Does Science Contradict the Bible?
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"For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16).
Have you ever been speaking to someone about your faith, and their first or second question seems to be, “Well how do you explain evolution?” Then they might tell you that science has completely disproven the Bible. “Evolution has been proven! And science has proven that the earth is billions of years old!” Their argument then turns to how science has proven the Bible cannot be taken at face value. After all, they argue – “how could all of those scientists be wrong?”
Indeed, there are several recent books and articles that might have you believe those arguments. They may very well contend that science has now, finally, disproved the existence of God. Such authors claim that we know so much now about how the universe works, that we don’t need God and certainly don’t need Jesus.
Science has, in fact, brought humanity an enormous amount of information. Truthfully, the sum total of human knowledge seems to double every few years or so. Let’s face it, technology alone has contributed volumes to what we think we know. And if we’re honest, there are some Biblical teachings and doctrines which seem to conflict with much modern scientific thought. For example – the very first few verses in Genesis are but two examples: creation itself and evolution.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2).
“And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.’ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. … And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.’ And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:20-21, 24-25).
Let’s face it though, if science has indeed disproven Genesis, then we can have no confidence in anything the Bible says. One mistake, a single error, would render the entire Bible less than trustworthy. Yet we know otherwise.
The truth is, we are really nothing but bumbling little children in a store full of crystal knowledge. We seek to know – yet so often scientific opinion has seemingly changed over time. We can look at a few examples.
Science Correcting Scientific Opinion?
According to a google search, science is defined as: “the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained.” Through observation, experimentation and the testing of theories. Such a definition would make one wonder how some scientists believe that anything but theories can be produced regarding events in distant history, such as creation.
In truth, science in and of itself is quite amazing. We have learned a great deal about the world, and life and even the universe. But there is a difference, scientifically, as it relates to current, modern-day topics and ancient historical events, especially events about the universe.
Science should be intellectual and unbiased - and nothing more. We can certainly trust science to discover many great things, but we can also count on science to make mistakes. Of course, throughout history science has been wrong about many things, and even the greatest scientists make errors.
Albert Einstein applied his theory of relativity to a static universe – in other words, a universe that was permanent and unmoving. However, in 1931, legend has it that American astronomist Edwin Hubble showed Einstein his observations of a redshift in light and Einstein became convinced that the universe is indeed expanding and finite. Of course, the reality of his change of mind is likely much more complex, but regardless – the finding was a significant change in scientific theory of the universe. You can read more here.
Einstein also concluded that light would bend in a gravitational field, ultimately proven incorrect.
Carbon dating had long been considered absolute evidence proving the Bible wrong on many counts. However, in 2018, the accuracy of carbon dating was called into question in a study conducted by Cornell University.
Science without Bias
None of this is to try to demean science or even diminish its value to us. However, we and scientists must be willing to identify theory as theory and not attempt to pass off theory as proven fact. In other words, we cannot put our faith in science. When we do so, we are trusting in imperfect mortal men who are limited in their abilities, yet generous with their opinions.
Francis Collins is the longtime head of the Human Genome Project, former Director of the National Institute of Health, and author of “The Language of God, A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief,” wherein he describes his journey to faith through his study of DNA. He has much to say about his own field, and made this comment regarding science, “People doing science in the 16th and 17th century were almost all believers, who saw science as a means of investigating God's creation and being able to be even more worshipful as a result.”
The challenge today is, many scientists are naturalists, with a predetermined result in mind rather than seeking the unbiased truth. For example: in 2017 a study was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The study compared genetic material from 99 modern-day Lebanese people with what they could recover from 3700-year-old burial remains from Sidon, a major Phoenician city of the ancient world whose inhabitants were Canaanite. The scientists commented in their paper that “the Bible reports the destruction of Canaanite cities and the annihilation of it’s people; if true, then the Canaanites could not have directly contributed genetically to any present-day population, as we found.”
Rather than simply present their findings – this group went out of their way to add commentary about the Bible. Of course, their knowledge of the Bible was sufficiently lacking, especially that they did not know the Israelites in fact had been commanded to kill all of the Canaanites, but failed to do so.
Much of the challenge here is the atheistic, naturalistic viewpoint of scientists who, rather than attempting to unbiasedly discover the truth, approach their theories with a pre-determined outcome. Science is meant to be neutral – and not a furtherance of a desired agenda. The theory of evolution, for example, was not intended by Darwin to replace theological creation – yet has been taken to such lengths by latter-day naturalists.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1).
