Thursday, August 20, 2009

Bible, SCIENCE, and Politics: What Should a Christian Think?

Our homeschooling year began this week and I have accepted the fun task of teaching 7th grade life science to my eldest child. This has caused me to think a lot about science and what it means in our lives. Oh, yeah—science affects the political scene, too, sometimes in absurd ways.

Key Bible Points Regarding Science:

  1. God Created Everything. Genesis 1-2 give the details of God creating all things in six literal solar days. This happened several thousand years ago. Evolution, therefore, is a complete lie, as it denies God did anything, or that God even exists.
  2. God gave "Dominion" to man over what He created: Genesis 1:28 tells us, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." In short, mankind is to control and steward the earth and its resources. Which brings us to...
  3. Stewardship: Mankind is to be wise in his use of the earth and its resources, taking care of them and making best use of them.
  4. Man sinned, and this brought a curse upon the Creation. While the initial creative work of God was good, sin brought decay and death into that creation. Now the universe deals with this. Scientists quantify this phenomenon with such things as the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
  5. Because of man's sin, there was a worldwide flood. Evidence of this Flood can be found in the sedimentary layers, fossils, and various other geological features of the planet.
Additional details and more thorough analysis of these items can be found at the websites of the Institute for Creation Research and Answers in Genesis.

The Christian is obligated to believe the Bible account. The Christian is also obligated to have an impact on his society; what does that imply in the political arena?
  1. The Christian knows that God created everything and that, therefore, we are accountable to God. It is God that provided our rights (see the Declaration of Independence) and established the parameters of right and wrong, of morality and sin. Our government must recognize these facts as it makes and enforces law.
  2. The Christian needs to identify the differences between a "proper stewardship" that uses physical resources wisely and "environmental activism" that does not allow that stewardship to be implemented.
  3. The Christian should not endorse any efforts that promote the teaching of evolution, the mitigation of our God-given rights, or the practice of anything the Bible calls sin.
This is just an overview; much more can and has been written on the topic. What are your thoughts?

4 comments:

The blogprof said...

Ken - I am so with you on this post! As a matter of fact, the more I investigate, the more I learn that the Bible is indeed correct (not that I have had any doubts, just a lack of knowledge) and that many contemporary scientists are flat wrong.

And thanks for mentioning the 2nd law! Gotta love the history of that principle as it started at the fall of man. Some day, it will be repealed when there will indeed be a new Earth. Can't quite comprehend what life will be like without it.

Another good website for study on evolution (or lack thereof) is creationworldview.org. It is a great site created by a former evolutionist now a Christian believer. The discovery institute has good information also.

I wish I could go back and be a grad student studying that very thing. Maybe some day I'll have the time. So much to learn, and so little time to do it.

Kudos to homeschooling!

Brenda said...

I LOVE Science!!! That's why I have a Bachelor's Degree in it!! I totally agree that all three topics tie in together. The Bible gives us all the answers to those perplexing questions the scientists are still trying to explain. You can see God's marvelous, ingenious handiwork throughout all science and nature. It's so beautiful and intricate and varied, that it takes more faith to believe it all happened by chance than that we have a sovereign Creator in Heaven that designed all that is around us. And hence, because science proves we have a sovereign Savior, isn't he also sovereign over ALL things? Even our government? Isn't it He who puts our leaders in place? Isn't it He who has a marvelous plan for all to bring glory only to Him, and He is even now setting the stage right before our eyes? Yes, yes, all Christians should see the common thread woven through all things science to all things political and it leads us to Christ!!!

Anonymous said...

I send this as a brother in Christ, in love and with a heartfelt prayer that it would be received in the spirit it is being sent. I wanted to share a few observations, and ask that you'd provide some feedback . . .

Many theologians and scientists who love Jesus deeply also hold to a creation model that allows between 13-17 billion years since the universe was formed. See the list of well-known and respected names, below. There is no argument that God could have created in 6 nanoseconds, 6 seconds, 6 days, or 6 trillion years. But, "more time" does not help the evolutionary model - the problem is with process. There is no legitimate model that allows for continuous progression and mutations towards more complex organisms based on random processes in operation. Creation occurred supernaturally by the Hand of God . . . ALONE. Do you choose to place a label on those persons listed below, and is this beneficial to the Body?
http://www.answersincreation.org/doctrine.htm

I plead with you now, and pray that you would consider the tone of your approach . . . please recognize that it may not be consistent with the Message you hope to convey.

p.s. a partial list of respected authors, Bible scholars, scientists, pastors, linguists, and more — all which hold to a diversity of views on the timing of God’s creation. And all have affirmed, in documented sources, that an ancient universe and Earth pose no threat to Christian orthodoxy.

John Ankerberg Gleason Archer John Battle Michael Behe William Jennings Bryan Walter Bradley Jack Collins Chuck Colson Paul Copan William Lane Craig Norman Geisler Robert Godfrey Guillermo Gonzales Hank Hannegraff Jack Hayford Fred Heeren Walter Kaiser Greg Koukl C. S. Lewis Paul Little Patricia Mondore J. P. Moreland Robert Newman Greg Neyman Mark Noll Nancy Pearcey Perry Phillips William Phillips Mike Poole Bernard Ramm Jay Richards Hugh Ross Fritz Schaefer Francis Schaeffer C. I. Scofield Chuck Smith Jr. David Snoke Lee Strobel Ken Taylor B. B. Warfield

Ken said...

Normally, I do not acknowledge anonymous postings. But with all due respect to him (her?) and the list of esteemed scholars, the previous poster missed one key fact: God says, in no uncertain terms, throughout the Bible, that He created everything in Six Literal Days. To deny this is to claim that God has lied to us.

Therefore, I believe that God created everything in six literal days. I recommend that you do, too.