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Welcome to APOLOGETICS (THE3013) Lesson Eleven “Is There Harmony Between Science and the Bible?” Dr. Arnold Lastinger, Instructor WHAT IS SCIENCE? • From the Latin word meaning “to know” • Concerned with knowledge which can be obtained through the scientific method • Concerned with the physical world • The orderly study of observable phenomena • Knowledge gained through the senses SCIENCE SHOULD… 1. Concern itself only with empirical evidence that is available from the natural world 2. Limit itself to describing phenomena without trying to explain 3. Limit itself to describing process without attempting to explain origins or destinies WHY? Because the supernatural cannot be subjected to the same investigative methodology THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD (Francis Bacon 1561-1626) 1. Identify a worthwhile problem 2. Observe 3. Hypothesize 4. Experiment 5. Verify 6. Accommodate 7. Predict FACT: Despite the air of finality with which the scientist speaks, everything he says falls in the realm of probability, not certainty. Why such animosity between SCIENCE and RELIGION? The Early Church came to view Truth as a closed system that God had given to them alone; their word became edict! Yet, scientists observed phenomena that did not agree with the Church’s ideas. In the 18th century, the Enlightenment rejected the Church’s idea of Truth altogether; scientism was born. SCIENTISM: Nothing is real if it cannot be observed and scientifically tested NEGATIVE REACTIONS OF CHRISTIANS MISTRUST: view science as the enemy AMBIVALENCE: profess Christianity with their mouths, but accept scientific theory as fact in their daily lives SURRENDER: give up their Christian worldview; “Science says it, so it must be right!” ACCOMMODATION: tries to modify science and religion so that they are no longer incompatible IMPLICATIONS OF THE CONFLICT Darwinian evolution believes that life spontaneously arose from inorganic matter; all creation evolved from that The evolutionist believes that human knowledge is restricted to the evidence accumulated through human experience Evangelical Christians believe in the validity of knowledge based upon spiritual experience. PROBLEM: Both sides start with different a prioris! Is there a Biblical synthesis? Rejects the notion that nature alone is real Accepts natural order, but also believes in a supernatural order Natural order is subject to a supernatural God Allows for occasional suspension of natural order which we call miracles Miracles are the exceptions; they do not refute the natural laws SOME DEFINITIONS COSMOLOGY: the field of study that deals with questions about the nature of the universe COSMOGONY: the field of study that is specifically concerned with the origin of the universe EX NIHILO: the idea that everything was created out of nothing TAXONOMY: an orderly arrangement into logical groupings MAGNITUDE OF CREATION Earth has a diameter of 12,750 km. It is about 149 million km from the Sun The sun’s diameter is 1,385,000 km The nearest star is 4.6 light years Our galaxy is 80,000 light years big Over a billion galaxies have already been observed 199,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars are visible (199 sextillion!) Let’s make it understandable! Earth has a diameter of a marble on one goal line of a soccer field The sun’s diameter is a basketball on the other goal line The nearest star is 8 km from the stadium! Our galaxy alone would cover 2/3rds of our world! Over a billion galaxies have already been observed ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE How did the universe get here? 1. 2. 3. 4. BIBLICAL CONCLUSIONS What God says in the Bible, He does not contradict in natural revelation. Biblical language is popular language, not scientifically technical language It is phenomenological description of what common sense observes. It is sometimes a poetic description, i.e. “The trees of the field will clap their hands…” ORIGIN OF MAN How did man get here? SOME CONSIDERATIONS 1. The greatest debate between science and Christianity is in the area of evolution. 2. The logical mind of man tends to group things into understandable order, known as taxonomy. ORIGIN OF MAN How did man get here? EVOLUTIONIST VIEWS 1. NATURALISTIC EVOLUTION: everything evolved without any original cause (God) 2. THOMISTIC EVOLUTION: Evolution is the method that God used to create everything 3. THEISTIC EVOLUTION: The ages of evolution are creative stages in which God created everything 4. EMERGENT EVOLUTION: Evolution is viewed as a series of divine creative acts, not mere chance ORIGIN OF MAN How did man get here? 1. 2. 3. 4. CREATIONIST VIEWS PROGRESSIVE CREATIVE CATASTROPHISM THEORY: the “GAP” theory, a gap between Gen. 1:1 and 1:2 DAY-AGE CATASTROPHISM THEORY: the “YOM” theory (indefinite period of time) PROGRESSIVE CREATIONISM THEORY: God created everything is stages with no gap ALTERNATE DAY-AGE THEORY: the universe was created in 24 hour days separated by vast geological ages 5. EDEN-ONLY THEORY: Eden was a special creation of God; the rest of creation was evolutionary 6. CONCURRENT AGES THEORY: Time is irrelevant; God created in ages that may have overlapped each other 7. SPLIT WEEK THEORY: Some things God created instantly, others over long eons 8. REVELATION DAY THEORY: the days of Genesis do not refer to days of creation, but to days in which God revealed it to Moses 9. LITERAL DAY THEORY: God created everything in six 24-hour days A Biblical Perspective Requires… 1. RECOGNITION OF THE UNIQUENESS OF MAN: Man alone is created in the likeness of God 2. MANKIND ORIGINATED FROM A SINGLE PAIR: Adam and Eve were the parents of the human race 3. THE BIBLE DOES NOT PRECLUDE GENETIC ADAPTATION WITHIN LIMITS: Man is lengthening his own lifespan SOME CONCLUSIONS… 1. Science cannot prove evolution or the “Big Bang” theory; they are still just that…theories. 2. Christianity cannot prove that there is a God or that He created everything; it is still just a theory. 3. What a person believes about creation is determined by his/her worldview a prioris. 4. Given the possibilities of regret…which worldview makes more sense?