Worldview Watch
We see it again and again. So-and-so agrees with science, while this other person sides with religion—as if these are opposing viewpoints. But are they? More specifically, does a person have to reject science in order to believe the Bible?
First off, we need to know what they mean by “science.” In a broad sense, science is defined as “knowledge or the search for knowledge.” But when most people think of science, they think of the empirical gathering of data and understanding of the natural world. They picture laboratories and people in white jackets. They recall nature documentaries.
On the other hand, “religion” may seem fluffy, indefinable to some, and for others may even conjure up images of violent crusades and wars. At the very least, the label of “science” conveys a rational embrace of facts, while “religion” implies something irrational and based on feelings. These stereotypes are far from the truth, especially when the religion in question is based on the Bible, but alas, the stereotypes exist, and we should reject the claim that the debate over evolution is a matter of “science vs. religion.”
Many equate evolution with science. But is the concept of evolution based on the empirical data that has been collected over time?
Charles Darwin followed the scientific method. He made observations and proposed a hypothesis that species were formed through the process of natural selection. He also suggested that natural selection could explain the origin of all species; in other words, that all life evolved from a common ancestor by natural selection.
These are two different, but related ideas. We must be careful because many people use the term “evolution” to refer to natural selection, which is really a bait and switch trick. They talk about natural selection and switch to the term evolution, but the two words are not interchangeable.
Observations since Darwin’s time have confirmed the concept of natural selection, but no one has observed, either in the living world or in the fossils, evidence for one kind of organism evolving into another kind. Therefore, while many scientists believe that evolution has occurred, it is not actually a proven or supported scientific theory.
Evolutionary Faith
Evolution is a scientific interpretation based on faith. People believe that all life evolved, despite a lack of data to back it up. Evolutionists have a construct, a matrix, on which they build their ideas. They already assume that evolution is true and hang all of their observations on that construct. For example, they assume birds evolved from dinosaurs, so any similarities are interpreted as support that these species are closely related. I would say God created dinosaurs and birds, so any similarity reflects a common Designer.
The Empirical Bible
The Bible is not full of fluff and morality. It is packed with real history. This history explains much of what we see in the natural world.
Why are there billions of fossils in layers of sedimentary rock, all over the world? The global flood recorded in Genesis 6–9 would kill billions of organisms and bury them in layers of mud that would turn into rock.
Why is the world so complex it is mind boggling? Everything was created by an all-powerful, all-wise Creator.
Rather than science vs. religion, the choice is between faith in man’s word or faith in God’s Word.
