Foundation Topic

The Bible and Science

For many, science is the standard of truth; thus, according to this view everything we believe must be supported by science. How does the Bible stack up with science?

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How Does the Bible Stack Up with Science?

Science is one way of understanding our world. It draws conclusions about reality based on observation and experimentation.

We know that not all knowledge can be scientifically ascertained. For, not everything we experience can be proven by what we can see or physically test.

Since science can’t give us the final word on everything, we need more to shape our worldview than science. There are valid elements of our experience like love, morality, and meaning that we want to understand, but that science cannot address.

Science is a wonderful means of understanding the mechanics of our world, but we long for more.

We long to know their meaning.

We may observe how a blender works and be able to name its parts and explain their functions, but until we can see that it’s intended to make delicious smoothies or milkshakes for human enjoyment, we’ve totally misunderstood the blender.

In the same way, though we may observe our world and ourselves, we sense a deep need for interpretive commentary on these things.

That’s exactly what we find in the Bible.

The Bible’s aim is not to tell us about the natural universe, primarily. It’s concerned first and foremost with revealing God to humanity, and showing us how to have a relationship with God.

It tells us about our Creator’s purpose and plan for his creation, as well as the part we play in his story.

Are the Bible and science at odds? No! Just the opposite is true. They are compatible companions:

The book of nature and the book of Scripture were both written by the same Author, and they will not be in conflict when properly read and understood. (Augustine)

Because the Bible is God’s Word and without error, it is truthful about all that it reports, including the natural universe.

The God who made the world and the God who wrote the Bible are one and the same. We must seek him to understand why he made the world, and us, the way that he did.

There’s so much more to life than what we can see and test.

So, when science leaves our souls empty, we run to the Word of God to flood meaning into our lives. But when we read in the Bible that “he determines the numbers of the stars and calls them each by name” (Psalm 147:4), we go find an Astronomer and ask him or her to tell us just how many stars there are.

Many have said that God has given us two books: the book of Scripture and the book of nature. He gave us both that we may know God and understand our world. Reading either in isolation will leave us with a missing piece of what God intends for us to know and experience. Read together, we have a complete revelation from the Creator.

by Bibles.net

RESOURCES

Theme Verse

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

HEBREWS 11:3 ESV

The Bible and Science
Verse
Psalm 111:2-3 ESV

Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.

Article: 10 Min

Quotes From the Most Famous Christians in Science

This is a fun article to read, as you get to see what some of the most renowned and influential scientists say about God, Jesus, and the Bible.

by Paul James-Griffiths at Christian Heritage Edinburgh

Quote

In the beginning 
[time]
God [force]
created [energy]
the heavens [space]
and the earth [matter].

Quote

Faith Inspires Science

Christians believed that God created the universe and ordained the laws of nature. To study the natural world was to admire the work of God. This could be a religious duty and inspire science when there were few other reasons to bother with it. It was faith that led Copernicus to reject the ugly Ptolemaic universe; that drove Johannes Kepler to discover the constitution of the solar system; and that convinced James Clerk Maxwell he could reduce electromagnetism to a set of equations so elegant they take the breath away.

by James Hannam | Source
Video: 2 Min
by Glen Scrivener at Premier On Demand
Video: 11 Min
Verse
Acts 17:24-31 NIV

 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 

And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 

From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 

God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
 

‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 

In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 

For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

READ MORE
Quote

Might some
new fact ever
contradict the Bible?
No true fact
will ever contradict
the words of the
God who knows all facts
and never lies.

Video: 8 Min
by Jonny Ardavanis and Paul Twiss at Dial In Ministries
Verse
Colossians 1:15-17 NLT

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.

Documentary
Is Genesis History?
Produced by Thomas Purifoy | 1 Hour 44 Minutes
Follow Del Tackett and over a dozen scientists as they explore the science behind the history recorded in Genesis. This eye-opening film will transform the way you see the world and affirm your faith in the written Word of God.

Folk | Indie

Forevermore

by Rivers & Robots

Hymns

All Creatures Of Our God and King

by Sovereign Grace Music
Verse
Isaiah 40:25-26 NIV

“To whom will you compare me
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.

Videos

Verse
Psalm 8:3-4 ESV

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

Books
Books