I didn’t watch the so-called Creation vs. Science debate that apparently happened last night. I was having a bad day and didn’t want it to get any worse. Also, it’s a foolish debate and I find it unhelpful. Anyone who pits the Bible against Science should be ignored. Here are four reasons, in no specific order.
First, because God gave us rational minds. Christians, more than anyone else, should be willing and able to debate in the realm of the intellect. We recognize the dignity of humanity, the autonomy of an individual, and their consequent ability to think for themselves and rationalize the world around them. Humanities chief work is to have dominion over the earth. That not only means subduing it, but it also meant understanding it in it’s detail (it also means caring for it, but that’s another post). As we create new methods of observation, we are able to understand more clearly the intricacy and grandeur of the universe. That’s a good thing. You can think about it like this: the Christian believes not just that God created the world, but that he also created in us the mechanisms by which we observe and understand the world. The pursuit of “Science” was God’s idea and we should use our minds accordingly.
Second, because Science tells us something about God. Francis Bacon, considered by many to be the father of modern science, said that God created two books: the book of nature and the book of Scripture. We could learn more about God by studying both books. Functionally, then, both the pursuit of Science and the content of science are fundamentally Christian ideals. You should apply the same rigor in studying and observing the world around you as you should in your study of the Bible if you want to learn more about God, who He is, and what He is like.
Third, because the Bible (and creation account) isn’t meant to be a scientific text. In Genesis 1, God created light on the first day and the sun, moon, and stars on the fourth day. Scientifically, that doesn’t work. It’s a good thing that Genesis 1 isn’t about science. It’s about God. Specifically, a God who creates the world and then gives dominion to various beings within the environment he created them for. (Side note: God creates the environment called the world and then places man in that environment. Man screwed that up. God’s in the process of creating a new world for man, beginning with the renewal of man himself in the person of Jesus Christ. That’s really good news.)
Fourth, real faith doesn’t mean believing blindly, it means believing that God isn’t going to contradict himself. If God is powerful enough to create an entire universe out of nothing, it’s also entirely possible that he did it in whatever way he wanted. He could have done it in seven days. He also could have done it over millions of years. The one thing we can be confident in is that if God really did create the world, then nothing we ever observe in science will contradict that. Instead, it will help us understand more fully the power of God and His great care for His creation.
Here’s the thing: not every conclusion reached by the scientist is going to be correct. There is a lot of room for continued learning and expanded knowledge. That goes for the Christian Scientist and the Secular Scientist alike. We need to be less dogmatic about the how and more dogmatic about the who. That’s the point of the creation account.
If we’re going to talk about how the world was created, and whether or not it was God who was responsible for it, let’s use scientific categories, instead of pitting two things against one another that were never meant to be opposites. It cheapens God (who is smarter and bigger than you), You (who was created to be thinking and observing and rational) and the world (which God intended for us to explore.)
Science helps us to understand God and how he created the world. There are many competing views on the subject. Let's just make sure that the one we settle on is supported by what we know of the world around us, and not because we failed to read God's second book.