The Heart's Cry: Psalm 135

Psalm 135

We've talked about praising God. We've talked about idols. We've talked about the Exodus. We've talked about violence. In light of all of that I guess it's time we talked about science.

He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth;
    he makes lightnings for the rain
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

First, let's clear up an assumption that some people have about the Bible, while it contains truth it does not contain ALL truth, nor is every word of it universally true. What I mean is that the Bible talks about God and humanity and various topics connected between God and humanity, but it is not meant to be a textbook covering every topic ever. In particular, for this subject, the Bible is not a science textbook. Here is what we can hold to scientifically based on the Bible, God created the world. But even that is a statement of faith, not fact. The Bible tells us that God created because God wanted to create, the world did not come about because of some struggle between gods or by accident, it was made so that it would be made.

The Bible, for its holiness, was written by people that only had the knowledge that they had at the time. Hence the Psalmist can speak of God making the lighting for the rain because they do not have an understanding about static electricity and the other ins and outs of lighting. Hence the Psalmist can speak of God having a storehouse for the winds, because they must come from somewhere and he/she has no understanding of wind patterns. Elsewhere in the Bible it can speak of the Sun standing still, because they have no understanding of the way the universe works, or that there is a universe in the first place.

In all these cases, the Bible is not the problem, we are. Because the Bible has to fit inside the loops that we create. Let us let the Bible be what the Bible is, that is more than enough for all of us, and let us stop making it be something that it is not.

Last but not least, a quick word on Science itself. People of faith should not be afraid of science, because every scientific inquiry should simply show us how magnificently complex and beautiful the world that God created really is.

+ Have you tried to make the Bible be something other than what it is meant to be?

+ Have you feared science? why or why not?