Reconciling Biblical and Scientific Truth

So welcome to our new series called “Cow Tipping.” Let me give you all a little explanation as to what this is all about. A few years ago, I first got the idea of doing a series that would help us separate what I would call accepted notions of Christian living and what is actually prescribed by Jesus to be Christian. What I mean by this is simply, if you ever watched the Simpsons, you’ll constantly hear Ned Flanders embody a Christian who has good values, but stupid practice. I honestly don’t think he knows why he does the things he does. I think that’s the point. I want us to think further too because I’m sure we’ve all done it as well. I mean, have any of us ever used the phrase “cleaniness is godliness?” I know your moms have. That ain’t even in the Bible! What about this—“hate the sin, love the sinner?” Have you realized that you can’t love the sinner without embracing their sin? Yeah, I know, it’s crazy. This year, instead of doing some Lenten series on purification and holiness, we’re going to get at it a little differently and really talk about why we practice some of the things we practice and what that means to us, as a community looking to embrace the rest of the world in a really radical way. This was originally going to be a 12 to 16 week series, but I condensed it into four weeks so that I don’t overwhelm you with my philosophy, but also because there are four things that we need to think hard about in our lives in relation to faith outside of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. What I mean is that you cannot take these for granted otherwise your faith will eventually break because you’ll be living out a front that is not from God. • 3/4 – Reconciling Biblical and Scientific Truth • 3/11 – Hating the Sin and Loving the Sinner • 3/18 – Faith vs Superstition • 3/25 – The Truth about Tithing The Bible is an essential and infallible record of God’s self-disclosure to people. We accept the Bible, the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament, as the written Word of God. It leads us to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible is free of error in all it teaches. By this I mean that Scripture is without error and is always true in everything of which it speaks. Each book is to be interpreted according to its context and purpose and in reverent obedience to the Lord who speaks through it in living power. All believers need to study the Scriptures and diligently apply them to their lives. The Scriptures are the authoritative and normative rule and guide of all Christian life, practice and doctrine. Having made that bold claim, scripture is inerrant. This does not mean that Scripture gives us exhaustive knowledge of anything in particular, but that the knowledge which it does give is objectively accurate. The reason I start out with all this head knowledge is because I was at the bar the other day and usually when I tell people that I’m a pastor, they stop talking to me and they turn around and walk away, then I can quietly spend some time alone, but for some reason that night, I told people that I was a pastor and these people came at me with questions. So I was having a conversation with an accountant who says to me, “I read Genesis 1 and 2 and then I saw the Discovery channel documentary on the formation of the Earth—they don’t match.” I know you guys have been thinking this because it’s impossible in the 21st century not to be thinking about how to make sense of Genesis 1 and 2 in light of the scientific breakthroughs we have had over the last quarter century. So let me explain how we need to reconcile this: When the Bible says God created the heavens and the Earth, it means God created the heavens and the Earth. Simple right. Now let me throw in a bone to make it more complicated. Genesis 1, if you read it like you would read any other book; you would recognize that most of that is poetry, and not just any poetry, its epic poetry. What implication does that have for those of us who are reading the Bible and trying to make sense of it in light of what we know in our tiny little brains? It simply means we have to use a different lens to look at it and figure out what it means. But you don’t have to be in seminary to know that. So what does that change for us intellectual believers, does it discount the existence of God? Absolutely not. Let’s go to 2 Timothy. