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Why are we even looking after scientific accuracy for inerrancy of the Bible?

 



Many Christians argue that Science and Bible must agree for sake of inerrancy, authority, trustworthiness and inspiration. That's why there are many efforts done to interpret passages of the Bible through scientific lens. This leads them to think they can convince others that the scripture is really divinely inspired. One of the basic root causes for such attempt is a belief that God cannot lie and err and he calls us to follow him as an example. The claim is made that Bible speaks itself to be fully trustworthy without determining any particular premise.[1]

Next, when any premise of science gets opposed to what the Bible teaches, we are taught to pick up stones and hit it mercilessly. Criticism overflows and many scientific premises gets rejected.[2] These people prefer to exalt Bible over fallible science. While other innocent mind acts funny by sharing posts on Science and Bible with extremely general science matching up with what the Bible has said. They are funny because they haven't realized where the Bible actually gets criticized.

Interpreting the Bible through a scientific lens is bad hermeneutics although not a heretic approach.[3] This is called "concordism". This makes gentiles get attention towards the Bible at first but slowly it begins to act as a poison against their fresh faith.[4] The focus is done more on unnecessary subjects than what Bible is really intended for.

To keep myself at safe side, I am also from science background. I am keen interested in physics, chemistry and astronomy. I have also witnessed God's glory and intelligence while studying science in my college. I am currently in applied science. I was too a crazy person who tried to read science into the Bible. I had too gone through the difficulty phase when I found several details in the Bible not getting in parallel with science. However, the more I tried to understand the Bible, the more I realized I was catching a wrong train. Slowly I became a non-concordist.

So far, I think, these should be the Top 10 alerts when you are trying to deal with the case of Science vs Scripture:

 

1. Make sure that you just don't follow plain text reading of the Bible and input your understanding of present context in its chapters. The Bible was obviously written for us but not to us.[5]

2. Before hurrying to debunk, criticize or hit sarcasm to anything related with science, be sure you have firmly studied them and honestly representing them. It doesn’t matter even they are against the scripture but it matters how far you are honest for sake of truth.

3. Before you shout aloud "we believe what the Bible says!", make your place secure by testing whether you have really "understood the Bible!". Don’t try to make the Bible say something which it never intended to say!

4. Don’t input your presumption without studying how the original audience understood it. Of course, they might have gone through errors in their understanding but there is always progression as the time flows.

5. Be sure to know that science is progressive. Investigation is still ongoing. We cannot make an immediate conclusion based on a particular outcome.

6. The Bible has its own world and we need to visit it as if we are time travelling. We need to learn how people understood this world, their languages, vocabulary, literature, neighboring environment, culture and so on. The Bible still remains trustworthy because it demonstrates the reality of history in a particular period of time. Scientific facts alone aren't parameter to establish whether something is reliable.

7. The Bible has more scope in theological interest. Science has its scope in exploration.

8. To find scientific facts in the Bible doesn't make it reliable, credible, trustworthy and inspired. Yes, God doesn't make error but our God knows how to teach others and take wise approach. He used familiar languages of the contemporary time just the same way we use today.[6]

9. Don't promote famous infographics on Science and Bible which only touches general premise of science. Many have done this. Explore science in depth and you will know such posts are useless efforts for evangelism.[7]

10. God doesn't require scientific information and accuracy in his word. He can use foolish things of this world to make wiser become embarrassed. He can allow flawed means to communicate infallible truth.[8] Guess what? He used flawed humanity to complete his plan of redemption![9]

            To be straightforward, we should never make any attempt to exalt the Bible as inspired God’s Word by taking support of science. These attempts are found to be done only with general fields of science but everyone should realize where actually the Bible has been getting severe criticism in science. Its time to be conscious and not crazy believers.

 ***

References:

Kimball, Dan, and Sean McDowell. How (Not) to Read the Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-Women, Anti-Science, pro-Violence, pro-Slavery, and Other Crazy-Sounding Parts of Scripture, 2020. Accessed May 31, 2022. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=2980238.

Kramer, Brad. “No, Modern Science Is Not ‘Catching Up’ to the Bible.” Apologetics. Biologos. Last modified January 24, 2018. Accessed June 8, 2022. https://biologos.org/articles/no-modern-science-is-not-catching-up-to-the-bible.

Oakes, John. “How Do I Explain Evolutionary Creationism to My Young Earth Creationist Friend? – Evidence for Christianity,” n.d. Accessed October 30, 2022. https://evidenceforchristianity.org/how-do-i-explain-evolutionary-creationism-to-my-young-earth-creationist-friend/.

“Concordism | Reasonable Faith.” Accessed June 8, 2022. https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/question-answer/concordism.

“God’s Eternal Plan for Man and the World.” NepalChurch.Com, September 9, 2019. Accessed October 30, 2022. https://nepalchurch.com/19428/gods-eternal-plan-for-man-and-the-world/.

“Inspiration and Inerrancy: Distinguishing Ends and Means, Process and Product.” Dr. Michael Heiser, August 11, 2008. Accessed October 30, 2022. https://drmsh.com/inspiration-and-inerrancy-distinguishing-ends-and-means-process-and-product/.

Ray Comfort Teaches Us How Not to Interpret the Bible, 2021. Accessed October 30, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK8qEjNrMNw.

“Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine | Wayne Grudem | Download.” Accessed August 20, 2022. https://b-ok.asia/book/753374/23dde1.

“The Lost World of Genesis One : Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate | John H. Walton. | Download.” Accessed June 10, 2022. https://asia1lib.club/book/2516329/96bf93.

 



[1] “Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine | Wayne Grudem | Download,” accessed August 20, 2022, https://b-ok.asia/book/753374/23dde1.

[2] John Oakes, “How Do I Explain Evolutionary Creationism to My Young Earth Creationist Friend? – Evidence for Christianity,” n.d., accessed October 30, 2022, https://evidenceforchristianity.org/how-do-i-explain-evolutionary-creationism-to-my-young-earth-creationist-friend/.

[3] “Concordism | Reasonable Faith,” accessed June 8, 2022, https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/question-answer/concordism.

[4] Ray Comfort Teaches Us How Not to Interpret the Bible, 2021, accessed October 30, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK8qEjNrMNw.

[5] Dan Kimball and Sean McDowell, How (Not) to Read the Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-Women, Anti-Science, pro-Violence, pro-Slavery, and Other Crazy-Sounding Parts of Scripture, 2020, 57, accessed May 31, 2022, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=2980238.

[6] “The Lost World of Genesis One : Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate | John H. Walton. | Download,” accessed June 10, 2022, https://asia1lib.club/book/2516329/96bf93.

[7] Brad Kramer, “No, Modern Science Is Not ‘Catching Up’ to the Bible,” Apologetics, Biologos, last modified January 24, 2018, accessed June 8, 2022, https://biologos.org/articles/no-modern-science-is-not-catching-up-to-the-bible.

[8] “Inspiration and Inerrancy: Distinguishing Ends and Means, Process and Product,” Dr. Michael Heiser, August 11, 2008, accessed October 30, 2022, https://drmsh.com/inspiration-and-inerrancy-distinguishing-ends-and-means-process-and-product/.

[9] “God’s Eternal Plan for Man and the World,” NepalChurch.Com, September 9, 2019, accessed October 30, 2022, https://nepalchurch.com/19428/gods-eternal-plan-for-man-and-the-world/.


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