Science and Jesus (2): Do the Bible and Science Correlate?



 Professor Richard Dawkins and his New Atheists have attacked the integrity of the Bible by saying that it does not correlate with science. Take for example Genesis 1’s account of creation in six days – science clearly points out that the world developed over a long period of time.

So, is the bible a reliable text in light of this information? Tom Nelson has this to say about the matter:



It is extremely important to recognise that the bible is not a purely scientific text, but rather a theological text that, at times, deals with scientific issues i.e. creation, the origin of life etc. The bibles primary aim is to reveal the nature of God and his relationship with his creation. With this in mind, we must read the bible theologically. For example, if you wanted to learn about biology, you would need to read a biology textbook; if you wanted to read about cognitive development in children, you would need to read a psychology text.

Therefore, to say that the bible is inaccurate because it doesn’t thoroughly deal with scientific issues is irrational as you are looking in the wrong place for that information. The bible, when read appropriately, is scientifically and historically accurate. It is extremely important to read the bible “biblically”.

Science and Jesus (1): Has Science Buried God?

The world is a changing place. The big question that seems to be on everyone’s lips is: Has science buried God? Can you accept science and the bible? Timothy Keller recently commented on this issue:



Another great resource, which addresses this issue, is a book by scientist and mathematician Professor John Lennox, titled God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God?

I love science! Science is a fantastic area of study, for where we can see how God has put our amazing universe together. Has science buried God? Absolutely not! As our scientific knowledge advances, so will our amazement of God’s great creation.

The Book of Galatians

The two Religion (1 & 2) posts were inspired through the reading of Galatians. The scriptures state: So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). With this in mind, below is a link to bible gateways reading of Galatians (ESV).

The letter to the churches in Galatia was written by the Apostle Paul around the year 55 AD. The main thrust of Paul in this letter is to confirm to all Christians are forgiven through the work of Jesus death and resurrection. He argues against the meaninglessness of manmade religion and how it leads to nothing but pride and death. Paul leads into a deep discussion of the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer (adapted from Fee & Stuart, 2002). This book is truly a gem and a must for those who are thinking about the core teachings of Christianity.

Please follow the links below to read Galatians:

Galatians (ESV)

If you would like to download a complete bible, please check out E-Sword. Over 80% of the material is free, very useful and small in size. In addition, I can send you a hardcopy of the bible (simply email vintagejc@hotmail.com).

I pray the Lord blesses your time and that your study may be fruitful in Jesus name.

Resource Review: How to Read the Bible Book by Book

How to Read the Bible Book by Book helps people read the Bible as a whole; and even when the whole is narrowed to whole books, helps readers to see how each book fits into the grand Story of the Bible.

To order this product:
Click Here A Guided Tour from Genesis through Revelation



Reading the Bible need not be a haphazard journey through strange and bewildering territory. Like an experienced tour guide, How to Read the Bible Book by Book takes you by the hand and walks you through the Scriptures. For each book of the Bible, the authors start with a quick snapshot, then expand the view to help you better understand its key elements and how it fits into the grand narrative of the Bible. Written by two top evangelical scholars, this survey is designed to get you actually reading the Bible knowledgeably and understanding it accurately.

In an engaging, conversational style, Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart take you through a given book of the Bible using their unique, progressive approach:

Orienting Data - Concise info bytes that form a thumbnail of the book
Overview - A brief panorama that introduces key concepts and themes and important landmarks in the book
Specific Advice for Reading - Pointers for accurately understanding the details and message of the book in context with the circumstances surrounding its writing
A Walk Through - The actual section-by-section tour that helps you see both the larger landscape of the book and how its various parts work together to form the whole. Here you are taken by the hand and told, "Look at this!"

432 pages
Price: Approx. $19.95

Who was Jesus (2): He was ‘the Man’

Do you remember Joan Osborne’s “What if god was one of us”? In my early days, it never occurred to me what Joan Osborne was actually singing about. Have you ever considered what it would be like if God became a human, just like you and I? Last post (see Who was Jesus (1), it was established that in fact God had become a man and his name was Jesus. Today, we are going to look into what this means- how divine and human was Jesus- did he experience what we do or, because he was God, did he only experience a glimpse of our joys, trials and pains?

God become a man

Jesus, like you and I was fully human. The conundrum is, as the bible clearly points out, that Jesus was fully God and fully man at the same time. The most important fact to point out here is that God became a man and not, a man became God, which some religions will teach. As Jesus taught: For I [Jesus] have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me (John 6:38). So, Jesus is God who became a man, but how can I relate to him- he’s God?

Just like us



The bible clearly teaches that Jesus experienced everything we do, but he was without sin. Jesus was born of a (virgin) mother (Matthew 1:25; Luke 2:7; Galatians 4:4) and buried after his death (but was raised from the dead). As Kierkegaard puts it “Jesus life ran from womb to tomb (Milne, 1998, p. 161). Jesus grew naturally and in a family, with brothers and sisters. He worked a job as a carpenter and probably enjoyed a beer after work at the pub with his mates. He was a regular Jewish bloke. Apart from popular media that depicts Jesus as a feminine sissy, Jesus would have been quite well built, as he was a labourer, and would have been a pretty entertaining fellow (many people used to love hanging out with him). I really don’t believe that if you were around in Jesus time, you definitely would not have been able to tell that he was God until he commenced his ministry.

