Reconciling a Literal Interpretation of Genesis 1-2 in a Scientific Age (the personal search of a medical doctor)

I grew up in an environment where science has been heralded as the foundational underpinning of all truth. My father, who I greatly respect as a world-class and highly-published immunologist, instilled within me wonder of the scientific method and the discoveries that it has revealed. As a young child, I can recall memorizing a textbook on the “human cell.” I was utterly amazed that something only 1/1000 the size of a pinhead even contained its own “organs.” Dad showed me how the cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, DNA, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi apparatus all worked together in amazing harmony to form one single human cell. Microscopes, chemistry sets, insect specimens, rock collections, books on dinosaurs, fossils, posters of the solar system, frequent trips to the Smithsonian, and model rockets and airplanes were as normal to my childhood as riding my bike and skipping rock on a lake. My childhood was filled with awe of the natural world, and my father turned me into a Naturalist (in the best sense of the word).

In college and medical school, the role and influence of science in my life continued to enlarge. Courses in cellular biology, organic chemistry, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, human anatomy, pharmacology, immunology, histology, pathology, and microbiology revealed a glimmer of the vast inner complexities within biological systems. I can distinctly remember often feeling quite overwhelmed (and sometimes my grade reflected this)! The scientific method proved that it could plumb the depths of everything from sub-atomic particles to the Universe. Was there anything outside its reach of inquiry?

As a Christian, who firmly believes in biblical inerrancy, this has not been an easy question to answer. My education—seeped with humanistic (and often positivistic) presuppositions—often conflicted with my Christian faith. For instance, a literal interpretation of Genesis 1-2, in our technological age, is viewed by most scientists as intellectually backwards, narrow-minded, and simply absurd. Those who believe that the Universe was created in seven literal days are often looked at with puzzled incredulousness by a community guided by deistic and anti-supernatural beliefs. At least, that has been my experience.

This short essay, therefore, is my personal account of how I have found reasonableness in a literal interpretation of Genesis 1-2. This is not to say that I ardently hold an unyielding “Creationist” viewpoint (I am still prayerfully “working it all out”). Rather, this essay will hopefully show how one man—thankful for and dependent on his scientific upbringing—can seemingly ignore some good scientific “evidences” and find intellectual resonance in a literal seven-day creation of the Universe. Obviously, a comprehensive treatment of this enormous topic is beyond the scope of this paper (and way beyond my ability to answer). I have therefore limited the discussion to those philosophical and theological apologetics that have been most helpful to me in my personal struggle with this extremely complex issue.

The Limitations of the Scientific Method

We live in an age where science is held as “king.” And there are technological marvels that support this ascension to the throne. In the field of medicine, for instance, there have been amazing advances within the last century which have revolutionized healthcare. Our ability to treat diseases from the genome to complete organ transplantation can directly be attributed to the scientific method. And since science has yielded such amazing technological advances, it is commonly assumed that it can open the doors to all truth and knowledge. In fact, within academia, science has largely overtaken religion as the prime force shaping the intellectual mind-set. Where religion used to be revered as the authority on the subjects of personal ethics, social responsibility, and philosophy at the university, it has now been relegated to the backseat and labeled as antiquated and irrelevant while the scientific method has turned from a simple tool for empirical discovery into a guru of philosophical truth. This change has been truly unfortunate simply because the scientific method—although powerful for the study of observable and reproducible phenomenon—has never had the power to plumb the depths of every kind of truth. Non-reproducible entities such as historical truths (and therefore the historical creation of the Universe), mathematical propositions, rules of logic, and moral truths cannot be “dissected under a microscope” by using a double-blinded, placebo controlled trial. The validity of these truths are often arrived at in some other manner.

In fact, when an atheistic “scientific method” is used to discover moral truth, for example, some strange and dangerous conclusions can arise. Consider Darwinian evolution. If one simply extrapolates the logical philosophical endpoint of an atheistic evolutionary model—how survival on this planet was bred by “tooth and nail”—one conclusion is that certain morally repugnant acts such as rape could be deemed as morally acceptable. In the case of evolution, the act of rape would just be an attempt to spread one’s gene pool. Just as forcible copulation in other species (such as mice) is not labeled as morally wrong, one could incorrectly deduce that forcible copulation in our own species is likewise morally permissible. And since “science” has blurred the lines of distinction between me and a mouse, the morality of one species could be logically applied to the another species. For a purely materialistic atheist, the consummate ethical difficulty is that defining an objective moral framework outside of social convention and personal preference becomes impossible. It’s hard to imagine how an unchanging objective moral standard can arise out of a random concoction of matter, time, and chance. Also, because morality is always defined in part by consequences, if there are no ultimate consequences to our actions—and we are nothing more than “empty bobbles floating in a sea of nothingness”—then what is the point of behaving in a “morally appropriate” way? In the Christian worldview, there is a Moral Law because there is a Moral Law Giver. And the consequences of breaking the Moral Law are determined by this Law Giver.

