Science Cannot Override the Bible

“Science confirms that these parts of the Bible are true.”

That was the headline of an article that came up on my Microsoft homepage. It wasn’t exactly a scholarly magazine that published it, but its sentiment is one that seems to be shared by many believing people: Most of the Bible is first subjected to “scientific” scrutiny. Depending upon the subject matter (Covid being the latest), God’s people have a complicated, and frequently compromised, relationship with science.

It's a complicated relationship because we live in this world, are allowed to use this world, and our world has been tremendously impacted by science.

Several years ago, one of the men in our church was experiencing some serious health issues, and during one conversation, I mentioned that he’d have to decide about the role of medicine in his treatment. His response was astute, “When I got my first pair of eyeglasses, I allowed science to impact my health.” My own eyesight has been saved through cataract surgery. Through the ability of modern science, our lives are more comfortable, far more sanitary, and certainly more luxurious. We could question whether those things are as important as some people make them, but you rarely meet people willing to surrender them.

In some instances, I fear that our relationship with science is seriously compromised. You’ll find few genuine believing pastors who speak openly of their belief in evolution, but how much of the language from the pulpit is laced with the language of psychology? Perhaps this is an exaggeration, but it seems like the Church is hard pressed to find anyone who is truly sinful anymore. When I entered the pastorate in 1984, the use of psychology within Christianity was still debated, but it seems to be a dead issue these days. Should not we who preach God’s Word use His vocabulary and dictionary? Are we not sinners, filled with lust? Do we not lie, and steal, and hate, and envy? Is not the Spirit of God a sufficient Helper? Is it possible that, like Job, God has a purpose for our sadness?

When it comes to diet, we have collapsed like a house of cards. Who really sets the diet of the average Christian? Science. The same people who gave us the Big Bang and “flatten the curve.” America has what Michael Pollen (In Defense of Food) calls “an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy,” and we Christians seem to share in that mentality.

Let’s pose a quiz to ourselves. The underlying supposition of the quiz is this, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.” From that supposition, this question, “What occupies more of our speech — How grateful we are to God for feeding us, or how bad the food we eat is for us?”

The Bible is clear and specific about what we may eat. After all, we need food because God created us to be dependent upon Him, and He feeds us because He cares for His creation. We may now eat almost anything, since New Covenant people cannot be defiled by what they eat. Blood is still prohibited (Acts 15), as is anything that has been knowingly offered to idols (I Corinthians 8-10). All that we eat should be eaten with genuine gratitude, because the earth and its fulness are the Lord’s. And those who insist we refrain from certain foods might just be agents of Satan (I Timothy 4:1-5).

We also seem to have lost sight of the fact that God controls lifespans in general. Since the Wilderness Wanderings, it seems that human life spans will be around 80 years (Psalm 90:10). Abraham and David lived in the same land, and ate essentially the same diet (red meat, whole milk, and dairy). Abraham lived to be 175 years old, and David to 70 years old. Should this not color our thinking to some extent?

Is there any possibility that the state of the Church might be little different than that of Israel in the Wilderness? God fed them manna, and they complained about the monotony. He was not happy. God feeds us, and we complain about the quality.

I realize there are complexities to this issue that transcend our modern diets and science. It’s hard to envision biblical support for obesity, especially if it limits our service. On the one hand, food is not the substance of God’s Kingdom. On the other hand, there’s not much profit in bodily exercise.

The pulpit should always present “God’s side” of an issue. It should teach it faithfully, clearly, and with the expectation that God will be followed.

Science can never override the Bible.

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Reason Together Podcast.