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:12-17 God has revealed Himself in many ways in different times and places. All Scripture points to Christ and can only be interpreted through such a lens to be understood. What I mean is simply, if we’re using the Bible to learn how to do mental math, we’re freaking morons. The Bible is not a reference book on how to do math! If we’re using the Bible to learn how to meet our Christ, then we’re going to begin to understand how the Bible fits into the 21st century lifestyle. I’m not saying that people haven’t used the Bible for evil, because people have—Christians justified genocide, wars, slavery, and laissez faire capitalism, and ecological destruction; but I’m saying when we’re reading the Bible as it was intended to be read and interpreted, then we begin to minimize the risk of missing the point and we don’t run the risk of having our 21st century scientific, unreasonably rational mindsets coming to an impenetrable dissonance with our faith. The Bible not at all concerned with whether we can find truth within or outside of ourselves. It already assumes we’re too dumb to do that. Rather, the focus is on whether one believes that God is able to reveal His truth as He so desires. The issue is not our ability but God’s. If He is sovereign, it must be confessed that He is surely able to overcome our barriers. Our barriers don’t exist with choosing what to do for a living—like what career move we should make or what we should eat for dinner or who we should marry and have kids with. Our barrier is our inability to live the way God originally intended—that is, free from the slavery of sin and fully able to see what God envisions for us. This is what Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” The Bible directs us to reflect upon who we are and what we’ve become to truly see how much more God needs to transform our lives. We’re going to put aside the scientific vs Biblical account of life because that issue is for atheists who can’t argue anything real. The two have nothing to do with each other. I think I made that point very clear. What concerns this really raises is, well, how do we know that God really inspired these books and that this isn’t some large conspiracy by the illuminati? Oh, what I meant to say is, how can we be sure that God really inspired these and it wasn’t some crazy hermit drunk on some bad wine or eating horrible shrooms? Let’s go to 2 Peter. 16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. – 2 Peter 1:16-21 So, the reason we know this is from God and not some crazy conspiracy theory is based on chaos theory. I can’t believe I’m using science to prove the Bible was produced by God. First, we have the fact that there are 66 books written over a period of 1500 years producing a single narrative from various different angles and harmonized through various socio-economic groups of people. We in America can’t even get congress to approve a damn health care bill; you think it is possible that a small clandestine unit of religious fanatics could have possibly managed to produce a large volume like this without some type of divine intervention? If you do, you’re a fool and you need to stop watching TV and start reading some more books. Back to chaos theory: remember our question is “how do we know that this was really inspired by God?” I’m sorry I went off tangent, but I promise, I’ll bring it back together in a second. Let’s just take a look at who found Jesus’ empty tomb. Yeah, two women. Remember last week I told you that women were less than children in that misogynistic society. That’s chaos. Then there are four different accounts of the life of Jesus all with a twist in perspective, I hope you know that—well, regardless, that’s chaos. You also realize that Jesus was a jobless, homeless man right? That’s chaos. If you wanted to be part of some big conspiracy, that is, God wasn’t the author of all of this, then we would see 66 books of well written and tightly put together narrative. But instead you have chaos that only makes sense because God put the pieces together. Outside of the scientific dissonance is this: how then do we deal with other religions and people who had no chance to read or hear the good news of Christ? Are they really going to hell? The simple version of this question is: Is Jesus the only way? The simple and very insensitive answer is: Yes, Jesus is the only way. If there was another way, I wouldn’t be here and frankly, neither would you. The real question for us who are here is this: Do we truly love like Jesus teaches us to love? If we do, then we would indefinitely share Jesus intentionally with everybody who doesn’t have the good news and never had an opportunity to hear it. As much as I hate to admit it, all roads don’t go to heaven. Sorry. We know this from Acts 10 when Cornelius, a non-Christian is not saved until Peter tells him the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here’s the big sacred cow that we can’t take for granted in our faith walks. The Bible was never written to be an encyclopedia with facts and figures about scientific methodology. It was only intended to give you the foundation of who God is, what He does, why He does it, and how He did it and in turn, the Bible shows us what happens when we believe in it. The 10 commandments and the 613 other laws are not rules to make our lives boring and held in control; rather, they show a life free from worry, from hate, from injustice when God is in control and ruling the world—it is the description of utopia. But none of it is possible without faith in Jesus Christ as our savior and that is what the Bible’s primary and only purpose is. Don’t confuse it with your science text book. Next week, we get controversial, so you may need to read your Bibles extra hard this week.