Don Stewart :: What Answers Does the Bible Have for a Non-Believing World?

We now come to our final question in our study of the subject of the Bible and science. What answers does the Bible have to offer to a non-believing world? We again emphasize that unbelieving science has no ultimate answers to questions of the origin and meaning of life. Concerning the origin of the universe, Robert Jastrow wrote:

Now we would like to pursue that inquiry further back in time, but the barrier to further progress seems insurmountable. It is not a matter of another year, another decade of work, another measurement, another theory; at this moment it seems as though science will never be able to raise the curtain on the mystery of creation. For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is able to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries (Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers, New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1978, p. 113).

Admission Of Unbelieving Scientists

Many unbelieving scientists will admit there is evidence for a Creator. One scientist wrote:
The world is too complicated in all its parts and interconnections to be due to chance alone. I am convinced that the existence of life with all its order in each of its organisms is simply too well put together. Each part of a living thing depends on all its other parts to function. How does each part know? How is each part specified at conception? The more one learns about biochemistry the more unbelievable it becomes unless there is some type of organizing principle - an architect (Allan Sandage, Truth, Vol. 1, Dallas: Texas, Truth Incorporated, 1985, p. 54).

Michael Denton explains the complexity of a simple cell:

To grasp the reality of life as it has been revealed by molecular biology, we must magnify a cell a thousand million times until it is twenty kilometers in diameter and resembles a giant airship large enough to cover a great city like London or New York. What we would then see would be an object of unparalleled complexity and adaptive design. On the surface of the cell we would see millions of openings, like the port holes of a vast space ship, opening and closing to allow a continual stream of materials to flow in and out. If we were to enter one of those openings we would then find ourselves in a world of supreme technology and bewildering complexity. . . .

Is it really credible that random processes could have constructed a reality, the smallest element of which - a functional protein or gene - is complex beyond our own creative capacities, a reality which is the very antithesis of chance, which excels in every sense anything produced by the intelligence of man? (Michael Denton, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, Bethesda, Maryland: Adler and Adler, 1985, pp. 328,342).

After examining the evidence for the creationist view scientist Michael Pitman concluded:

I started as devils advocate for the creationist view and came, in principle, though not according to any particular creed, to prefer it . . . For this it will probably be condemned from some quarters. But I hope I have shown that apparently convincing arguments in support of a belief can often be seen to be either based on insufficient data or open to more than one interpretation; and that much that passes for science is no more and no less emotional, illogical and idiosyncratic than many of the opposing arguments . . . .

Adam and Evolution should be controversial. The many issues it raises cannot all be dealt with, let alone in depth, in a single sweep. But the direction of the argument is clear - there has been neither chemical evolution nor macro-evolution. Nor as some twentieth century churchmen bio-illogically accept, did God involve chance mutations in creation by evolution. No intelligent creator would leave matters to chance; on the contrary his purpose would be to realize, in plan and practice, his ideas. Pressing the logic to its conclusion, this book advocates a grand and full-blooded creation. The implications of this view necessitate a reappraisal of ourselves and of the whole world of organisms around us (Michael Pitman, Adam and Evolution, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1987, pp. 254, 255).

Though neither the evolutionary model or the creation model can be proven scientifically, we have seen that the evidence supports special creation. There is no need to be ashamed of holding to a belief in God as Creator. Though the person who believes in creation may not have every answer to questions of evolutionary scientists, he does have sufficient answers. If one wishes to put his faith in the God of the Bible he can do so with intelligent faith that is based upon the best available evidence. No one has to "assassinate his brains" to be a believer in the God of the Bible.

A Final Thought

We have seen that the evidence, both biblical and scientific, points to a Creator who is the God of the Bible. This being the case we can make the following conclusions:

God Does Exist

The existence of God is clear from both biblical and scientific evidence. The world around us testifies to the existence, power and love of God. The Bible says:

The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork (Psalm 19:1).

God Has Spoken

The Bible says that God exists and has spoken to us. Without divine revelation we would not know the difference between ourselves and animals. Fortunately, God has given us the answers in His Word.

Life Has Purpose

Instead of life being meaningless, we now discover there is a purpose for our existence. We can have a relationship with the true and living God through His Son Jesus Christ.

Salvation Has Been Provided

The separation from the presence of God that sin has caused has been overcome by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. He has provided salvation and eternal life to those who put their trust in Him.

There Is Hope For The Future

The Bible provides genuine hope for the future. Because Christ died and rose again, we all have hope for a life beyond the grave. For the believer, death leads to glory.

Gods Questions To Man

The late astronomer Carl Sagan is famous for making the statement, "The cosmos is all there was, is or ever will be."

This is a statement of faith. The Bible records questions that God has given to scientists like Sagan who make such assertions:

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone? (Job 38:4-6).

In a similar vein Jesus asked:

If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? (John 3:12).

It is clear that the only reliable answers concerning the meaning of our existence are found in the Bible. The Creator of the universe has revealed Himself in Scripture so that the entire world may know who He is and what He expects from them.

A final question we leave with the reader is simple: Do you know Him personally?