We have preached and written at length about the contention some in the Lord’s church are making that the “days” of Genesis 1 are not to be taken as literal 24 hour periods of time. Those who make such a claim say that God’s other means of revealing himself to man, the “testimony of nature” indicates that the universe is billions of years old, and came into existence with a “Big Bang.” I never thought I would hear it, but some are saying that the “Big Bang” theory is the Christian’s friend.
It is not surprising that “Big Bang” advocates would appeal to “natural revelation”, because the Bible clearly contradicts their contentions. Even a casual reading of the Bible account reveals that God made the world in six days, and rested on the seventh. Further, in looking at the genealogies in the book of Genesis and elsewhere, it is equally obvious that the Bible teaches the world to be of relatively recent origin.
The “testimony of nature” is not inspired of God. When men speak of this, they are claiming that by uninspired examination and observation of physical phenomena, they can know how and when God did what he did. Get this… they claim that we have to look differently at what the inspired writer said, because they see it another way.
It is wrong and dangerous to interpret the Bible in light of the popular scientific theory of the day. The Bible is inspired and infallible, men are not. Our understanding of nature should be influenced by scripture, not the other way around. Some may claim such is anti-science, unscientific, ignorant and superstitious. But, as Christians we must remember that we are primarily people of faith. “Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar…” (Romans 3:4).
Recently I was reading about the Atkin’s diet; a diet that is sweeping the country, and is being advocated by so many that the price of beef in America is actually being affected. Even the Krispy Kreme donut company suffered fiscal losses last quarter due to the low-carb craze. The advocates of the diet point to what they claim to be empirical data which seems to indicate that the diet not only leads to quick weight loss, but that it is safe, and actually lowers cholesterol due to a process which is called ketosis. (The body burns its fat first, as fuel). Recent medical studies by the American Medical Association (which at first was critical of the diet), and Harvard University, both indicate that the diet is safe and effective. On the other side are many nutritionists and doctors who claim that the diet is something akin to taking a loaded gun to your head, a contention they preach with a fervor equal to the diet’s advocates.
Who is right? Which scientific study do we believe? I don’t know! Somebody is right and somebody is wrong, and its not easy to determine which is which. However, I do know this… If God has stated something, and man disagrees, God is right and man is wrong. I know this is so, because He is God, and man is not.
