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LESSON 6

*May 5 - 11

The Bible and Science

Read for This Week's Study:

Memory Text: 

Key Thought: 

*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 12.

Anthropic Coincidences

Look up Genesis 1:1; 2:1, 2; Deuteronomy 4:32; Psalm 100:3; Isaiah 42:5; 45:18; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2; Revelation 10:6; 14:7. What's the one point that all these texts have in common?  

For many years, much of science worked on the presupposition that all existence, including human life, was the result of pure chance. We are just a big accident, nothing more.

Now, though, science seems to be moving in another direction. In fact, a new phrase has been coined: "anthropic coincidences," from the Greek word anthropos, meaning "man." Science reveals that many factors in the universe are so finely tuned that even the slightest variation would create an environment unfit for human existence. It's almost as though the universe was created with the existence of humanity in mind!

What are some of these "anthropic coincidences"?

For starters, if the rate of expansion after the creation of the universe had been smaller by one part in a hundred million, the universe would have collapsed in on itself. On the other hand, had it been greater by one part in a hundred million, the universe would have expanded too rapidly for stars or planets to form.

Also, one of the known basic forces in nature is called the strong nuclear force. Had it been slightly weaker, there would have been only hydrogen in the universe; had it been slightly stronger, there would have been only helium. In either environment, humanity as we know it could never have been formed.

There are many other examples, enough to get even someone like the famed Stephen Hawking (hardly a biblical creationist) to admit: "The odds against a universe like ours emerging out of something like the Big Bang are enormous. . . . I think there are clearly religious implications."—Quoted in Ian Barbour, When Science Meets Religion (New York: Harper Collins, 2000), p. 58.

American poet Walt Whitman once wrote: "And the narrowest hinge in my hand puts to scorn all machinery." What other examples from nature put "to scorn all machinery"? What does this complexity and design say to us about a Creator? Be prepared to talk about your examples in class.

Astronomy

Have you ever stood outside on a clear night and looked at the stars? How many could you count? Though there are a lot, there are not more than can be counted, at least with the naked eye, which is how the Bible writers saw them.

Read Jeremiah 33:22. How many stars does he say are out there?  

Ptolemy many centuries ago counted about 1,056 stars; Tyco Brahe counted up to 777; Kepler, 1,005. Before the invention of the telescope in the seventeenth century, people believed that the number of stars was 5,119. The telescope, of course, changed all this dramatically. Today, especially with the Hubble Space Telescope, the number of stars seems beyond counting. It is estimated that there are hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy alone. Astronomers have estimated that there are about 10²² (that is, 10 thousand billion billion) stars in the universe. If one could count even as many as 10 different numbers per second, it would take at least 100 million billion years to count up to 10²². And over time, who knows how many more will be discovered?

Read Job 22:12. What else is Eliphaz saying about the stars?  

Many ancient people believed the stars were various distances away, from a few kilometers to a few hundred at most. Science over the past few centuries has shown just how far they really are. The sun is 93 million miles away, our closest star; others, even if we traveled at the speed of light (300,000 kilometers per second), would take us hundreds, thousands, even millions of years to reach! And though Eliphaz probably wasn't thinking about astronomy, he, nevertheless, made a statement that science certainly has proven correct.

Though it's good when science seems to affirm our faith, why must we be careful in not putting too much stock in science when it comes to matters of faith? Why, too, is it important to remember that science is still only a human endeavor? See Jer 17:9, 1 Cor 1:21, 3:19.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Though possibly a bit overstated, the following quote tells us something about the complexity of the human brain. "There are trillions of neurons in a human brain; the number of possible ways of connecting them is greater than the number of atoms in the universe."—Ian Barbour, When Science Meets Religion (New York: Harper Collins, 2000), p. 62.

With that above quote in mind, read Psalm 139:14. How has science affirmed the truth of this text?  

As we said in Sunday's lesson, more and more science has been moving away from the chance argument to explain the existence of human life. And no wonder. Over the years, as science has advanced steadily, as we learn more and more about the wonders of creation, the evidence for design gets only stronger and stronger. It's so strong, in fact, that recently one vocal opponent of intelligent design (and the implications of a Creator behind it) argued that the universe is a thing that simply appears to be designed even though, of course, it isn't. In other words, it just looks that way.