So from this particular example, one can see that the scientific method—although very powerful and helpful and useful if properly applied to the elucidation of certain truth—cannot plumb the depths of all knowledge. Here is another example: consider man’s search for historical truth and the study of forensics. Because these areas of study involve the past—which, by its intrinsic nature, is not repeatable—they cannot be directly investigated like a chemical reaction within the scientist’s test-tube. Science may provide some indirect evidence—such as the dating of a fragment of papyrus or doing a comparative protein analysis between species of animals or obtaining DNA sample from a murder scene—but it cannot actually “give us” the past. Because our experience of the passage of time is linear, the past will always remain in the past. And any attempts to “recreate” it do not actually “recreate” it—they only build more events onto our present reality. Although these attempts of using the scientific method to understand history may yield some useful clues about what may have happened, they do not offer up anything that resembles direct evidence. And as man looks further and further back into time, physical science ultimately gives way to metaphysics.

Consequently, when scientists claim to have definitive proof for things such as the ancient age of the Universe or of Darwinian evolution, such claims need to be tempered with the understanding that they do not proceed from direct and reproducible observations. Rather, these conclusions often stem from observations that are heavily influenced by “faith-based” assumptions of how this world should or shouldn’t work.

The Role of “Faith” in Epistemology

At the heart of this debate on Genesis 1-2 is a debate on what constitutes a good epistemology. More specifically, it is a debate on the most reliable method for determining what happened at the beginning of the Universe. What takes precedence: the witness of the Bible or the occasional contradicting scientific evidences? Faith or reason?

There is a wrong assumption—especially within the scientific community—that faith and reason are always on opposite poles. That a “man of faith” is not guided by “hard” evidences. And that the “man of reason” is not influenced by “fluffy” faith. However, this false dichotomy between faith and reason really confuses the reality of how everybody discovers truth—all if it, including the pursuit of “hard” science, is guided by faith-based assumptions. When a scientist uses the scientific method, he is placing his “faith” in his conviction that the Universe works in a orderly and logical and reproducible manner and that the scientific method will therefore help to confirm or refute his working hypothesis (since the microcosm of his research will somehow reflect the macrocosm of the Universe). When a scientist uses his eyes to observe the results of an experiment, he is placing his “faith” in the trust that his eyes will not play tricks on him, and that there is a correlation between his visual observations and reality. And when a scientist thinks and reasons, he is using “rules of logic” that have been obtained—not through the scientific method itself—but by faith-based assumptions of what constitutes “good” thinking and reasoning.

So the debate is not really between faith and reason as many suppose. Rather, the debate is really in what (or even who) do we put our faith in. Placing our faith in “polka-dotted unicorns” will do no good. There obviously needs to be a correspondence between faith and reality. So, for instance, when the scientist places his faith on the “orderliness” of the Universe or that his physical senses are reliable or that his “rules of logic” are good, that faith is based on the reality that the Universe does seem to work in a logical manner and that his eyes do appear to give true witness of observable phenomenon and that his “rules of logic” are apparently consistent and not self-contradictory. In other words, his faith is based on presumed realities (which most people would agree are generally valid).

Theism as the Proper Foundation of Good Epistemology

Now, what about the Christian? What ultimate reality does he believe in? And does that reality have enough epistemological power to “trump” all other realities if they appear—at least superficially—to contradict the the witness of this greater reality? In Psalms 19:1-2, the psalmist writes:

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 display knowledge.”

And in Romans 1:19-21, the apostle Paul writes:

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

The understanding from these passages is that belief in God is—as the Christian philosopher Alvin Plantinga has termed—“properly basic.”¹ In other words, belief in God is a self-evident truth that requires no scientific authentication or intellectual “proofs”—”The heavens declare the glory of God.” This is not to say that scientific evidences do not naturally point to a transcendent, unimaginably powerful, eternal Creator of the Universe (I believe that they do with utmost clarity). The point is simply that these scientific proofs are not “needed” in order to believe in God. His existence is the ultimate cause of all glorious realities, and it is therefore the truth by which all men are held morally accountable. Bavinck, the Dutch theologian, writes the following concerning the “necessity” of intellectual proofs for the existence of God:²

We receive the impression that belief in the existence of God is based entirely upon these proofs. But indeed that would be “a wretched faith, which, before it invokes God, must first prove his existence.” The contrary, however, is the truth. There is not a single object the existence of which we hesitate to accept until definite proofs are furnished. Of the existence of self, of the world round about us, of logical and moral laws, etc., we are so deeply convinced because of the indelible impressions which all these things make upon our consciousness that we need no arguments or demonstrations . . . Now the same is true in regard to the existence of God . . . This is established only by faith . . . The proofs, taken as real proofs, are not sources but rather products of faith.

John Calvin writes of this divinitatis sensum that pervades humanity:³ “Yet there is . . . no nation so barbarous, no people so savage, that they have not a deep-seated conviction that there is a God.” However, this understanding of the self-evident nature of God’s existence does not assume that men do not frequently doubt or deny His reality. The noetic effect of sin remains. But for the Christian, belief in God is the guiding epistemological presupposition. And there is nothing “unreasonable” about this since it is based upon those clear internal and external witnesses to His handiwork and the self-authenticating witness of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, although belief in God may be a “faith-based”, it is not any less valid than “faith-based” presuppositions which form the deistic and positivistic views held by many scientists. In fact, what we sometimes forget is that the deistic and positivistic presuppositions of many scientist are much more of a “leap” than the theist's claim to God’s existence and His intervention within human history. When scrutinized, the claims of deism and positivism eventually become self-refuting.

The Relationship Between Faith and Reason and an Accurate Christology

So far we have discussed how all attempts to derive truth—including the use of the scientific method—are guided by certain faith-based presuppositions. And we have discussed that for the Christian, the ultimate reality that guides the search for knowledge is the belief in the existence of God. But what role does reason play in the life of a Christian? And what is the proper relationship between faith and reason in the life of the Christian? In John 14:6-7, Jesus makes a bold and radical epistemological claim:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Specifically, ultimate truth is defined not only by a general and vague belief in God’s existence, but also specifically in terms of the very personhood of Jesus Christ—his glorified deity in the Trinity. This claim is a radical departure for the scientist who sees truth defined exclusively in terms of intellectual pursuit. By claiming to be the embodiment of truth, Jesus is saying that the determination of essential truth needs to begin first with faith in him. In John 8:31-32, Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The surprising claim is that “abiding” comes before “knowing.” In other words, reason is guided by a framework built upon this foundation of relationship with Jesus Christ. We do not analyze our faith in Jesus through the glasses of human reason; we analyze reason through the glasses of our relationship with Jesus Christ (especially as he is most completely and vividly revealed through holy Scripture).

Here is another way to look at this connection between reason and our Christian faith. Martin Luther, the famous 16th century protestant reformer, describes two uses of reason—magisterial and ministerial.⁴ In its magisterial use, reason sits above faith as an overseer (like a “magistrate”). The problem, however, with having reason as “the boss” over faith is that, as those still influences by the effects of sin, our reasoning is still often error-prone and biased. If we were able to always have perfect judgement and thinking—and therefore always arrive at the perfect truth—then placing reason in a magisterial role would be good and appropriate. But only God is able to reason in this manner. And consequently our only hope, if we still desire to arrive at truth, is to rely on God. To do this, we place our faith—the ministry of the Holy Spirit through sound interpretation of the Bible—in the overseeing position and reason in a ministerial role. In this position, reason serves and defends faith, but never usurps its authoritative role in our lives.

For the Christian there is a distinct spiritual benefit of placing reason in a ministerial role—our faith remains steadfast despite the constantly changing winds of scientific opinions and contradictory spiritual “authorities.” In James 1:5-8, the author describes the man who lacks faith as “blown and tossed by the wind.” He then describes this man as “a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” What a descriptive metaphor for us who place worldly reason above faith in Jesus Christ! Having occasional doubts is a natural part of the Christian life. Christianity unquestionably teaches some radical, amazing, and difficult things! But how we deal with those doubts is often determined by where we place the role of reason and faith in our lives.

