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BETHESDA CATHEDRAL – WORD EDIFICATION (8 Apr 2016)
Word Released: “… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Rom 3:23 NKJV
Word Edification – God and Science
Speaker: Prof Freddy Boey
1. The sights and sounds all around us are but a manifestation of God’s beauty in creation
(Eccl 3:1). From the smallest bacteria to the huge creatures of the deep, there are so
many intricacies and complexities. Mankind would never know how beautiful the
created world is unless we engage in the study of science. Because the laws of science
are consistent, scientists can explore and discover new frontiers. A researcher is one
who is re-searching what God has already searched.
2. Science is not anti-God and neither is God anti-Science. However, science cannot
explain everything there is in this world.
a. The science we know today is not all the science that is to be known as there are still
a lot of things scientists cannot explain or understand.
b. It cannot explain love which the Bible starts (Adam & Eve) and ends (marriage
supper of the Lamb) with including a love poem (Song of Solomon) right in between.
3. The Bible is not a book about science but it is scientific i.e. it does not contradict
science. This can be seen in the following:
a. The sequencing of the 6 days of creation shows that it is in a logical order where
photosynthesis can take place after plants have been made.
b. When Jesus turned water into wine, a process known as catalysis, He was speeding
up what naturally takes place in the fruit of the vine. Likewise, scientists have also
discovered that stem cells can be differentiated into specific types of cells to
address health issues eg. heart or optic cells.
4. Let’s look at the example of the flood during Noah’s days (Mt 24:37-39).
a. Was it a universal flood? Yes (2 Pet 2:5; 3:6-7)
b. Where did the waters come from and where did they go after it receded? They
came from deep within the earth’s crust and the heavens (Gen 1:6-7; 7:11). NASA
scientists estimate the amount of water inside the earth’s crust can flood the whole
earth completely many times over.
c. Mountain ranges were covered with waters (Ps 104:6-8) and fossils (eg. sea shells)
found on mountains give evidence that there was a flood in the past. Also
mammoths frozen in ice were found to have undigested grass in their mouths,
indicating a sudden occurrence of disaster affecting them.
d. The loss of the vapour canopy due to the flood resulted in higher cosmic radiation
which possibly could lead to a lowering of our life span from 900 years to 70 years.
e. The dimensions of the ark was given (Gen 6:15-16) and the question was asked as to
whether all the animals can fit into it. It has been estimated that there was a total of
17600 mammals, birds and reptiles only (obviously the sea creatures need not be
included). Noah could have brought baby dinosaurs into the ark for obvious
reasons. Calculations have shown that they can fit into the ark with a lot more
space left for food to feed them for a year.
f.
5.
Dinosaurs were mentioned in the Bible as behemoth and Leviathan (Job 40:15-18;
41:1-34). Fossil records showed that they co-existed with men in the past. They could
have been destroyed through disease or by a giant asteroid.
We are to be good stewards of the world God has created. God promises us that
creation will ultimately be redeemed including the children of God (Rom 8:20-22).
Applications
1. Can science explain the existence of God?
2. How can the miracles of God be explained to a pre-believer?