Jesus experienced the same emotional and physical limitations as we do: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one [Jesus] who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus experienced tiredness, hunger and thirst, sadness, love, compassion, anger and pain. He was a passionate man, one which all men should aspire to be like. Jesus is God, but the bible says that he put his divine attributes to the side to become just like us (see Philippians 2:5-8). But you might be wondering why did he have to become a man?

Jesus our Great High Priest and Redeemer

We have all sinned against God- gone our own way. We, as a result have offended God by our sin. God, who loves us, came into the world to rescue us from our sin; but he could not do this in his divine state. So God took on flesh, the man Jesus, and lived a life just like us, tempted in every way that we are and yet he did not fall. He lived a perfect life and by all respect did not deserve to die. As stated previously, that he was sent into this world on a mission. His mission is the gospel. He came to die for our sins on the cross and was raised again three days later, thus defeating sin, Satan and death. To better understand this atonement, we must look into the Old Testament priestly system.

In Old Testament Israel, God had appointed priests who would slaughter animals (generally a perfect lamb) on behalf of the people to atone for their sin against God (we will explore this further in a later post). The book of Hebrews states that this was a fore shadow of what was to come in Jesus. Jesus, our priest, offered his own life to God the Father on the cross to atone for our sins; pay our fine so those who trust in him will be forgiven! Jesus is our priestly lamb who slaughtered himself so we could have eternal life. Only God can pay our fine and this is the fulfilment of this promise - Jesus.

Now, with this in mind, what will you do knowing that God has become one of us? Why not turn in faith to him?

Jesus was sent by his Father as a missionary to proclaim the Gospel through preaching and promoting the Gospel through love and compassion of our neighbour. As a Christian, one who is sent by Jesus, do you see yourself as a missionary fulfilling this commissioning (proclamation & promotion)?

Check out Mars Hill Church website and Vintage Jesus series. There is a book available titled Vintage Jesus – a must for those who have questions.

Prayer: Connor Finemore

For the past two weeks, the Community Group my wife and I attend have been studying Paul’s amazing letter to the Philippians. In this letter, by the Holy Spirit, Paul writes:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6)

This has inspired me to encourage everyone who reads this blog to commit themselves to praying for certain things in your life and the needs in other people lives. In the passage above, Paul was encouraging the Philippian church to talk to God about their struggles and I now press this on your heart, why not take your burdens to Jesus, who loves us and listens to our every request. So why not I kick this off! Get pumped!

My little brother Connor was diagnosed with lymphoma about eight months ago. By God’s grace and healing hand, he is doing remarkably well. Unfortunately, he has been a little ill over the past couple of days. Due to the chemo treatment, his immune system is low causing his resistance to infection and sickness quite impaired. Please pray for Connor as he works to overcome the physical difficulties that come with this terrible illness.

My hope is for Connor to share his testimony with you in the latest “Owned” series when he regains his strength. It is a great testimony to the power of God- I won’t spoil it! Additionally, his rapid recovery I attribute to the power of prayer.

If you have a prayer request to share with the reading community, either post a comment to this article or email me at vintagejc@hotmail.com and i’ll post your prayer request as soon as possible. The aim is for you to pray for others while also requesting prayer for any of your needs.

I will leave you with the words of our God Jesus from Matthew 11:28

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Religion vs Gospel (2): Do all Religions walk the same path?

All religions are the same right? Surely, they all believe in a god or gods, try to encourage people to be good and explain what happens to our soul after we die. Would you agree with this statement? For some time, I held the view that all religions are the same or at least on the same path as each other. Do you hold this view? This view is rather popular amongst people today. I would like to spend some time delving into the question: “Are all religions basically the same”?

There are over two hundred belief systems operating in our world today. This is not a new concept as there has always been a belief in a god or a supreme being, which can be seen in Aboriginal culture, Aztecs etc. Today, I would like to focus in on a couple of religions; Islam, Buddhism, New Age Spirituality and Christianity (please note: I do not hold Christianity as a religion but for the sake of this article, I will tentatively place Christianity into this category: for more on this please see Religion: It Stinks). By focussing on each religion, I hope to display the important differences between each.

Islam

The Islamic religion is built around the teachings of Muhammad, who claims that God spoke to him via the angel Gabriel. During this conversation, it was revealed to Muhammad that Judaism and Christianity had distorted the truth about the creator and that his mission must be to set it right. Over time, the truth was completely revealed to him.

Muhammad was labelled the prophet, and as Islam accounts, he became the chief prophet whom God used to institute the Muslim religion. Essentially, Islam teaches that a Muslim must strive to do the will of God. This is revealed through the Koran and the Sunna. When we die, we are judged according to how well we have performed while living on earth. This is a simple explanation; for more information I recommend John Dickson’s book “A Spectator’s Guide to World Religions”.

