Frequently Asked Questions: Bible & Science

We’ve started a new series at WSPC. Over the summer months I asked you for your questions about life and faith—and you responded. We’re going to look at seven of those questions over the next couple months.

Question #1: How can I trust the Bible when our interpretation of it keeps changing?

We addressed this first question on the 3rd of October. Unfortunately, we had more recording issues with our computer, so you’ll have to settle for a written recap of that message. (We hope to have the recording issue fixed for good now—we’re using a Yamaha device rather than a computer starting this week.)

We began by admitting that our interpretation of scripture does change, and sometimes for the better! Take the example of slavery. Slavery was assumed in the 10th commandment as well as in the New Testament (read Philemon). It wasn’t until the Spirit spoke to a group of believers known as the Quakers in the 17th century that Christians started emphasizing passages like Galatians 3:28 over passages that assume slavery.

So how can we trust the Bible? We don’t—we trust (have faith in, believe) the author of the Bible. There’s nothing magical about ink on paper. This is where the Spirit comes in. We learned some things about the Spirit from John:

• He’s called the “Spirit of Truth” (John 14:15-17)
• The Spirit of Truth will teach us (John 14:25-26)
• The Spirit of Truth will lead us into all truth (John 16:12-13)

Let me put it this way. Think about someone you really admire but have never met. Imagine they wrote an autobiography that you’ve dog-eared and poured over for years. Finally the day comes when you get to meet the person. After a brief conversation, would you jump in and say, “no, you can’t be ____, because it says in chapter 3, paragraph 4, line 2 of your biography that . . .”? You could imagine the person simply saying, “I’m sorry, but that’s not what I meant there.”

You may feel like the solid ground of scripture has shifted beneath your feet right now. That’s not my intention. In fact, our relationship with the Father through the Spirit of his Son should cause us to respect and love his word even more. 2 Timothy 2:15 is a good text for us to close with. We need to be people who interpret the Bible so faithfully that we will have no need to be ashamed before God.

So dig into the Word again today, starting with prayer for the Spirit of Truth to lead you.

Question #2: Do science and faith contradict each other?

We looked at our second question on the 10th of October. Fortunately the recorder worked, so here’s the audio:

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Here’s the video I showed at the beginning of the message: