Journal: Journal of Dispensational Theology
Volume: JODT 25:71 (Autumn 2021)
Article: Using Science In Bible Study: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Author: Quentin McCart

JODT 25:71 (Autumn 2021) p. 155

Using Science In Bible Study:
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Quentin McCart

* Quentin McCart, M.Div., M.Ed., Christian educator

In popular culture it has become normal to present a dichotomy between “faith” and “science.” They are not in conflict. True scientific inquiry cannot occur apart from faith in the Creator God that exists. Usually when modernists contrast faith and science, they are really presenting the Bible as being in conflict with modern scientific understandings of the world.1 The result is to either discount the Bible altogether, or to attempt to reinterpret it in order to accommodate it to current scientific understanding.

There are areas where Christianity is certainly at odds with modern science. The purpose of this article is to briefly introduce what true science includes, then discuss good uses of that kind of science. Thereafter, it will analyze some bad ways in which Christians sometimes try to use modern scientific understanding to explain the Bible, particularly in the area of the study of the beginning of the universe. The “bad” use of science can lay the groundwork for “ugly” uses of it.

The Beginning Of Knowledge

Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” “This reverent awe is the ‘beginning’ of knowledge and wisdom in that it is the ‘first and controlling principle, rather than a stage, which one leaves behind.’ The wise never graduate from the school of instruction and wisdom.”2 The word used for “beginning” in Proverbs 1:7 is רֵאשִׁית, the same word used for “beginning” in Genesis 1:1. To really know anything a person must start with the fear of the same God who existed in the beginning. Scripture is not a science book in the sense that it teaches the fundamentals of chemistry equations, but it is the book that must be in mind to understand chemistry equations or physics laws or biological compounds in a proper manner. All life must be conducted with reference to what God has said.

JODT 25:71 (Autumn 2021) p. 156

Instead of the Proverbs 1:7 starting point many within Christianity accept the “faith and science in conflict” view. As an example, this writer would like to use a scene from a popular Christian television show called The Chosen.3 The beginning of Season 1, Episode ...