Should a sincere Christian give more weight to what science says or to what the Bible says? Let me rephrase that, just a little. Should we as Christian believers put more confidence in

1. what’s being reported as scientific findings,
2. what Christian leaders tell us the Bible says,
3. or to what God Himself is really saying?

Here’s the thing: God never lies. But people make mistakes.

Even Christians famous for their intelligence and ardent faith can be very wrong in their speculations and interpretations of the facts. When Christian leaders (and we’re talking about anyone who gets up to instruct and lead others — including a Sunday school teacher in a tiny country church), begin to talk about things outside their sphere of knowledge, the result can be greater confusion rather than greater faith and understanding.

For an example of this, see what the great Christian scholar Augustine says about the plausibility of people living on the other side of Earth:

“But as to the fable that there are Antipodes, that is to say, men on the opposite side of the earth, where the sun rises when it sets to us, men who walk with their feet opposite ours, that is on no ground credible. And, indeed, it is not affirmed that this has been learned by historical knowledge, but by scientific conjecture, on the ground that the earth is suspended within the concavity of the sky, and that it has as much room on the one side of it as on the other: hence they say that the part which is beneath must also be inhabited.” (Augustine, “City of God” Book 16, Chapter 9)

The universe is a real place made up of real things. It is not governed or influenced, as to its nature, by human knowledge or ignorance, by what we think about, how we feel, what we believe, what we perceive or remain oblivious to, or how much we may want this or that to be true. It simply is what it is, and only God Himself is able to really change it. It exists, the Scripture says, by the word and will of God.

Let’s face it, human beings (Christians included) have a limited understanding of the physical universe, of the planet we inhabit, and even of our own physical bodies. We are born ignorant of all these things. We pick up a few facts as we grow up, along with a lot of hearsay that has no basis in fact. As children we learn almost everything from other people. The rest we gather into our conscious minds through experience and observations. But even things observed and experienced may take decades to begin to understand.

The Bible, we should keep in mind, is not a text on science. It’s not aimed at answering the questions that humans are asking about the physical realm of existence (any more than a science text is aimed at answering questions about the spiritual nature of God). Pure and honest science is the work of human minds (Ecclesiastes 3:11, 8:17), not the result of spiritual revelation, and the Bible is the ultimate spiritual revelation, aimed at directing our attention to God Himself, and to Jesus Christ in particular.

On the other hand, the Bible gives astonishing insights into all things. For example, Genesis, the very first book of the Bible, tells us that the universe existed for a relatively short period without light, back when the earth itself was still formless and empty. Every student of Scripture is familiar with the passage:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” (Genesis 1:1-3, NKJV)

The findings of astrophysics are now saying the same thing (several thousands of years later):

“For millions of years, the Universe grew and grew—a hundred times in size—but still the cosmic darkness persisted. What brought it to an end was the birth of the first stars and galaxies. ‘Suddenly light was everywhere,’ says Abraham Loeb of Harvard’s Center for Astrophysics. ‘The Universe lit up like a Christmas tree.’” (New Scientist 07 February 1998, Marcus Chown, Magazine issue 2120)

Then there is the comment made in the New Testament book of Hebrews, is a discussion on faith (not on science) which says: “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:3, NKJV)

Physicists have been trying to pin down just what everything is made of for a long time. So far, quarks are the smallest things most researchers can agree on. But beyond that? There are ideas out there that we cannot begin to actually test, in any scientific way. Science is still working on it.

The point is simple: We need to use wisdom, or at least common sense, when it comes to the conclusions we draw about life and physical world we live in. Theology is the study of God and how He interacts with humanity. It is not a study of the physical universe.

Likewise, the Bible is given to instruct us in the ways and the salvation of God. It is not a roadmap to learning about the universe itself, at least not directly. We will often find that careful and proven scientific observations and/or calculations will eventually uncover something that the Bible has already revealed in passing.

But this does not mean that Scripture can be proven or disproved by scientific methods. It simply means that people are sometimes able prove for themselves what God has already told us. Honest science is about learning in order to gain understanding. It reaches conclusions only about physical things, and can only hold those conclusions until a later scientist proves them wrong.

Theologians, Bible scholars, church leaders of every kind, should be careful and humble when expressing their convictions about the physical universe. Too often, they have only made themselves look foolish. No one can know everything, and most of us know only a few things, and much of that is only opinions anyway. So long as we know who God is, and what he has done for us in Jesus Christ, we should be happy. Nothing else really matter, ultimately. After all, the physical universe as we know it will soon pass away and a “new heavens and new earth” will replace it.

God spoke through Jeremiah the prophet in ancient times, saying: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:23,24 NKJV)

And the Apostle Paul wrote: “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:20-24, NKJV)

I leave you then to draw your own conclusions, as to who and what to believe. I belive what God says in Scripture. I do not allow my opinions of the Bible to be influenced in any way by what the current fad is in science. Scientific opinions change with the times. God’s Word is settled forever.

I also do not allow preachers to instruct me as to the nature of the universe, except to remind that that the present age and all it contains (inluding time, space, and matter) will be swept away when God wills. Eternal life is with Jesus Christ, in a realm not touched or aged by time. I look forward to that good place and to the Presence of my Lord.