Finally, this understanding does not mean that reason should be neglected in the life of the Christian. Reason is very important. In fact, not only does the Bible command us to “Love the Lord our God with all our heart, souls, and minds,” but it also exhorts us to “work out our faith with fear and trembling.” But as Christians, our flawed reasoning should never be allowed to sit in the most prominent position in our lives. That place belongs solely to God and is practically demonstrated by the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit who guides us in the biblically contextualized understanding of Holy Scripture. If we mistakenly allow human reasoning to hold that central space in our lives, reason will occupy that throne only reserved for the Lord. Reason then becomes our idol.

The Authority of Scripture

For the skeptic, a Christian’s unabashed trust in the Bible over what seems to be incontrovertible scientific evidence is antithetical to good sense. How can a sane person put so much faith in the writings of primitive people seeped in a pre-scientific and mythological worldview?—so their reasoning goes. But is this faith in the inerrancy of Scripture really such a tremendous stretch of credulity? If God truly exists and our understanding of his existence is deemed “properly basic,” then the fact that he desires to reveal Himself to us by “prattling”⁵ in the special revelation of Scripture does not seem much of a “leap of faith”. Simply put: God exists and therefore He communicates. There is nothing strange or unreasonable about this belief. In fact, this is gloriously good news!

Therefore, when a Christian bases his faith on the inerrancy of Scripture, that faith is based on the true reality of a God who desires to communicate. The theologian, J. I. Packer, writes,⁶

Similarly (and this is our next point) God in love calls us to humble ourselves by bowing to Holy Scripture, which also has an appearance of foolishness and weakness when judged by some human standards, yet is truly His Word and the means of our knowing Him as Savior. God first humbled Himself for our salvation in the Incarnation and on the cross an now He humbles Himself for our knowledge of salvation by addressing us in and through the often humanly unimpressive words of the Bible. We are here confronted by that quality in God of which C. S. Lewis wrote: “The same divine humility which decreed that God should become a baby at a peasant woman’s breast, and later an arrested field preacher in the hands of the Roman police, decreed also that he should be preached [and, we may add, written about] in a vulgar, prosaic and unliterary language.” For this quality in God whereby He lovingly identifies with what is beneath Him—the quality of which the Incarnation is the paradigm, though all His gracious dealings with men show it—the classical name is condescension (Greek, synkatabasis) and the etymological significance is “coming-down-to-be-with.”

So what conclusion can we make from the fact that 1) God’s existence is self-evident (“properly basic”) and 2) that God reveals himself inerrantly through the special revelation of Holy Scripture? Obviously, if these two conditions are true—as professed by most evangelical Christians—then the Bible has the final epistemological authority over all other authorities (including “scientific authorities” and “philosophical authorities”). In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, we read:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Therefore, although the prevailing opinion of scientific authorities may disagree with the plain witness of Genesis 1-2, we hold Scripture as the primary authority. Although we may not be able to completely reconcile every apparent contradictions between the Bible and certain scientific findings, we do not become anxious because we understand the limitations of the scientific method, the influence of presuppositions in interpreting observational data, and most importantly, the accuracy and authority that Scripture commands as the incarnation of God’s message to mankind.

Genesis 1-2 and Biblical Hermeneutics

With any contradiction between Scripture and science, Scripture should have the final authority. However, this is somewhat of an oversimplification—this understanding is only true if we have first interpreted Scripture correctly. In 2 Timothy 2:15, we are reminded to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” The assumption here is that if there is a “right way” to handle Scripture, then there must also be “wrong ways.” And although there is definitely a perspicuity to Scripture, this doctrine does not imply that all parts of Scripture are equally easy to understand. Some truths, such as the resurrection of Christ, are plainly obvious. Other truths, such as those relating to eschatology, are not.

How then do we interpret the first two chapters of Genesis? A detailed hermeneutic evaluation of Genesis 1-2 is beyond the scope of this paper (or my abilities to evaluate). However, it appears that the majority of Hebraic scholarship deems Genesis 1-2 as literal narrative.⁷ But who cares? What difference does it make if we interpret the first two chapters of Genesis as metaphorical poetry or literal historical narrative?