Buddhism

Buddhism has grown in popularity over the past years. Buddhism arises from the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama who lived about 1500 years ago. He taught that our existence is spoiled by suffering and desire is the prime cause of suffering. By eradicating desire, one can experience a state of Nirvana, which is achieved through Gautama’s teaching of the eightfold path. Through this practice, a person will become a “Buddha”; in a sense, a god.

Buddhism teaches that a person has everything at their disposal to attain enlightenment. By working hard, you can achieve heaven essentially.

This is a simple explanation; for more information I recommend John Dickson’s book “A Spectator’s Guide to World Religions”.

New Age Spirituality

It is hard to nail down a set of core beliefs in the New Age movement and I guess it would be best described as an umbrella of pluralistic beliefs. However, there are two distinct characteristics of the New Age movement.

Firstly, everything spiritual is good, this can be expressed by consulting the stars, wearing a cross, approaching tarot card readers and so on. Additionally, it is good to take the bits and pieces from religions that you like.

Secondly, there is an emphasis of self-actualisation and spiritualism, which is achieved through a range a self help and self discovery. This is emphasised due to the New Agers belief that all are one and have a divine spark in them; that we are all connected. When watching the popular movie “Avatar”, you can most definitely see this view played out.

For more on this belief, I recommend Simon Smart’s book “A Spectator’s Guide to World Views”.

Christianity

Christianity, in essence, started about two thousand years ago by a man named Jesus who lived in the small rural town of Galilee in Israel. He was a carpenter by trade, born of a virgin and a humble man who made an awesome claim; that he is the one and only living God, come down from heaven to save God’s people from their sins. This was and still is a huge claim.

Christianity claims that the universe and everything in it was created by God. We are created for relationship with God and initially, we were in perfect relationship with him. Sadly, all people have sinned; this is rebellion from God (see Christians Believe 2). God came into history as the man Jesus to rescue us from our sins by dying on the cross and was resurrected three days later to give us new life. By faith in Jesus is the Christian forgiven and given heaven as a gift.

The Conclusion

Islam teaches that we have to be good to get into heaven; Buddhism teaches that desire and passion are the problems with the world; New Agers teach that we are all connected and by self seeking can we become like god; and Christianity teaches that only through God (Jesus) can we be forgiven of sin and enter into heaven. By this brief description, I see huge differences between these four views.

I believe it is clear from looking at these four views that the problems in this world need to be addressed. As a staunch follower of Jesus, I believe that it is clear that our only hope is through Jesus, as he said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus is the only answer to the world’s problems as he is God who loves us.

Finally, to say that Christianity is the same as Islam or Buddhism, I have this to add from the bible; the Apostle Paul states: But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8). Christianity teaches that Jesus is the only way! If someone teaches something contrary to this, they are wrong and cursed. Are all religions the same? Absolutely not! Jesus calls for our trust in him. Use the mind that God has given you to delve deeper and research the truth. I will finish by recommending two fantastic books for those interested after this article; A Spectator’s Guide to World Religions by John Dickson and A Spectator’s Guide to World Views by Simon Smart.

Resource Review: A Spectators Guide to World Views

Simon Smart has put together a great book that addresses the differing views influencing our culture today. I strongly recommend this book to those who have questions about what influences our views on the way the world works. Great for those who are Christian and those who are not.

Why do I think the way I think? How do I make sense of a world that would have me believe that all truth is relative; or that people are basically good, or that as humans we can work it out on our own? Can I really just look within myself to find the strength to carry on? Where do I find hope, meaning and purpose?

This lively, accessible 'spectator's guide' highlights society's most influential voices - including New Age, Secular Humanism, Relativism and Postmodernism. Readers will be rewarded with a way to process the complex messages of our 21st century world, and how these relate to a Christian worldview.

254 pages
Price: Approx. $24.95

Resource Review: A Spectators Guide to World Religions

The world is a very religious place. Wherever you look, people are worshiping, praying, believing, following, even dying for their faith. But are all faiths the same? Do they all call on the same God using different names? Are their beliefs and practices simply cultural expressions of the same spiritual truth?

In this timely book, John Dickson presents each of the world's major religions in its best light. He carefully outlines the history, belief systems and spiritual practices of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam so that the interested 'spectator' can explore their similarities and differences.

For believers, sceptics and students of religion alike, the Spectator's Guide provides a fair and friendly introduction to this ultimate subject.

Author Information:
John Dickson is Australia's best selling Christian author, with sales in excess of 150,000 copies. One alone, A Sneaking Suspicion, has sold more than 50,000 copies in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. John's books focus on the relevance of faith in the modern world. Born in Sydney, John Dickson has a PhD in Ancient History from Macquarie University and holds a position of Honorary Associate in Ancient History, Macquarie University. He also has an Honours degree in Theology. John started his career as a singer/songwriter and recorded with rock band In the Silence for 7 years. He also hosted the nationally broadcast Christian music TV program Swordfish on Network 10 for 2 years, interviewing guests and reviewing music.

264 pages
Price: Approx. $24.95