SCIENCE FOR BIBLE BELIEVERS
Introduction
“The species that exist today couldn’t have been created by rolling dice.”
“Everything couldn’t have been created from nothing.”
“Scientists must have an answer for every question, even if they must make one up.”
“The theory of evolution and the big bang theory are just theories.”
“Scientists cannot prove the theory of evolution and the big bang theory.”
“Evolution’s explanation of the origin of life is implausible.”
“The theory of evolution can’t explain how all of our interworking body parts came into existence at the same time.”
“The missing link is still missing.”
“Carbon dating isn’t always accurate.”
“Beneficial mutations are very unlikely.”
“Humans are distinctly different from other animals, so they couldn’t possibly hang from the same family tree.”
“People are too complex to be explained by the theory of evolution.”
“It takes more faith to believe science than it does to believe the Bible.”
“Species boundaries cannot be crossed.”
“This perfect universe could not have been made without thought and planning.”
“The Cambrian explosion blows holes in the theory that evolution of species proceeds slowly.”
“It is immoral for the strong to kill the weak.”
“The universe was created in six days.”
Have you ever said any of these things? If you did, I hope you weren’t talking to a scientist, because if you did, it’s likely that they immediately realized that you don’t know what you’re talking about. If you are a Bible believer who wants to witness to scientists without looking foolish, this book is for you.
I will teach you the least you need to know about the theory of evolution, the big bang theory, and more, and I’ll assume that you have absolutely no background in science at all. Then I will offer you some arguments that scientists will probably listen to so that you can plant a seed. In addition, I will show you that the Bible and science are not inconsistent, so you are free to believe the things that scientists generally agree upon, without sacrificing the inerrancy of the Bible. Even miracles can be explained by science.
There is a
glossary in the back of the book, and wherever its words and phrases appear in the book, they are linked to the
glossary page. I will describe some of them here:
In this book,
Job will be our representative scientist, because, in the Bible, Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite called
Job a man of learning. [Job 34:1-2,
NIV] So, whenever I use the name “
Job”, I’m talking about any scientist.
I will not say much about plants, restricting my focus to animals and humans. When I want to say, “an animal or a human,” I will use the word “
creature” for brevity, and if I ever want to include plants in the discussion, I’ll use the word “
life”.