THAT’S IN THE BIBLE
Do Science and the Bible Agree?
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Were you taught that science and the Bible oppose each other? That if you believe in scientific proof, you can’t believe in God’s power of creation. But have you ever considered that maybe science and the Bible are more aligned than you were led to believe?
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The Bible, the basis of our faith in the Church Of Christ, which answers questions about proper worship, the right relationship with God, and most importantly, salvation. That’s in the Bible.
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Hello. I’m Bob Pellien. Welcome to the program That’s in the Bible. So, does science conflict with the Bible? That’s the assumption that, well, many educated people have: that belief in one, well, voids belief in the other because they’re in opposition. Both cannot be correct, they would say. We’ve received a lot of questions, specific questions, some of them on social media about science and the Bible. A couple of examples:
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Science tells people that the Earth is already billions of years old. Is this true?
@angelogelogogo
Does the Big Bang Theory have a connection with the Bible?
@domdommzz
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Dear friends, those and many other questions about science issues are always coming up and being sent to us. It shows us how interested, intrigued, even eager people are to understand how science and the Bible relate to each other, if in fact, they do at all.
So today we’ll discuss it broadly and discover whether science and the Bible really are at odds with each other. To start, let’s simply define terms. We’ll break down our discussion in this way. What is science and how is it discovered? Next we’ll ask, well, what is in the Bible? Then, does science conflict with the Bible?
Let’s start with properly understanding what exactly is the definition of science. For this, well, we have an excerpt here shown on the screen of the “Webster’s Third New International Dictionary”, wherein we can look up the word science. Here’s one of the definitions:
Science– from Latin Scientia, knowledge.
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, 1967
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Dear friends, here we learn that science is knowledge and that’s a great thing, right? We all need knowledge and should constantly be acquiring it in our daily lives. Knowledge or the state of knowing or understanding, it’s so important to have, and I think we could all agree with that. What should we understand about scientific knowledge or the way science acquires knowledge? Now let’s turn to a book entitled “Chemistry for Changing Times”. Here on page four of this science book, it says:
Science is the theoretical framework that gives meaning to our factual knowledge. However, it is a constantly changing framework for scientific models are constantly being reevaluated and revised as new data are obtained. …
Chemistry for Changing Times by John W. Hill, 1980
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: So, dear friends, we can read that “science is the theoretical framework that gives meaning to our factual knowledge” and a framework, it’s important, why?
Because it gives structure, and stability when one is trying to learn and acquire knowledge. Why is it called “theoretical framework”? As we also read here, because it’s a constantly changing framework. Wait, wait a second. Wait, wait. Dear friends, constantly changing? Well, that’s the opposite of stable, right? So why the need to constantly change? It was written “scientific models are constantly being reevaluated and revised,” when? When “new data are obtained.”
Therefore, the framework will change based on the data or information obtained or discovered. So we can see that science it’s not only knowledge, but actually a process used to reach the knowledge of truth. Dear friends, what then has to be, what should be understood because the framework of science changes based on data obtained?
I want to continue reading from this science book, and this time let’s go to page five again, the title of the book, “Chemistry for Changing Times”, written by John W. Hill. I quote on page five:
Scientists, like other human beings, use intuition and generalize from few facts. Sometimes they are wrong. …
Chemistry for Changing Times by John W. Hill, 1980
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: So, we should understand that scientists use intuition and generalize from few facts. The scientists, you know, they start out with, here’s the thing, they start out with a few facts. Like, as we read earlier, from data that was obtained. And then what do they do? They generalize or use the limited facts of a specific situation to describe all related situations.
And because there’s a possibility that not all related situations are exactly the same, what ends up happening as the scientists are in the process of pursuing the truth? Well, we learned like other human beings, sometimes they are wrong. So since scientists are sometimes wrong, what is clearly seen in the scientific knowledge acquired through the years from the data or information obtained?
Let’s go to another book, this one entitled “Science God and You”, written by Enno Wolthvis, here on page 47:
The history of science clearly shows that what is considered scientifically true today may not be so tomorrow. …
Science, God and You by Enno Wolthvis
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Therefore, dear friends, what happens? We learned that although science is a framework to systematically pursue the knowledge of the truth, there’s a process before truth is reached.
So the conclusion reached within that process, because it’s based on data and intuitions of the scientists, might not be true yet, or ever, for that matter. Facts that were once considered, that’s the point, right? Facts that were once considered scientific proof of certain theories may not hold true forever.
All right. Now that we understand what science is and its limitations, let’s learn about or compare that to the Holy Bible. What is in the Bible?
Well, we’ve learned in previous episodes here on That’s in the Bible, even the other of our religious programming here in the Church Of Christ, that the words of the Bible are not the words of people, but rather the words of God. And we have learned the inconsistency of science. Well, what’s the characteristic of God’s words written here in the Holy Bible?
We can learn from 2nd Samuel the answer recorded in chapter seven, verse 28, where it says:
“And now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant.
2 Samuel 7:28 New King James Version
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: According to what we can read here in the scriptures, dear friends, words of God are true. We notice then there’s no process. There’s no series of steps and experimentation and such needed to reach what is true or the truth. And that’s something we’ve read in past studies, from the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament as well, in his prayer to God recorded in John 17:17. What did he say? “Your word is truth.”
All right. But what now makes God’s words truth? When scientists have to go through a scientific process, simply put, God is very different from people. What should we know about God?
Dear friends, consider what is recorded by the by the Apostle John, 1s John chapter three, verse 20, where this is said:
For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
1 John 3:20 New King James Version
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: So, in comparison then, dear friends, scientists like other human beings, are limited in knowledge. Which is actually the reason why they’re always in the pursuit of it. Right? Yet God already knows all things. This is the reason why God’s words are truth. Also, we know, unlike science, God’s words don’t change, nor do they need to be updated as new data is acquired.
The Bible also teaches us in Isaiah 40, verse eight, how the word of God stands forever. And as we’ve studied together in previous programs, the examples of instances in the Bible that were foretold, well, they’ve actually happened, including even modern historical events.
Now that we understand our terms we can give a clear answer to the question posed at the beginning of this episode:
Does science conflict with the Bible?
The answer is no. But it does depend on what’s being presented as science. Since there’s a process used before reaching the truth, it depends on where the pursuit of ultimate truth is in the process, right? If it’s in the beginning or the middle stages of the process, not yet reaching factual truth, well then the science may very well conflict with the Bible.
But when science reaches the truth and becomes a scientific law, a fact, then science and the Bible will coincide and align together. In fact, the more advanced technology becomes, allowing scientists to better observe and obtain data, science actually proves and gives evidence that God’s words written in the Bible are true. Any examples of this? Any proof of this?
Well, one clear example is a former scientific truth that the earth was flat and people would fall off of it if they went too close to the edge. But consider the corrected, updated, accurate scientific truth that the earth is a circle, round or spherical, which now aligns with what has always been written where? Yes, the Holy Bible and I quote it from Isaiah chapter 40, verse 22, which reads this way:
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,…
Isaiah 40:22 New King James Version
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: So we know, dear friends, this to be true, because, well, scientists well, they’ve ceased to debate about this, right? The scientific community has reached its own conclusion that, yes, the earth is round, but it’s also something that’s been written here in the Bible for thousands of years. Another example is the mention of a very peculiar aspect of the night sky mentioned, and let’s quote that as well. Job 26:7 reads:
He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.
Job 26:7 New King James Version
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Have you ever heard, dear friends, about an empty space in the north sky? Well, it was not long ago that technology finally caught up. How so?
By the inventing of the powerful modern telescopes. So now, when pointing such telescopes into the northern skies, what have the scientists found? Allow me to quote another book, this one written by George W. Dehoff, entitled “Why We Believe the Bible.” Here in his book on page 50, I quote:
Astronomers have discovered that there is a great empty space in the North. It contains no moving planets and shining stars. By turning their telescopes to the South, the East, and the West, men may behold countless millions of stars invisible to the naked eye. But when the telescope is set exactly to the north, there is a great empty space. For this, astronomers have been unable to account. They did not know until recently that there was such an empty space…
Why We Believe the Bible by George W. Dehoff
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Science caught up, dear friends, caught up to the truth in the Holy Bible. This simply shows – these are just a couple of examples, there are so many – it shows that the words of God always stand true and science does not conflict with them. Science simply takes some time to catch up, and when it does, it always ends up aligning with the words of God.
We started this discussion with these questions in mind, and let’s review what we have learned.
- What is science? Science is a framework to systematically pursue the knowledge of the truth based on data obtained. Therefore, it is a system or a process used to reach the truth, sometimes called the scientific method.
- What’s in the Bible? It is the book that contains the words of God which have proven to be true, proven to be unchanging.
- Does science conflict with the Bible? No. If the science is complete. If science is still undergoing the process of pursuing truth, it’s not yet settled matter. Once it has become a settled matter, it then ends up aligning with the words of God in the Bible. That is why science does not conflict with the Bible. True science lives in unison with the truths contained in the Holy Bible.
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Something as simple as the shape of our world can be proven by the Bible must make us take pause and consider everything else written in the Bible, right? Inside the Church Of Christ we follow the teachings of the Bible in all aspects of our life and invite you to join with us doing the same. We follow the truths found in the Bible.
It will lead us to salvation on the upcoming Day of Judgment. There are many more truths in this book, the Holy Bible, than what science is just now discovering. We’d like you to continue learning with us about the teachings of the Bible taught here inside the Iglesia Ni Cristo, the Church Of Christ.
To do so, please visit us online and browse the different topics. Or, you can also set up an appointment to meet with a minister of the gospel. And if you have any questions about the Bible or about salvation, you can also email them to us here. I’m Bob Pellien, thanks for watching. See you next time right here on That’s in the Bible.
