Scripture – knowledge of Biblical languages, understanding of tropes and types, methods for approaching a text, and the like. He readily agreed that this was most certainly the case. Then I asked, “And how familiar are you with these disciplines and skills?”

“Well, I’m not familiar with them in the least,” was his reply.

And this is precisely why we cannot believe that science has disproved the Scriptures, since science is not equipped to understand the Scriptures according to the manner in which God has given them.

We’ll look at part 7 of this question next Sunday. Now here’s a recap from this week at The Ailbe website.

Weekly Review
In our Time for the Kingdom ReVision series, we looked at what it means to devote every area and aspect of our lives – all our time – to seeking and advancing the rule of Christ unto righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit (you can download the entire series on Time for the Kingdom by clicking here).

Our Crosfigell column comes out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This week’s messages can be summarized by saying, If we love God, we will fear Him. In fear and love of God, we will serve Him as living sacrifices with all our strength and time. Thus we will be able to fulfill our calling to be witnesses to our Lord Jesus, like John the Baptist.

In our Scriptorium daily studies, we saw how in Acts 11 the Gospel came to the Gentiles in Antioch, and considered the power of grace to make the invisible Kingdom of God visible to the watching world. You can watch the brief video introducing Acts 11 by clicking here (scroll down to Lesson 9), and the free PDF of all the week’s studies in Acts 11 is available for download by clicking here (scroll down to Part 10).

In our Thursday The Week column, we saw that science is once again catching up to the Scriptures. Many studies are demonstrating the physical and emotional benefits of solitude and silence, just as the Word of God has taught for centuries.

Finally, in our Saturday In the Gates column, as we continue exploring the “first principles” essential for learning to live under the rule of God’s Law, we saw how important it is that believers study the Law and learn it well. Jesus taught that this is the way to Kingdom greatness; the Law of God insists this is the path into the promises of God.

Visit our website and bookstore to discover additional resources and publications to help you in your walk with and work for the Lord. And while you’re at the website, watch the videos introducing our Men’s Prayer Movement and offering you an opportunity to assess the state of your Christian worldview.

T. M. Moore

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