Science, “Progress,” and the Bible

The recent Ham-Nye debate on creation certainly sparked discussion among believers and non-believers alike. On the surface, the debate was about the science of creationism vs the science of evolution. But underneath the surface was a deeper, more pressing issue of our time related to the prevailing worldviews and ideologies that motivate these various fields of science.

In 2012, Bill Nye attacked Christian parents for educating according to a biblical framework:

“And I say to the grownups, if you want to deny evolution and live in your world, in your world that’s completely inconsistent with everything we observe in the universe, that’s fine, but don’t make your kids do it because we need them. We need scientifically literate voters and taxpayers for the future. We need people that can — we need engineers that can build stuff, solve problems.”

Here in the United States, as well as elsewhere, Christians who believe in the authority of the Bible are told that our belief structure is not merely a disagreement to the secular one but a hindrance to the “progress” of humanity. And since “progress”, according to the non-believing elite, must be framed as antithetical to the Word of God, one can only expect such attacks to become even more mainstream.

Why is secular “progress” viewed as antithetical to the Word of God? Because of what we believe.

The Bible speaks of the transcendence of God. It tells of a Creator God who is infinitely distinct from His creation. God is perfect and holy while man, due to the Fall of Adam, is utterly sinful and in a state of decay and death along with the rest of creation. The Bible also speaks of the immanence of God. It tells of how this holy and transcendent God stooped down and became man, took upon Himself the wrath that man deserved by dying on the cross, and thus brought about the redemption of man through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Secular “progress,” on the other hand, tells another story.

Secular “progress” affirms that God cannot be the distinct and intimate Creator who determines both morality and eternal destiny. Some secularists affirm the existence of a deity, but one that is miserably distant. Others believe that “the divine” lies within creation (humans and/or nature) and that this divinity can be accessed through meditation or asceticism. Others are atheistic materialists. In the documentary Collision which follows the debate tour between Pastor Doug Wilson and the late Christopher Hitchens (one of the “four horsemen of the new atheism”), Pastor Wilson takes it a step further and suggests that the atheist will often profess these two things: (1) there is no God, and (2) I hate him. Many of our Christ and Bible-believing scientists have certainly heard these sentiments among their colleagues.

In the “progress” framework, sin is non-existent, morality is arbitrary, and humans determine their own destiny. Is it any wonder why Nye and others would blatantly state that the United States does not want our Bible-affirming children as either scientists or voters?

Free resources for a biblical worldview.

As a husband and father of three young children, I am concerned about the implications that follow such animosity towards the biblical worldview. We want our children to love the sciences, that the study of creation around us would indeed accomplish its God-ordained purpose: the revelation of “God’s eternal power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20). After all, was this not the original purpose of our most prestigious universities?

So at Blue Letter Bible, we are committed to the biblical worldview and also support scientific work that is both robust and aligned with Romans 1:20—two ends that are not mutually exclusive. We also recognize the importance of understanding the worldviews and ideologies that under-gird various scientific fields.

As a result, we’ve offered our users a new course on worldview evangelism, in partnership with the ministry of truthXchange. This is the first among many courses on this important topic.

These truthXchange courses offer a biblical framework for viewing the world around us, a framework that is clearly stated by Paul in Romans 1:25, “because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” We encourage our users to dig into these helpful courses.

Additionally, we support Logos Research Associates (LogosRA), a ministry that uses “scholarship, logic, and the scientific method to show that the historical claims of the Bible are not only credible, but are superior to evolutionary theory to explain the origin of the world we see.” The ministry is led by John Sanford, a geneticist with a very accomplished background, and more importantly, a deep love for Jesus Christ. LogosRA provides periodic articles for our users that cover key issues such as evolution, geology, Neanderthals, dinosaurs, genetics, and more.

My hope is that you’ll find these resources helpful in your pursuit of a biblical worldview.

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:4

May God grant you such endurance and encouragement of the Scriptures as we hope in Him.