There are two important consequences that directly result from how we handle these two chapter. First, our understanding of the rest of Scripture is directly related to our understanding of Creation. The tenants of Christian doctrines find their establishment with the Creation account. Here we are informed of who God is, who man is, the effect of sin on man’s relationship with a holy God, and the promise of hope given to Adam and Eve before being expelled from Eden. A metaphorical interpretation of Genesis 1-2 could seriously undermine Christ-exalting theology. Second, our view of these early chapters reveal our underlying hermeneutical presuppositions. A poor interpretation of these early verses may have a detrimental effect on how we interpret other parts of the Bible. If we decide to relegate the creation account as simply metaphorical poetry when the overwhelming consensus of Hebrew scholarship deems Genesis 1-2 as literal historical narrative, then we are therefore hermeneutically unrestrained in “picking and choosing” which part of the Bible we want to be literal and which part we want to me metaphorical. Such an interpretive approach seems dangerous.

Conclusion

Genesis 1-2 will test the epistemological bases of every Christian. At the heart of the humanistic attack of a literal interpretation of Genesis 1-2 is an attack on the how a Christian determines truth. J. Barton Payne succinctly summarizes the issue in this way: “For every critic—the liberal just as much as the evangelical—establishing limits is a matter of faith, either in one’s own, internal competence or in another’s (Christ’s) external authority.”⁸ And Payne later writes concerning negative higher criticism (but it also applies to our discussion), “It seems to boil down to this: either human criticism gains the place of honor, or Jesus does.”⁹

In my own life, I have personally come to terms with the role of faith and reason. And although I believe that my faith is the foundation which guides my reason, I do not feel that even my faith was something that I “conjured up” by pulling myself up by my own “spiritual bootstraps.” In the final analysis, my faith (and therefore my ability to rightly reason) were nothing more than a simple gift from God. I did nothing to deserve it. I did nothing to earn it. Rather, the opposite is true—I deserved nothing but condemnation. But by the wonderful grace of God, Jesus planted a seed of faith within the soil of this sinning physician; and like Lazarus from the grave, Jesus raised me from the dead. Paul’s words in Colossians 2:13-14 are representative of my life:

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

This faith in what Jesus did for me on the cross may seem like foolishness to the humanistic scientist. But it is the one of the guiding presuppositions of my life. It is a truth that illumines other truths.

________________________________________

¹ Alvin Plantinga, Faith and Rationality. London: Notre Dame, 1983. 39-44.

² Bavinck, Herman. The Doctrine of God. Carlisle: Banner of Truth, The, 1997. 78.

³ Calvin, John. Calvin : Institutes of the Christian Religion. Ed. John T. McNeill. New York: Westminster John Knox P, 2004. 44.

⁴ Craig, William L. Hard Questions, Real Answers. Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2005. 31-42.

⁵ Calvin, John. Calvin : Institutes of the Christian Religion. Ed. John T. McNeill. New York: Westminster John Knox P, 2004.

⁶ Packer, James I. "The Adequacy of Human Language." Inerrancy. By Norman L. Geisler. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980. 216.

⁷ Kelly, D. Creation and Change. New York: Mentor, 1997. 41-54.

⁸ Payne, J. Barton. "The Authority of Scripture." Inerrancy. By Norman L. Geisler. Grand Rapids, OH: Zondervan, 1980. 93.

⁹ Ibid., at 110.

"Nakedness" of the Soul

Right after Adam and Eve sinned against God in the garden, Genesis 3:7 reports, “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.” My professor gives the following quote from John Dick (Lectures on Theology, Vol. 1, p. 453) that I thought was really interesting:

First, "their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked." The fact
that their bodies were without covering they knew before; and the opening of their eyes, and their knowing that they were naked, must mean something different. The result of eating the forbidden fruit was not the acquisition of supernatural wisdom, as they fondly hoped; but a discovery that they had reduced themselves to a wretched and unprotected condition, being divested of original righteousness and exposed to the wrath of their Maker. Hence they covered themselves with fig leaves, and hid themselves among the trees of the garden, that he might not find them out. That Moses does not mean bodily nakedness, may be inferred from the words of Adam, who says not, "I was ashamed," but "I was afraid, because I was naked." The nakedness which gave rise to fear, must have been the nakedness of the soul. Our first parents were conscious of guilt, and wished to avoid a meeting with their Judge.

