A Concern for Applying the Bible to the Natural Sciences

[Scott Free]

I believe the Bible is our authority, the inspired Word of God that edifies us. I also believe that God delivers information on a need to know basis in accord with our stage of development. It is my opinion that the creation stories are the appropriate level of truth for the original targeted audience these stories were addressing during the time of Babel in 2,200 BC.

 

"Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture, but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with." I Corinthians 13:9-10

"Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ."1 Corinthians 3:1

"And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know." 1 Corinthians 8:2

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known." 1 Corinthians 13:12

 

The Bible is intended to be theological messaging. Using the Bible as a source for empirical scientific research is misappropriating the purpose of God's written Word and distracting from the message of Jesus' eminent return. I would say simply the creation story as a message, that God created in an orderly series of graduated peaceful steps, expressed poetically in a way we can understand. 

The reason natural science and the Bible seem to differ is that the Bible is not an encyclopedia of modern knowledge. Many scriptures on these matters are catering to a Bronze Age audience and poetic in nature, making it difficult to analyze using modern standards that are still very limited, leading to mostly personal interpretations. Everyone, both Christians and Scientist have a partial picture of nature and history, together they make a bigger partial picture that is far from adequate. Only after Jesus returns will the Body of Christ have the faculties to understand the true workings of nature. Now, we can only spin our wheels in the air without any traction toward the absolute truth, except for our understanding of Jesus Christ. Be blessed with humility. So as not to present the stories hand in hand with our beloved Gospel. Creationist fanaticism appears to the world as always angry, promoting hated in God's name, while putting a wall up before non-believers going to the Gospel.

 

Examples:

"Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens!" - Psalm 148:4. Today, we call it "space", a concept unattainable to people of the Iron Age. Many early writers thought that there was a dome of water above them, based on their literal interpretations of several passages in the Bible. This shows the level of misunderstanding we can achieve.

“The pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them He has set the world” - 1 Samuel 2:8 A modern view would be something like the core and mantle of the Earth are the Lord's, and around it he has placed the biosphere. The Bible's words are beautiful and preferred, nurturing both mind and heart with epic poetic imagery.

"The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises." - Ecclesiastes 1:5. the Sun does not travel around the Earth, failure to promotion our current knowledge. Scriptures are not going to cater to our modern understanding of science, except through End Time prophecy.

"Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!" I Corinthians 13:9

 

The problem is that literal interpretation of the English translation presents an inconsistent hermeneutics. This ancient Hebrew view of creation is consistent with Bible scripture as the literal interpretation dictates. A sound doctrine would not to pick and choose what it should believe. Leaving all this out of teaching causes doubt on the validity of the literal approach.

 

 

 

 

The Genesis interpretation that makes the most sense. This illustrates how simple the language of Genesis might have to be toward it's targeted audience of Bronze Age society.

Seven days of creation. Formation of the Solar System(time is relative to the observer):

In the start of the creation story God is viewing the Earth as a potential contained within the formless mass at hand, only the mind of God can penetrate to this image. God seems to be viewing the ultimate potential of things in the story, not the actual process employed to achieve it.  (The waters are a reference to the realm beyond sky, Psalm 148:4)

0) Nebula

1) Sun and planet formation(Earths mass forms umbra)

2) Atmospheric stratification(Moon formation caused Earth to temporarily have a thick expansive envelope exhibiting features of a gas planet)

3) Water world forming volcanic plates(algae/flora created, plate tectonics begin).

4) The clearing of the atmosphere(second light - carbon capture by algae and tectonics, carbon cycle begins)

5) Aquatic life and dinosaurs are created

6) Mammals/Mankind are created

7) The earth becomes God's completed work

Edited February 13, 2024 by Scott Free
Correct Error & Remove Disrespect of Bible

[Who me]

19 minutes ago, Scott Free said:

Be blessed with humility

The possibility that I and my views are wrong. Science indicates that the universe had a beginning, something the bible tells us.

What caused that begining?

If an Intelligent supernatural being was the 1st cause, how can science detect it?

If that being has made it self known  to mankind, shouldn't  we pay attention  to what it/he says, even the bits  we don't  understand or disagree with.

After all science says the dead do not come to life again, yet this is the bases of Christianity.

[Scott Free]

1 minute ago, Who me said:

The possibility that I and my views are wrong. Science indicates that the universe had a beginning, something the bible tells us.

What caused that begining?

If an Intelligent supernatural being was the 1st cause, how can science detect it?

If that being has made it self known  to mankind, shouldn't  we pay attention  to what it/he says, even the bits  we don't  understand or disagree with.

After all science says the dead do not come to life again, yet this is the bases of Christianity.

Good point. Jesus on the cross is the only beacon in the fog of our uncertainty.

[SavedOnebyGrace]

On 9/9/2023 at 11:16 AM, Scott Free said:

The reason natural science and the Bible seem to differ is that the Bible is not an encyclopedia of modern knowledge. Many scriptures on these matters are catering to a Bronze/Iron Age audience or allegorical in nature, making it difficult to analyze, leading to mostly personal interpretations. Everyone, both Christians and Scientist have a partial picture of nature and history, together they make a bigger partial picture that is far from adequate. Only after Jesus returns will the Body of Christ have the faculties to understand the true workings of nature. Now, we can only spin our wheels in the air without any traction toward the absolute truth, except for our understanding of Jesus Christ. Be blessed with humility.

