I have been thinking about the following question: What are the really key ideas that Christians need to understand about the relationship between science and the Bible?
This has been stimulated by two events. First, I will be giving some lectures next month on the topic at Protestant Theological Seminary in Novi Sad, Serbia.
Second, I have a friend is going to teach science in a Christian university in Africa, and has asked for advice on relevant materials.
So, here is my first pass at some of the essential ideas/propositions.
1. The God of the Bible is both the Creator of the physical universe and the Redeemer of humanity
2. Science and the Bible have distinct purposes and present complementary pictures of the reality of the natural world.
3. Science cannot explain why it works.
4. Both science and the Bible raise many confusing unanswered questions. This should not lead to invocation of mysticism, miraculous divine intervention, nor pessimistic postmodernism or relativism, but rather should lead to humble investigation.
5. Philosophical perspectives and the scientific knowledge that stimulates them do not have the same truth certainty.
6. A distinction must be made between belief in evolution as a biological process and belief in evolution as a world view (emphasized by Tim Keller).
I welcome comments and suggestions.
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