"Biblical Sparring"

In a previous post, we saw how Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12 in order to tempt Jesus to “jump off a tall building” since God would command his angels to save him. Then, we saw how Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:16 to counter Satan by saying that “man is not to put God to the test.” Now this “biblical sparring” between Jesus and Satan is fascinating because it tells us something very important about how to (or at least how not to) interpret this passage from Psalm 91. Specifically, Christ’s response implies that Psalm 91:11-12 should not be viewed as a “blanket promise” that Christians should apply at whim to any circumstance without qualification. And Satan’s attempt to use God’s promises of faithfulness and protection to tempt Christ to test God was obviously not an appropriate application of this Psalm.

So what hermeneutical (i.e. interpretive) principle can we gather from this understanding? Since Jesus used Deuteronomy to correct a wrong application of the Psalm, the assumption is that the Bible needs to be interpreted “as a whole.” Proper interpretation of a single verse needs to incorporate the greater context of the entire Bible. That’s a daunting task (but an important one if we want to avoid errors and heresies).

For example, let’s consider prayer...

In Matthew 21:22, Jesus gives this amazing promise: “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive...” Now, are we to believe that this promise is a “blanket promise” without any qualifications? Would Jesus, for example, grant the request of a drug dealer to sell more drugs on the street? Would Jesus grant the request for protection of a thief as he was stealing a car? Obviously not! Christ’s promise is unquestionably qualified! And to discover these qualifications, we need to look at the “greater biblical context.” From other books of the Bible, we recognize that prayers need to be made in faith (Hebrews 11:6, James 1:6-8, and Matthew 17:20), with a life lived in righteousness (1 John 3:22, Psalms 66:18, and 1 Peter 3:12), with motives that are not selfish or self-seeking (James 4:3), with earnestness and perseverance (Luke 18:1-18), and be within the will of God (1 John 5:14-15). I have heard of some Christians blaming other Christians for unanswered prayers simply because of lack of faith. Although that may be the case, the reality can also be that unanswered prayers may occur simply because they are not within the will of God. And attributing all unanswered prayers to lack of faith seems to me a rather simplistic (and possibly uncompassionate and ungracious) assessment.

Anyway, this study has been a good reminder for me to always consider the broader biblical context when narrowly focused on a particular Bible passage.

Using the Bible for Evil

When Jesus was being tempted by Satan, we see something quite interesting. As you read this passage from Matthew 4:5-7, notice the approach Satan used to tempt Christ.

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
        Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Several points about this passage strike me. First, did you notice that Satan used the Bible as the “authority” for his temptation? He was quoting Psalm 91:11-12! In other words, in his attempt to incite evil, Satan was appealing to God’s Word! Now, as Christians, there are several implications from this appeal that can help us to understand some of Satan’s methods (and therefore help us to “do battle”).

1. When Satan said for it is written he was basically saying this, “You believe in the Bible don’t you? You want to be a good Christian who follows the Bible don’t you? Then, you better do what I say, since what I am saying comes directly from the Bible which comes directly from God himself!” Now obviously, Satan does not “believe in” or hold Scripture as his personal authority. However, he will at least pretend to align himself with the Bible in order to make himself look good and his message credible.
   
2. Satan knows the Bible! And he knows it really well. We had better know it too.
   
3. The fact that Satan uses the Bible to attack Jesus and that Jesus uses the Bible to repel Satan tells us something astronomically important about interpreting the Bible!—there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. Or to state it a little differently, accurate interpretation of the Bible is not a “relative” practice guided by personal preferences. This often heard argument—“Well, that’s your interpretation of the Bible! But that's not my interpretation!”—will simply not hold water. There most definitely exists a firm standard for good interpretation of the Bible (and that standard does not proceed from our personal whims and creative exegetical efforts).
   
4. Good and accurate interpretation of the Bible is not something reserved for the ivory towers of academia—it is vital for everyday living. Since Satan can twist and manipulate Scripture in his attempt to incite evil, we must know how to “accurately handle” the Bible in order to live in a way that brings glory to God.

Anyway, these are just some random thoughts about this passage. There are likely other (and better) points that can be made from this short passage...

If God cannot sin, is he all-powerful?

Another lecture question...

Since God is holy, he cannot sin. Does the fact that God cannot sin make him less than all-powerful? Elaborate.

The fact that God cannot sin is not a weakness—it is a strength! And the fact that all men have the natural inclination to sin and therefore must struggle with temptation and desire for evil is not an asset to humanity—it is a weakness! Only the strange, twisted, and depraved thinking of man could deem God’s inability to sin as evidence of His failing. Consider this: would a father’s inability to physically abuse his children be considered an asset or a deficiency?