 

Examples:

"Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens!" - Psalm 148:4. Today, we call it "space", a concept unattainable to people of the Iron Age. Many early writers thought that there was a dome of water above them, based on their literal interpretations of several passages in the Bible. This shows the level of misunderstanding we can achieve.

“The pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them He has set the world” - 1 Samuel 2:8 A modern view would be something like the core and mantle of the Earth are the Lord's, and around it he has placed the biosphere. The Bible's words are beautiful and preferred, nurturing both mind and heart with epic poetic imagery.

"The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises." - Ecclesiastes 1:5. the Sun does not travel around the Earth, failure to promotion our current knowledge. Scriptures are not going to cater to our modern understanding of science, except through End Time prophecy.

"Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!" I Corinthians 13:9

 

The Genesis interpretation that makes the most sense. This illustrates how simple the language of Genesis might have to be toward it's targeted audience of Bronze Age society.

Seven days of creation. Formation of the Solar System(time is relative to the observer):

In the start of the creation story God is viewing the Earth as a potential contained within the formless mass at hand, only the mind of God can penetrate to this image. (The waters are a reference to the realm beyond sky, Psalm 148:4)

0) Nebula

1) Sun and planet formation(Earths mass forms umbra)

2) Atmospheric stratification(Moon formation caused Earth to temporarily have a thick expansive envelope exhibiting features of a gas planet)

3) Water world forming volcanic plates(algae/flora created, plate tectonics begin).

4) The clearing of the atmosphere(second light - carbon capture by algae and tectonics, carbon cycle begins)

5) Aquatic life and dinosaurs are created

6) Mammals are created

7) The earth is finished and ready for Mankind

Actually, this is not a good view of creation since the Creation of the Universe, scientifically speaking, has occurred over many eons of time. Not every object in the Cosmos has the same age. So is Genesis local creation only? That's what led me to Gap Creationism.

[RV_Wizard]

The sun, moon AND STARS came into creation on day four of creation.  They did not exist prior.

Man was created on day six.  God rested on day seven.  Then God created Eve from Adam's rib.  None of this would be possible if they had parents.  Sin and death came into the world through the sin of Adam.  By Jesus, aka the second Adam, the sins of man can be forgiven and in the end when Jesus returns the world will end at Jesus' command.

Science is the study of the natural world around us.  It cannot study the supernatural.  It has no mechanism to validate or invalidate anything in the Bible.  While early man didn't know how the earth rotated around the sun, Jesus did when He declared He would remove sin "as far as the east is from the west."  Natural sciences tell us how the universe works.  God's word tells us why.

[Scott Free]

2 hours ago, SavedOnebyGrace said:

Actually, this is not a good view of creation since the Creation of the Universe, scientifically speaking, has occurred over many eons of time. Not every object in the Cosmos has the same age. So is Genesis local creation only? That's what led me to Gap Creationism.

Yes, I agree the interpretation has flaws, but what exactly the Creation story is about is a matter of assumption. The problem is our capability to understand what actually happened. We are entering the shadow of the knowledge Christ's return will bring. The old gifts of profound knowledge are showing their limitations.

"Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away." 1 Cor. 13:8-10

[Big Boy Stan Murf]

Quote

How the Bible Misdirects Us When Applying the Natural Sciences

If God's Word "misdirects" us in anything then that is saying it is deceitful and not truth full

Hopefully this is not what is being said as that would be very UNtrue.

The problem with science is that it's something done by the wisdom of man from the darkened mind of man kind based only on what man can see in this physical natural world.

So science is drawing conclusions with not ability to see the entire playing field so to speak, therefore many of the conclusions science claims to be true... are not actually true, which others are partial truths, and others are temporary truths.

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

If they don't acknowledge God's Word and respect, honor, and fear the Lord... then a large majority of what they say is nothing more than satanic propaganda geared towards leading mankind away from the Lord and His plan of salvation causing people to go to hell.

 

[Scott Free]

4 minutes ago, Stan Murff said:

So science is drawing conclusions with not ability to see the entire playing field so to speak, therefore many of the conclusions science claims to be true... are not actually true, which others are partial truths, and others are temporary truths.

We are in agreement.

[Big Boy Stan Murf]

Over the years I've seen numerous times when scientists were sure and positive about their findings... and then a few years later come out and say... er, we were wrong... here's the new truth we just found and this time we are really really sure it right!

I know most of these guys mean well, but some of this stuff is actually comical.

And some scientists are actually truthful and say they are doing the best they can with what they know at this present time but new things can come out and change what we think we know!  I have a lot more respect for a guy like that then some other pointy headed yahoos!

I think it's hilarious when they claim "climate change" is settled science!  That should be part of a comedy skit somewhere!


 

Edited September 11, 2023 by Stan Murff

[Scott Free]

10 hours ago, Stan Murff said:

Over the years I've seen numerous times when scientists were sure and positive about their findings

The scientific method allows for the acknowledgement of errors and correction. A dogmatic researcher will eventually find there work outdated and irreverent toward the pursuit of understanding. Still, most "truth" today will be found lacking given enough time and is not something we can indefinitely lean on.