The Theory of Evolution
Today, evolution is used as a significant scientific challenge to faith in the Bible, in that our schools often teach the topic as fact rather than what it truly is – theory. There are, of course, a great many holes in the theory, even using Darwin’s own words.
That said, there certainly are a handful of Christians who believe in “theistic evolution” – including the aforementioned Francis Collins. Collins had stated that faith and science are compatible – refusing to hold to a “God-of-the-gaps” theory. Simply because there are gaps in science, does not mean that God fills those gaps.
Believe it or not, Darwin himself held to theistic evolution. Quoting Darwin: “It seems to me absurd to doubt that a man may be an ardent Theist and an evolutionist. ... I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God.”
That said, there have been a few recent studies that have begun to alter the view of evolution as Darwin presented it.
The Hoover Institution conducted a study of functioning proteins, raising the question of whether Darwin’s theory should be “dismissed, dissected, developed or replaced.”
Arizona State University conducted a decades-long study that challenges the traditional views of evolution.
Darwin himself, in Origin of Species, acknowledged that lack of transitional fossils created an issue for his theory – although he believed those fossils would eventually be found. They have not. Yet, the Cambrian Explosion of fossil finds points to an almost instantaneous appearance of animal fossils. To date, there have been no transitional fossils found.
Clearly, evolution remains an unproven and now questionable theory of the origins of life. In absolute truth – the origins of life itself have never been observed, explained or documented in any way. It remains a mystery, at least to atheists.
What Science Cannot Explain
“Science is great at answering those how questions, and if you want to know how something in nature works, use science. But if you want to know why, why am I here, why is there something instead of nothing, science doesn't have much to say there. Faith has a lot to say.” - Francis Collins
Did you know that if gravity were ever-so slightly more powerful, the universe would collapse into a ball? Or, if gravity were ever-so slightly less powerful, the universe would fly apart – there would be no stars, no planets? Gravity is precisely as strong as it needs to be to keep the universe together. And if the ratio of the electromagnetic force to the strong force wasn’t 1%, life would not exist at all.
What are the odds of that happening naturally? It’s a bit like the odds of a snowman being perfectly formed in a blizzard in Colorado. There is so much more that science cannot remotely explain – or even theorize. So many questions that go unanswered “scientifically.”
- How exactly did nature overcome the incredible odds that the universe would be so fine-tuned to the point of allowing life?
- What existed before the big bang? What was the original uncaused cause? We know…
“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews 11:3).
- How did the first living organism – the first life – emerge from inanimate matter?
- How did DNA – with a “double-helix” – ever evolve?
How is it that humans developed the unique abilities to communicate? How did we gain our mental faculties at all, for that matter? A human being, with moral standards, moral understanding and a conscience? How did we gain our appreciation for beauty? What is the factor that enables us to create amazing works of art and music and literature? For that matter, where did we gain an appreciation or understanding that those works are amazing?
How is it that humans can even understand science – and the intricate laws of physics, or biology, or mathematics, engineering and medicine? How?
The mere existence of a self-aware human with thoughts, questions, joys, pains, hopes and dreams. Simply walk into your back yard and please explain how the dirt and rocks “evolved” into who you are?
And none of this even begins to address the historical, documented evidence for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Science is amazing and necessary to teach about life, our world and even our universe. Yet there is so much that science cannot explain – or even theorize. As Christians, we should absolutely embrace and support science that truly seeks the truth. Modern science has failed to prove there is no God, as some commentators would like to claim.
Scientific evidence, correctly interpreted, certainly does more to support Godly creation than to deny it. Science is meant to be a truly neutral discipline, seeking only the truth, not furtherance of an agenda. Many of the most rational scientists, even if they refuse to believe in God, must admit to a lack of comprehension in our understanding of the universe – of the creation of all things. They must admit that science can neither prove nor disprove God or the Bible, since so many of their theories remain just that, theories.
Even famed atheist Richard Dawkins, in the first page of his book The Blind Watchmaker, admitted that “Biology is the study of things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose.”
As modern science learns more about the universe and the world we live in, we seem to find more evidence of creation.
“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).
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Greg doesn’t pretend to be a pastor, a theologian, or a Bible expert, but offers the perspective of an everyday guy on the same journey as everyone else – in pursuit of truth.
Greg can be reached by email or on Facebook @ Greg Grandchamp - Author.