Alternatives to God's Sovereignty

In The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, Loraine Boettner writes, “Who would not prefer to have his affairs in the hands of a God of infinite power, wisdom, holiness, and love, rather than to have them left to fate, or chance, or irrevocable natural law, or to shortsighted and perverted self? Those who reject God’s sovereignty should consider what alternatives they have left.”

       Although the notion that God sovereignly ”foreordained whatsoever comes to pass” seems repulsive to man’s innate sense of independence and self-sufficiency, the alternative is significantly less “attractive.” If God is not sovereign, then man is left at the senseless whim, as Boettner mentions, of fate and chance or the sinful whims of man’s innate nature. There is no hope for the suffering that their suffering is anything more than a random and purposeless events. There is no comfort that God has the power or inclination to lift man out of his pain and misery. Obvious, this argument does not serve as a "proof" of God's sovereignty. It is simply an emotional appeal (since most objections to God's sovereignty are emotional appeals).

"Yada"

I have recently learned that the Hebrew word yada means “to know.” We see this word used in Genesis 4:25 (“Adam knew his wife”), Psalm 1:6 (“the Lord knows the way of the righteous”), and Amos 3:2 (“You only have I known of all the families of the earth”). In these example, the “knowledge” that is professed is much more than simple facts—it is a knowledge that also embodies passion, affection, and intimacy. In fact, when the Bible states that “Adam knew Eve and she bore a son named Seth,” it is not talking about Adam reading Eve’s blog!

So what’s the point of all this? Simply this—when the Bible states that God knows us, we can be sure that he really knows us. Those who are called to be the children of God are the “apple of his eye.” And his greatest gift to his beloved is that his beloved knows him in his infinite glory, holiness, beauty, and joy. In Psalm 16:11 we read, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

(RANDOM THOUGHT: I was also wondering if the phrase “Yada, Yada, Yada” comes from Hebrew, and therefore might be translated “I know, I know, I know” Just wondering... random neurons in my brain are firing off again.)

Getting "Into" Heaven

As a doctor, I get to speak with a lot of people about the afterlife (since my job deals frequently with death and dying). And the general consensus is that heaven is a place. Now, this obviously is true. But I think that this “geographical” view of heaven somehow misses something crucial. That is, if we primarily think of heaven as simply a “destination” or an “eternal vacation spot”, we will ironically make something bad out of heaven—it will become like an idol to us. And we will forget that the most beautiful and glorious part of heaven will not be the “palm trees and beaches” but rather something eternally more wonderful—God himself! He will be our bright morning star (Rev. 22:16). He will be our eternal light (John 1:4). He will be our consummate joy and satisfaction (Psalm 16:11). He will be the one who wipes away every tear from our eyes (Rev 21:4). And he will be the very object of our every affections, thoughts, creativity, and passion. Heaven, I believe, really centers around a Person rather than a place.

Do you want to go to heaven? Then make sure that the treasure of your life is the Person and not the place. If you treasure only the place, you will get neither. If you treasure the Person, you will get both.

Deism Ain't Dead

In seminary, we learn a lot about “isms” (such as deism, dualism, existentialism, and Platonism). To many people, study of these “isms” may seem esoteric and terribly unpractical. But the truth is that studying these centuries-old philosophical systems is pressingly relevant and critically important. Why? Simply because these belief systems never really “die out.” They always find their way into the our collective consciousness and affect how we understand and live our lives. Even the Christian, who claims to have a Bible-permeated and Christ-centered worldview, cannot help but to be effected by the prevailing philosophical assumptions of our day.
       For example, consider deism. This is the (wrong) belief that God is like a cosmic “watchmaker.” He “winds up” the universe at the beginning of time and then lets it run on its own accord without his necessary or willing involvement. In fact, deists view God’s involvement with humankind as impossible or intrusive. Does this belief exist today? Absolutely! It is alive and well and expresses itself both subtly and overtly. Does this belief even affect true Christianity? Without a doubt! Let me list some ways this worldview has had an unquestionable negative impact on the Church:

1. Deism denies the efficacy of prayer. If God does not really involve himself with human affairs as the deist believe, then the Biblical understanding that God is attentive and even sympathetic to the supplications of his children is irrational. Prayer depends on interaction of a loving and personal God.
   