Meanwhile Francis Crick, probably the most famous biologist of the twentieth century and a vehement atheist, concluded that life was too complicated to have arisen in the supposed billions of years between the cooling off of the earth and the rapid emergence of life forms. Crick speculated, therefore, that life must have started somewhere else and was then brought here, perhaps by space aliens who wanted to see the earth (see again 1 Cor. 3:19 and Ps. 14:1).

Another exciting development came from the work of biochemist Michael Behe. Charles Darwin partially based his theory of evolution on the idea that changes came over time to species through a series of small, successive modifications. If, Darwin said, any complex organ could be shown not to have gone through these steps, his theory would break down.

Behe, not a biblical creationist, showed various aspects of the human body—the cilia, the eye, and blood clotting—that could not have arisen according to the basic evolutionary schema. According to Behe, they couldn't have arisen over time because, in order for the organ to function at all, all the pieces already had to be in place at once. If one part, or even one step, wasn't there from the beginning, the organ or process could not exist at all. His evidence presents a strong challenge to the evolutionary model of creation. The question, therefore, remains: If these things didn't come by chance, through the evolutionary processes, then how did they arise (John 1:1-4, Acts 17:28)?

A Merry Heart, a Broken Spirit

Read Proverbs 17:22. What simple and yet, at the same time, profound message is found in this text? In what ways have you yourself experienced the truth of these principles?  

On the other hand, there's the last half of the text, which implies that depression can impact the body in a negative manner.

"In recent years, however, evidence has accumulated that psychology can indeed affect biology. Studies have found, for example, that people who suffer from depression are at higher risk for heart disease and other illnesses. Other research has shown that wounds take longer to heal in women who care for patients with Alzheimer's disease than in other women who are not similarly stressed. And people under stress have been found to be more susceptible to colds and flu, and to have more severe symptoms after they fall ill."—Erica Goode, "Power of Positive Thinking May Have a Health Benefit, Study Says," New York Times, Sept. 2, 2003.

Moreover, a recent study from the University of Wisconsin shows that "the activation of brain regions associated with negative emotions appears to weaken people's immune response to a flu vaccine."—Ibid.

What's the message for us in Philippians 4:6-8? Though we often tend to view these passages in light of the spiritual aspect only, what kind of physical benefits can we get from Paul's words here, as well? What changes do you need to make in the things you read and watch and listen to in order to better realize the promises found in these texts?

Science and the Flood

Read Genesis 7:11-24. What kind of devastation would this Flood have wreaked on the earth?  

If the Hebrew phrase "the great deep" (Gen. 7 : 11, NIV) refers to the ocean(s), then the implication is that on the first day of the Flood, when the rain began to fall, the ocean floor may have been disrupted by the bursting forth of "all the springs" (vs. 11, NIV). Such a catastrophic global event as the Flood should have left worldwide evidence of its occurrence. Science shows that, indeed, it did. There are global deposits in the layers of rock quite consistent with (though not proof of) the Genesis Flood. These deposits contribute to the way in which the rock layers are identified and defined. Gigantic sequences of sandstone covered by shale and limestone in what are called Cambrian rocks; massive, transported limestone found in certain rock levels; as well as coal and oil deposits found throughout these levels—all these deposits are consistent with the Flood.

Furthermore, the destruction of life on this earth during the Genesis Flood was extensive, as described in Genesis 7:21 and 22. In our modern world there is little preservation of plants and animals that die. These organisms are decomposed and recycled to provide the nutrients necessary for life to continue. However, buried within the earth are extensive fossil concentrations with evidence of a wide variety of plants and animals that do not exist in our world today, again evidence consistent with the Flood story.

Other evidence is the rapid, massive deposition of rocks, sands, and muds. There are layers of rock throughout the earth that have been deposited so quickly that there is no evidence of erosion between the layers. And though the geologic community often argues that these layers needed millions of years to form, the rocks show no direct evidence that such time has passed. These rock layers do not, however, resolve all of the time issues; thus, the dating methods and sequences of fossils in the rock record remain debatable, at least for now.

Further Study:  

Discussion Questions:

As a class, share your answers to Sunday's final question. What can you learn from each other's examples?      What can be done to help someone who, swayed by the arguments of science, finds it very hard to believe in the Bible? How can you help?      If willing, share with the class some of your own personal experiences with the power of the mind over the body and health. What have you learned that could help others? What role can prayer, Bible study, witnessing, and ministering to the needs of others play in helping you heal mentally and even physically?

Join the SSNET moderated email discussion group.  You are also warmly invited to join a group discussion of this lesson Sabbath morning with your local Seventh-day Adventist congregation.

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