Fellow Christians, when we encounter an apparent conflict between "the Bible & science", why do we tend to....?

Question

......say, "When there is an apparent contradiction between the two, we can assume that our scientific understanding at the moment is incomplete or flawed and eventually science will correct that problem and the harmony between science and the Bible will be fully restored."? Why don't we instead admit that it is possible that OUR INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THE BIBLE IS SAYING is INCOMPLETE OR FLAWED?

After all, isn't it possible that current science is absolutely correct about something and it is only our MISUNDERSTANDING of something in the Bible that leads us to assume that there is currently a conflict between the two?

In other words, are we failing to see that WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS and WHAT WE PERSONALLY INTERPRET THE BIBLE TO SAY can sometimes be two different things? And are we failing to show proper HUMILITY in admitting that our interpretations may be flawed at times?

To put it yet another way: Why should we assume that our interpretations of God's revelation IN NATURE is more fallible than our interpretations of God's revelation IN THE SCRIPTURES?

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EXAMPLE: Centuries ago Christians thought that science and the Bible were in conflict over the relationship between the sun and the earth. Science led to the Copernican model of the solar system, where the earth orbited the sun, but many religious leaders of the day interpreted the Bible to say (by means of references to "sunrise" and "sunset") that the sun orbited the earth. Today Christians would agree that the Bible NEVER stated that the sun orbited the earth and there is no Bible vs. Science conflict in this regard. We all acknowledge that the Bible simply used the commonly accepted figures of speech (based on frame of reference of the sun's movements when experienced by an observer on earth). The problem wasn't in the Bible. The problem was flawed human interpretation. [And not all Christians of the time got it wrong. But leaders like Martin Luther actually made fun of those who claimed the earth orbited around the sun.]

So, again, why are Bible-believing Christians prone to think that apparent conflicts between the Bible and Science are based upon flawed interpretations of the natural world instead of flawed interpretations of the Bible?

Answer 1

The ignorant despise what is beautiful only because they do not understand it.



I believe you are right when you speak of, "mans flawed interpretation of the Bible" because that is mans first and biggest mistake interpreting the Bible. Because God is the only one that can interpret His own Word and when man tries to do it they are trying to put themselves in God's shoes so to speak.



When it comes to interpreting God's Word if there is something you do not understand there are at least 2 or 3 other places in the bible the will explain the parts you do not understand. You just have to study God's Word. That is why it says in 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.



In science for someone to draw a proper conclusion from just about anything it is looked at from every angles and inside out over and over again in different ways until only one possible conclusion is shown to be the evident truth.



I hate to say it but most professed Christians will read one verse come to a conclusion that is based on their own worldly life experience and not God's Righteous and Truth. Then they will find other scripture to backup what they want to believe which is not necessarily what God says.



I must say that just because science says it is right does not make it so.



I also must say that I look first and foremost to God's Word because that is Truth!!!

Answer 2

Stop pretending... you silly scientist...

You got it all wrong... the Bible has never been wrong about science...

People believed the earth was flat... the Bible tells us it's a sphere...(Isaiah 40:22) Answer: Sphere

People believed the Earth rested on something... the Bible said it hangs on nothing...(Job 26:7) There are no strings holding up the Earth...



There is only contradictions of what people believed to be true... but later found that the bible was right all along.

Answer 3

I think this is more of a human nature thing than a Christian thing. Even scientists have difficulty coming to terms with new ideas. It's often very difficult for someone who has spent their whole life subscribing to a certain system of beliefs or theories to suddenly be told that they are wrong. You might find Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions an interesting read if you want to get an idea of the many reasons why people resist change within the realms of science.

Answer 4

When Nobel Prize-winning physicist Charles Hard Townes was a professor at Columbia University during the 1950s, a colleague, Willis Lamb, asked him if God ever helps him in the lab. Dr. Townes gave the question some thought. "Well," he recalls telling Lamb. "I think so."



For centuries, scientists and religious scholars have sparred over questions about the workings of the universe. Galileo's espousal of a sun-centered universe, rather than the earth-centered model widely accepted at the time, landed the 16th-century astronomer in court, accused of heresy.



More recently, scientists and religious leaders have disagreed over everything from the big bang theory of the origin of the universe to the teaching of evolution in schools to the debate over stem-cell research.



But even in these often discordant worlds, Townes has found little difficulty in reconciling his Christian faith with the empiricism of scientific inquiry.



"I don't think that science is complete at all," says the 89-year-old physicist. "We don't understand everything and one can see, within science itself, there are many inconsistencies. We just have to accept that we don't understand."



Within the great unknowns of the universe, Townes argues there is ample room for faith in God and His presence in human experience.



On Wednesday, Townes was awarded this year's Templeton Prize for progress or discoveries about spiritual reality. The award includes a cash prize of £795,000 sterling ($1.4 million).



"The real focus of the prize really seems to resonate with Dr. Townes's interest for the past 30 years, which is how to break down the barriers between science and religion," says Sir John Templeton, president of the foundation that bears his name and which awards the prize.



The award, Townes says, is "a great honor, but it is also very humbling."

