The topic of science and the Bible, and the agreement or disagreement between the two, often comes up in the context of the origins debate of creation vs. evolution. I’ll leave that discussion to our blog writers who are much more experienced and knowledgeable in it, but I will take a look at what the Bible says about science.
First of all, what is science? While there are lots of areas to science, simply put it is observing, studying, experimenting, and learning about the world around us and how it works. Today we have biology, chemistry, physics, etc., but these were all named long after the Bible was written, so there is no direct mention in the Bible of science. But the Bible still talks about the concepts of science.
There are many passages in the Bible where we see the writers observing God’s creation. Psalm 111:2 says, “Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.” Psalm 19:1-6 tells of the wonders God has created in this world for us to observe: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.”
The Bible also has passages that refer to scientific concepts that we have since proven to be true. For example, Isaiah 40:22 indicates that the earth is round, Job 26:7 tells how the earth seems to float in space, Ecclesiastes 1:6 tells about wind currents, and Psalm 8:8 and Isaiah 43:16 indicate that there are currents in the sea.
The Bible has a lot to say about knowledge, and science is really just the search for more knowledge regarding how our world works. We know that God has all knowledge, and as we seek out God we will be seeking more knowledge of Him and of how our world works. Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” Colossians 2:2-3 says, “My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Job 38-40 tells about all the mysteries of God’s creation that mankind will likely never know.
King Solomon ponders the idea of science and knowledge in Ecclesiastes 1:13-17: “I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. I said to myself, ‘Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.’ Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.”
The Bible is not a science textbook; it is a book that tells us all about the God who created science and everything that we can observe and even many things we can’t yet observe. We humans are curious by nature, so we’ll continue seeking out answers to the mysteries of this world. But more importantly, seek out a relationship with the Creator who made it!
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