As noted in this interview, the tension (and so-called debate) between science and faith is real. What I find sad is that for many Christ-followers, and in my own experience, anytime the subject were to come up, it went straight to the defense against evolution and the onslaught of the scientific community (scientism?). Johnny and Suzy (or Pedro and Guadaloupe) go off to university and as soon as they go to biology class, they promptly abandon Genesis and the rest of their faith. If they were not prepared for the onslaught against their worldview, it's not the university's fault. It is we, as their parents and faith community that have failed them. If there ever could be a "debate" either the science side would have to agree to debate worldviews (which they would never accept) or the Christ-followers would have to agree to debate biblical science vs. evolutionary science... which they often do! When reading Genesis, the first thought of the Christ-follower should not be to fend off evolution. It should be to understand and appreciate Scripture. We should be pouring ourselves into the study of God's Word and taking advantage of the many resources that are available to help us plumb its depths and learn about God and His purpose. It is only when we understand the context of what is written there that we can have any hope of understanding its relevance for our context, today. The following are my take-aways from my recent (and on-going) study of the first chapters of the Bible: - The Creation account (and the rest of Scripture, for that matter) presumes that the reader is familiar with not only Hebrew culture, language and history, but the narratives going on in the ancient near eastern cultures of the time. We cannot force our 21st century mindset on the text. - Scripture is ancient, but also complex, nuanced, sophisticated and deeply beautiful. As with many other places in Scripture, there is more going on here than simply the account of the origins of the material universe. There are multiple layers of meaning. There are deep, foundational theological principles being laid out here. We should strive to understand those, first, before trying to make what is there fit into a 21st century scientific framework. - The sequence in Genesis 1 is a seven day framework - not just the "six days of creation." Again, if you believe that this is simply an account of material creation, you can easily ignore the seventh day. You know, because God worked up a sweat creating things, got tired and took a nap on the seventh day. The original audience would have understood that seven-day structure as both a sequence leading to Sabbath celebration/worship or temple dedication. God didn't get tired, but He was trying to model work/life balance, if you will. The word "rest" isn't just a reference to our need for rest, but also a reference to the "inauguration" of His presence... God "coming to rest" in the beautiful place He has created. - Therefore we can safely say that to focus on pulling out a timeframe or time table from Genesis is to miss the point of the text. There is no need for debate because the Scriptures don't feel it is important to mention.
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Good challenge to the PCA. Makes me thankful for Dr. Douglas Kelly.
Amazing Talk!! Thank you Collin and Hans. I will be looking into the book soon!!
As noted in this interview, the tension (and so-called debate) between science and faith is real. What I find sad is that for many Christ-followers, and in my own experience, anytime the subject were to come up, it went straight to the defense against evolution and the onslaught of the scientific community (scientism?). Johnny and Suzy (or Pedro and Guadaloupe) go off to university and as soon as they go to biology class, they promptly abandon Genesis and the rest of their faith. If they were not prepared for the onslaught against their worldview, it's not the university's fault. It is we, as their parents and faith community that have failed them.
If there ever could be a "debate" either the science side would have to agree to debate worldviews (which they would never accept) or the Christ-followers would have to agree to debate biblical science vs. evolutionary science... which they often do!
When reading Genesis, the first thought of the Christ-follower should not be to fend off evolution. It should be to understand and appreciate Scripture. We should be pouring ourselves into the study of God's Word and taking advantage of the many resources that are available to help us plumb its depths and learn about God and His purpose.
It is only when we understand the context of what is written there that we can have any hope of understanding its relevance for our context, today.
The following are my take-aways from my recent (and on-going) study of the first chapters of the Bible:
- The Creation account (and the rest of Scripture, for that matter) presumes that the reader is familiar with not only Hebrew culture, language and history, but the narratives going on in the ancient near eastern cultures of the time. We cannot force our 21st century mindset on the text.
- Scripture is ancient, but also complex, nuanced, sophisticated and deeply beautiful. As with many other places in Scripture, there is more going on here than simply the account of the origins of the material universe. There are multiple layers of meaning. There are deep, foundational theological principles being laid out here. We should strive to understand those, first, before trying to make what is there fit into a 21st century scientific framework.
- The sequence in Genesis 1 is a seven day framework - not just the "six days of creation." Again, if you believe that this is simply an account of material creation, you can easily ignore the seventh day. You know, because God worked up a sweat creating things, got tired and took a nap on the seventh day. The original audience would have understood that seven-day structure as both a sequence leading to Sabbath celebration/worship or temple dedication. God didn't get tired, but He was trying to model work/life balance, if you will. The word "rest" isn't just a reference to our need for rest, but also a reference to the "inauguration" of His presence... God "coming to rest" in the beautiful place He has created.
- Therefore we can safely say that to focus on pulling out a timeframe or time table from Genesis is to miss the point of the text. There is no need for debate because the Scriptures don't feel it is important to mention.