Bible And Science 1

Everyone knows that we are living in a period of explosively growing scientific knowledge. Tens of thousands of scientific journals are published all over the world to report scientific discoveries. In spite of this large number, these publications are struggling under the weight of information sent for publication.  

SCIENCE is the result of man’s quest for truth. The dazzling performance of science and the resulting technology has made science a synonym for truth in our generation. Many have been quick to use this atmosphere to attack the Bible in the name of science. These people claim that Christians have always been anti-scientific.  

An example quoted frequently is that of Galileo Galilee. The Church forced him to renounce his scientific discoveries. This, they claim, is an example of the “warfare” between Bible and Science. Further, many of them claim that the twentieth century science has completely disproved the Bible, and that the theory of evolution has completely negated the possibility of creation.  

Most people don’t know that many arguments brought against Bible or Christianity are artificially forged by people interested in discrediting Bible. Even in the case of Galileo, many historians of science have demonstrated that, it was the scientific and political community that punished him. The reason was pure professional jealousy that was aggravated by Galileo’s uncontrolled sarcastic speeches and writings. The Bible was an innocent victim in this drama.  
   

The Historical Background:Attacks directed against the Bible are not new. Since this is the only book in the world that teaches the total depravity of man — who cannot in any way save himself — this book has received much opposition for thousands of years. However, this opposition gained momentum only in the last two hundred years.  

A key factor that united the critics is the Theory Of Evolution. The opposition was divided before Darwin proposed his theory, but his hypothesis gave them a common ground to come together. This coming together had a snowball effect with each anti-Bible movement strengthening the other. Today thousands of organizations and publications around the world are devoted to some kind of attack or other against the Bible. This is the reason why even in the most unlikely place you keep hearing that “Science has discredited the Bible”. It is only a propaganda, and not a fact, and you will discover that as you continue with this course.  
  

Present Situation Of The Attacks:The Theory Of Evolution has infiltrated education systems all over the world. This hypothesis is being taught as a fact in schools at an ever earlier stage. Almost all textbooks — science, commerce, humanities — have been written with this theory serving as the foundation.  

Rationalist and atheistic organizations and publications have come up everywhere. More and more influential writers and thinkers are spreading the message. Various movements, even if not directly teaching atheism, are joining hands with atheistic philosophies for their selfish goals.  

The world of knowledge (research, publications, textbooks) and the world of communication (periodicals, radio, TV, movies) are now dominated by these people. They aggressively use their authority and position to propagate their views, but do not allow anyone else to present the other side.  

Young people brought up in this atmosphere know only one side of the picture — that science and evolution have discredited the Bible. They are never told that there is another side to this picture — a shocking one indeed. They are never shown the two sides and therefore they are deprived from choosing the one that better fits the facts.  
 

Response of Christians:   The situation definitely needs a response from Christians. After all, when there is such an aggression against them, they cannot remain silent. Over the years, the community has split up into three groups.  

One group of Christians continues in their commitment to the Bible with no question whatsoever about its reliability. They were never affected by all this noise, and they have never tried to see any of the sides. They are not at all interested in the question and therefore they lead quite stable lives. However, they have one handicap — usually they are unable to help or sympathize with another believer who might be struggling with these problems.  

The second group consists of those people who have clearly understood that both sides stand upon conflicting grounds. But they are not interested in studying the subject further. They usually take refuge behind statements like, “scientists teach evolution while Bible teaches creation. I believe in the Bible.” This is spiritual escapism, and these people — due to their awareness of the real conflict — remain in a perpetual state of tension. After all, no person can continue to believe peacefully in two mutually conflicting ideas. When a seeker approaches this kind of a person, he is told to behave in the same way — run away from your problems, lest it start troubling both of us.  

The third group consists of seekers. They don’t want to run away. They want to know the truth. They believe that knowing the truth will only strengthen them and make them more secure in their faith. Usually they are able to find a believer or writer who belongs to this very group — sometimes in the past these people struggled with their faith, then saw both the sides, evaluated them, made their choices, and are now fully assured about their stand. These people, since they intimately know the emotions of a searching soul, are able both to sympathize with the inquirer and also to guide them in their quest for truth.  
 

The Purpose Of  This Course:  This course has been prayerfully prepared by people in the third category mentioned above. Scholars and researchers all over the world have spent hundreds of thousands of hours in experimental, theoretical, and library research into the relationship between Bible/Science/Evolution. Enough course material is available today to offer University level Bachelors to Doctorate level courses. But since most people are interested only in knowing what is just sufficient for their needs, we are offering this brief six-lesson course for them. If this does not meet your needs, we can always guide you to more advanced courses, books, and library-research.