Answer 5

Don't worry about it. This debate has been ongoing for two thousand years. My belief is the bible and science compliment one another and it doesn't matter if there are mistakes in the bible. Interestingly most of those who argue the infallibility of the bible have no idea how it was formed and developed, but that is not the important issue. Faith in Christ as our Lord and Savior is the key. Good luck on finding your way

Answer 6

i didn't read the example, but i like the first part, most people get raised by people who teach them to think that they are correct and the bible is truth and all the nay-sayers are automatically wrong. its how people are taught. but you're right that religion is being pushed farther and farther toward the fiction shelf, and science isn't always right, but it is considered right if people come up with huge amounts of evidence to prove it, and it can be proven wrong with huge amounts that disproves the prior theory and shows the new idea. what people don't get is a theory is a strong word in science and it takes a lot for a theory to be accepted. but regardless there are people who were raised with their beliefs and will fight to keep their ignorance alive. religion is used to explain the world, but as we figure the world out we don't need religion anymore. its one thing to believe in god, its another to try and fight reason and proof

Answer 7

Good point and I am in total agreement. That argument serves 2 purposes ..informing Christians, and informing those who do not believe..a flawed subjective interpretation cuts across both parallels. Thank you and God bless.

Answer 8

I am a Catholic, I don't get suckered into non-questions like that.



If I truly don't understand, I ask how important it is for me to understand.

In all honesty, my life isn't a whit different whether Galileo is right or not.



Now, feeding starving childen ! That I can worked up about.

Answer 9

Question

Fellow Christians, when we encounter an apparent conflict between "the Bible & science", why do we tend to....?



Because God is perfect and The Bible is His Truth granted to Us ! He cannot lie because everything He says is Truth when He says it! !

Answer 10

The goat herders who wrote the buy-bull did not have the knowledge or technology that is available today. Why would a god encourage ignorance over education? Why would anyone think this god is worthy of worship?

Answer 11

if you have the Holy Spirit then chances are he'll tell you what it means. if science says this but GOD says this science is wrong. the goverment shoves so many lies down our throat! seems to me they have gotten you. get back in the word

Answer 12

ignore it. science is a field that tries to convince the world that God dont exist. they look for reasons to discredit God. so dont worry about the non sense.

Answer 13

Has Science Taken the Moral High Ground?



Understandably, religion has been rejected by many people of science for its resistance to scientific progress, its dismal record, and its hypocrisy and cruelty. Professor of microbiology John Postgate points out: "The world's religions have . . . brought the horrors of human sacrifice, crusades, pogroms and inquisitions. In the modern world this darker side of religion has become dangerous. For unlike science, religion is not neutral."



Comparing that with the assumed rationality, objectivity, and discipline of science, Postgate claims that "science has come to occupy the high ground of morality."



Has science really seized the moral high ground? The answer is no. Postgate himself admits that "scientific communities have their share of jealousy, greed, prejudice and envy." He adds that "a few scientists have shown themselves capable of murder in the name of research, as happened in Nazi Germany and Japanese prison camps." And when National Geographic assigned an investigative reporter to find out how a fossil hoax ended up in its pages, the reporter spoke of "a tale of misguided secrecy and misplaced confidence, of rampant egos clashing, self-aggrandizement, wishful thinking, naive assumptions, human error, stubbornness, manipulation, backbiting, lying, [and] corruption."



And, of course, it is science that has given mankind horrific instruments of warfare, such as weapons-grade disease organisms, poison gas, missiles, "smart" bombs, and nuclear bombs.







Faith, not credulity: The Bible provides us with knowledge of God and his purposes that cannot be gleaned from any other source. Why should we trust it? The Bible itself invites us to test its accuracy. Consider its historical authenticity, its practicality, the candor of its writers, and its integrity. By investigating the accuracy of the Bible, including statements of a scientific nature and, even more convincingly, the unerring fulfillment of hundreds of prophecies throughout the ages and into our present day, one can acquire firm faith in it as the Word of God. Faith in the Bible is not credulity but a proven confidence in the accuracy of Scriptural statements.



Respect science; acknowledge belief: Jehovah's Witnesses invite open-minded people, both scientific and religious, to share in a sincere quest for truth in both realms. In their congregations the Witnesses nurture a healthy respect for science and its proven findings as well as a profound belief that religious truth can be found only in the Bible, which forthrightly and with abundant evidence declares itself to be the Word of God. The apostle Paul stated: "When you received God's word, which you heard from us, you accepted it, not as the word of men, but, just as it truthfully is, as the word of God."—1 Thessalonians 2:13.



Of course, as with science, damaging falsehoods and practices have infiltrated religion. Thus, there is true religion and false religion. That is why many people have left organized, mainstream religion to become members of the Christian congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. They have been disappointed by the unwillingness of their previous religions to disavow human tradition and myth in favor of discovered or revealed truth.



What is more, true Christians find real meaning and purpose in life, based on an intimate knowledge of the Creator, as he is revealed in the Bible, and of his expressed intentions for humankind and the planet we live on. Jehovah's Witnesses have been satisfied with reasonable, Bible-based answers to such questions as, Why are we here? Where are we going? They would be more than glad to share these insights with you.

Answer 14

Wall of text ARGHH