Does Science Threaten Faith?

MEMORY VERSE: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” —I Thessalonians 5:21

I CORINTHIANS 2:6-16

THERE is no disharmony between true science and the true teachings of the Bible, therefore scientific knowledge does not threaten one’s faith in the Word of God and the Creator’s design which is set forth therein. There is, however, much that erroneously passes for science which consists merely of speculation by those who call themselves scientists. These guess-work views are often contrary to the Bible, but we should not permit this to disturb our faith in the inspired Word.

There is also much that is proclaimed as the truth of the Bible which is not taught in the Bible at all, much of which is out of harmony with science. For example: there is the erroneous teaching concerning the immortality of the soul. This false teaching claims that there is a separate entity of life within each human which escapes when the body dies and is transferred without dying to another sphere of life. The Bible does not teach this, nor is it supported by true science.

The Bible record is that God “formed man out of the dust of the earth, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” (Gen. 2:7) Many translations read, “living being.” In other words, when man was created he was not given an immortal something within him which could not die, called a soul. But, through the union of the breath of life with the newly formed organism, man “became” a living soul, or living being. This is in harmony with the findings of true science. Medical science knows that there is nothing within the human organism such as that described by untrue theology.

Charles M. Lamon, writing in the “International Lesson Annual,” says:

“Science has accomplished so much in recent decades that the very word science has an almost magical tone to it. Yet scientific knowledge is not absolute; scientists disagree among themselves as much as theologians. For instance, at present there are two leading views concerning the origin of the universe. One is the ‘Big Bang’ theory that the universe came into being by the explosion of a fireball some ten billion years ago. A rival theory is called the ‘Steady State’ concept of continuous creation. It holds that although the universe has always been in a steady state, matter is continuously being fed into it, possibly one atom at a time. Thus the universe continues to expand. Which view is correct?”

Many of the great truths of the Bible go far beyond the concepts of the scientists, and naturally to many of them seem foolish. The Bible says that “in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1) This is inconceivable to many scientists; yet from the standpoint of faith it is the only true explanation of how the universe came into existence. Scientists themselves do not agree on the subject, and even now are spending billions of dollars to gather information from the moon to further enlighten them. Meanwhile, it is unreasonable for any to criticize those who in simple faith, and because it is their reasonable conclusion, choose to accept the information furnished in the Bible.

The Bible says that God created man in his own image. But many scientists claim that he is a product of evolution, although there is no real evidence to support this theory. The information given to us in the Bible carries us through God’s dealings with man—his fall into sin; his redemption from death, and finally his restoration to life through a resurrection of the dead. Most scientists ridicule this great truth of the Bible, but the Christian takes Paul’s view when he said, “Why should it be thought a thing incredible … that God should raise the dead?” (Acts 26:8) Certainly the One who created life in the first place is abundantly able to restore life!

As our lesson points out, the dedicated believer reasons on a higher plane than do the scientists. Scientists claim to test all their views by facts. So do Christians, but our facts are the plain statements of the Word of God. By these we test all things which we believe, and hold fast only to those things found in the Word of God and brought to our minds by the Holy Spirit.

QUESTIONS

Do scientists agree among themselves?

What are the facts upon which we base our beliefs?

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