Before we get into what scripture actually teaches in regards to creation, we need to establish two foundational issues. First, what is the role of scripture as it relates to science, and second, how should we interpret scripture.
Scripture and Science
One of the things that I teach my children is that God has revealed himself in two books- His book of revelation (the Bible) and the book of nature (creation). I also teach them that the bible has precedence over the book of nature, because in it, we find out who God really is and how he has acted. I also teach them that because God is the author of both, they will not ultimately contradict each other. I teach them that the two books have a different purpose. The bible is meant to teach us about the nature of God and humanity, the purpose of God and humanity, and the redemption of God and humanity. The book of nature reveals the glory of God also, by showing us the how he created. I teach them that science cannot prove or disprove God, and that it has no right to make those claims because that is not its function or purpose. On the flip side, I also teach them about the science of the bible.
This leads to the question, “does the bible teach science?” Well, it depends what you mean by “science.” If by “science” you mean the modern investigation and knowledge into the universe and how it works, then the answer is “no.” However, if by “science” you mean an ancient worldview of the cosmos, then the answer is “yes.”
The truth is that the bible teaches ancient cosmology. Why? Because this is what the people of the day were familiar with. The purpose of the biblical revelation was for God to reveal himself and his message to a people; a people who were steeped in ancient culture and certain ways of thinking. God did not come to them to present to them a new science, but to reveal himself. He accommodated his message to ancient cosmology to communicate to his people that he was the one true Creator God, and that he created man in his image to enjoy him and know him. It would have made no sense for God to reveal modern science to the ancient Hebrews. They would have had no clue what God was saying. Why did God do it this way? Because they had a certain way of understanding the world, and because God wanted to communicate to them, not confuse them.
In the ancient cosmology of the bible, the earth is a flat disc, held up by pillars, with heaven above and the underworld below. In other words, it is a three tiered world. I find it interesting that YEC’s aren't trying to push a literalistic interpretation of the verses of scripture that have this viewpoint of the world. According to their system, however, they should. This just shows the further intellectually dishonesty among YEC’s, who will reject the ancient cosmological layout, but then use ancient cosmology to argue against modern science. Where is the logic in that?
Awhile back,I sat down with my 8 year old (who was 7 at the time) and 5 year old, and we drew a picture of what modern science shows us about the shape of the earth, the rotations of the earth around the sun, and about the stars. Then I drew them a picture of the ancient cosmology of the bible: a flat earth held up by pillars with a dome above and the place of the dead beneath. Within the dome of the sky I hung stars, and showed how the sun went back and forth across the dome, giving the appearance of rising and setting.
“This is how the people of the bible viewed their world.” I told them. “Well, that makes sense,” my 7 year old says, “since they didn't have telescopes and the stuff we have to figure it all out.” She also went on to say, “it makes sense that God didn't show them the way it really looked. It wouldn't have made sense to them.” I went on to tell her that this is why the bible doesn't tell us the “how” of modern science. God wasn't concerned with changing the Hebrews’ science. That is not the point of scripture. Oh, and on a funny note, one time I told her that “some people try to use the bible as a science text book and teach modern science out of it.” “Ha!” she laughed, “that’s just ridiculous. The bible is about God, not modern science.” Wow, it amazed me that this concept is so simple,that a 7 year old can comprehend it.
So, what we have is that the biblical authors, perfectly at home in their world and their culture, were used by God to communicate his truth in a way in which the people of the day would understand it.
This brings us to our next foundational issue- biblical interpretation.
One of the first things all scholars will espouse in regards to biblical interpretation is that though the bible was written for us, it wasn't written to us; it was not written to 21st century Americans. Rather, it was written to ancient Hebrews and Greeks. This means there is going to be some cultural divide. That is why scholars are so adamant about understanding the history and the culture of these eras. Understanding these things help us understand the bible. They had different ways of thinking then we did, and one of those ways was how they thought about cosmology. The fundamental problem with YEC is that they try to read modern science into Genesis and use it for something it was never intended to be used for. Genesis was not written to refute Darwin, or an old earth, or the big bang, or millions of years. It does not address it because this was not the concern of the audience. Again, I explained all this to my kids and they get it. Why are many Christians unable to understand this? In my opinion, it is not because they can't, it is because they have never been taught anything different. Thus, the whole point of this series: to expose you to other evangelical views.
In the next post, I will show why the YEC interpretation of Genesis is lacking, along with showing other (and I think better) ways to interpret Genesis.