Does the Bible Dismiss or Diminish the Testimony of Nature?

There are several examples in history that are especially glaring where certain Christians usurped the authority of science in the name of protecting their own peculiar interpretation of the Bible.  The treatment of Galileo stands as the most infamous example of such abuse by Christians, while the inquisitions, for similar reasons, brought far more intense suffering to far more people.  While today’s blog is primarily concerned with the errors of Christians, I hasten to add that this inclination toward the self-protection of a given pet idea is not singly a Christian problem, or even a religious one.  It is a human problem that is sourced in the dark reality of sin.  Sin, which has been identified as “the great ‘I’  disease” (as in “Me, Myself, and I”), tends to identify truth according to our own self-serving purposes.  The very principles of the scientific method are set into place for the purpose of withstanding this very tendency, in the face of temptation for research grants, tenure, general reputation, the wish for a certain outcome, or for the almighty dollar, when scientists are doing their research (consider the premise of my enduringly favorite movie, “The Fugitive”).  The goal of working toward objectivity must begin with the personal self-recognition that we are all sinners.  The denial of the reality of our sin has led to the most horrific consequences.  Most tragically for example, it has been atheistic governments of the last hundred years (who by definition dismiss the judgment of any standard above them) that murdered over 100 million of their very own people who were perceived to threaten the will of the state.  And we might add that the Soviet state in particular, in their nationalistic attempt to defend the Darwinian foundations of totalitarianism, insisted that universities and scientific laboratories embrace Ernst Haeckel’s false and utterly repudiated “recapitulation theory.”

With respect to the relation between the scientific view of the natural history of the world on the one hand, and the text of the first chapter of Genesis on the other, certain Christians seek to maintain their interpretation of the creation days as 24-hour periods by casting doubt on the testimony of nature as received through the scientific method.  To the extent that the findings of science are perceived to conflict with their young-earth, 24-hour-day, interpretation, they dismiss the scientific view out of hand.  Their reasons are numerous.  In my next blog I will address both the logical and the theological challenges to their dismissive posture.  Today I wish to consider the more fundamental question, is it true that the Bible itself urges a dismissive attitude toward the testimony of nature?  Does the Bible ask of faith that it pit belief in God Almighty against science and reason?

I find no biblical warrant whatsoever for, in the name of faith, doubting or resisting the testimony of nature.  Notice that the condition I just highlighted is “in the name of faith.”  There are scientific reasons why scientific research is never content with the present state of knowledge.  There will in this respect always be certain falsehoods to be corrected and more to learn.  But as for the Bible, we are given full permission to receive the testimony of nature as a correct witness of God’s handiwork.  Notice this invitation in the one place in the Bible where this question of nature and faith is most explicitly addressed:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them.  Ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature, namely, His eternal power and deity has been clearly perceived in the things He has made.  So they are without excuse.”  (The Apostle Paul in Romans 1:18f).  As I state in my essay, “The Biblical Demand to Take Another Look,”

Nature testifies to the existence of a Creator, and humans are held accountable (v. 18, 20) for the conclusions drawn about God from nature.

Nature is not deceptive, but tells the truth about God’s power (v.18,19).

The suggestion that nature is unreliable testimony diminishes human culpability (“so they are without excuse”) for its disbelief in God (v.20).  Notice the five sets of words in the above quotation that are highlighted in boldface.

The refusal to test the claims of Scripture against the reality of nature is not biblical.