Science and the Bible:
The Salvation of Souls

We can't ignore the issue of science and the Bible. The salvation of souls is at stake.

This was pointed out to me clearly by a terrific post by a blogger named Tim Stafford.

It is exceptionally difficult to cut through all the emotion on the topic of science and the Bible. Creationists—those that oppose evolution, anyway—believe that they are defending the faith. I believe that as the evidence for evolution becomes more and more available in this information age, and as science is able to do more and more with genetics, it is going to become more obvious that evolution is true.

Just as it has become obvious that the earth is not the center of the solar system, that the world is not flat, and that the sky is not solid (Job 37:18).

Scientists and the Gospel

This issue of science and the Bible really affects scientists. We probably all know how much of a man's life is tied up in his job. Imagine if you couldn't discuss your job at church or around your Christian friends because they were all opposed to it?

Tim Stafford's article tells this story:

Another friend of mine is an outstanding microbiologist. … Like virtually all microbiologists, he considers evolution a given. … Over the years, this became problematic for my friend. He was loyal to his church and appreciated its work in his life. But his life as a scientist was completely excluded. … His ambitions and joys were largely wrapped up in his research, but he felt that talking about it with church friends was awkward, almost embarrassing—as though he were describing an intimate bodily function in mixed company.

The rest of that friend's story, and several others, are told at the link above. Christians' approach to science and the Bible—their unwillingness to look at evidence, their condemnation of those who do not interpret the Bible as they do, and their false accusations about conspiracy among scientists—affect men like this one every day.

As you can imagine, it is hard to be a Christian in such an environment.

As the years went by, and he became an increasingly prominent scientist, this split existence became more and more uncomfortable to him. He grew increasingly detached from the life of the church.

The Average Citizen and the Gospel

Another blog picked up on Stafford's article and told the story of another real person affected by our views on science and the Bible. That person said:

"I am an atheist because I believe in evolution. When people here explained to me what they must believe as Christians, I always ask them about evolution, and they say, 'You cannot be a Christian and believe in evolution.' So I cannot be a Christian, because I believe that evolution is true."

You may be okay with that state of affairs, but I'm not. I know very well that you can walk with God and believe in evolution. I do it, and so do many others.

Will we be rewarded or rebuked at the judgment when we explain to God that our views of science and the Bible required those who wanted to follow Christ to give up a scientific belief in order to hold a spiritual one?