2. Deism reject the sovereignty of God. With deism, God is “hands-off” with the unfolding of world history. And the idea that God wills and determines all that occurs according to the wisdom of his own divine counsel would strike the deist as too controlling. The modern error of “Open Theism” is an example of how deistic ideas find their way into the Church's thinking about God’s sovereignty.
   
3. Deism rejects the incarnation. The Bible clearly teaches that God himself invaded human history in the form of a humble baby named Jesus Christ. If true (which it is), then there is no more powerful proof that deism is wrong.
   
4. Deism rejects Scriptural inerrancy. Like the incarnation, Scripture is the “making into flesh” of something divine. In this case, we have the very “message of God” which has come to us. Biblical inerrancy, therefore, depends on the fact that God lovingly desires and then proceeds to make himself known.

As I look at my own life, I definitely see and feel the pervasive effect of deism on my life. My entire education in the medical sciences has been permeated with deistic assumptions that said, “God does not care!” or “God does not get involved!” or “God is distant!” Those are lies! Lies from hell! And as I look at the cross and the blood Christ sacrificed for me, I am reminded again of the love of an involved and expressive and intimate God.

Creation Revisited (Part 4)

Several days ago, we were discussing why God took six days to create the universe instead of creating it instantly. And one reason we brought up was because God’s work of “sculpting” the cosmos demonstrated something of his infinite creativity, power, and glory.
       But there is another reason...
       The pattern of six days of work and one day of rest provides mankind with a spiritual and practical pattern for weekly living. We are designed to work for six days, and rest on one. We are designed to be productive for six days, and to be meditative on one. We are designed to “sweat” for God for six days, and to “swoon” on him on one. That is the nature of our being which from the very beginning of time has been imprinted even on the very order of creation. That’s how important it is!
       In his book Creation and Change, Dr. Kelly writes,

Further confirmation of Genesis ‘days’ as plain, solar days is provided by the reason annexed to the fourth commandment (‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy’) in Exodus 20:11: ‘For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.’ The crucial point here is that God’s creative work, followed by rest, forms the pattern of wholesome life for His image bearer, mankind. Apparently, mankind is so important to the infinite God that He arranged His creative activity specifically to set the structure for human life. That must be a major reason why God created over six days rather than in a split-second (or a hundred billion years).

Creation Revisited (Part 3)

My kids love to go to the amusement park (and so do I). My not-so-secret ambition is to train them to love roller-coasters (since my wife refuses to go on them). On our way to the rides, we usually pass by some artists who, for a fee, will draw an extremely unflattering likeness of a subject (woooo whooo! Sign me up!). We usually stop to watch the abuse. About two months ago, we saw something quite different. Instead of the usual silly drawings, this artist was making clay sculptures of people! And we were fascinated! Seeing the artist turn a plain lump of clay into hair, eyes, nose, ears, and lips was mesmerizing. In fact, watching the artist work was more interesting than the actual finished product (which was still pretty amazing).
       The Bible reports that God created the universe in six days. Have you ever wondered why it took so “long?” Obviously, as the omnipotent Maker who transcends time and space and even cause, God could have created everything in an instant. But the reason it took six days was likely because God wanted to demonstrate something of his creativity and power and glory. Can you imagine what it would be like to see the amorphous substance of the universe mold and organize itself at the whim of its Master Sculptor? It would be an awe-inspiring sight! In Psalm 19:1 we are reminded of the creative hand of God, “The Heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”

Creation Revisited (Part 2)

In Genesis 1:1 begins with the famous verse: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” But what does it mean that God created “the heavens and the earth?” What is the "scope" of God's creative efforts? I have always interpreted this phrase quite literally to mean the "sky" and the "planet Earth". In the book Creation and Change, Dr. Kelly points out the significance of this phrase by quoting Hebraist John Currid:

The Hebrews had no single word to describe the universe. When they wanted to express the concept of all reality they spoke in terms of ‘the heavens and the earth’ (hassamayim we’et ha’ares). So, when Melchizedek blessed Abram in the name of the Sovereign God of the universe, he said, “Blessed be Abram of El Elyon, possessor of heavens and earth; (Gen. 14:19). The expression ‘the heavens and earth’ is a figure of speech called a merism, in which two opposites are all-inclusive. Thus, when Melchizedek commented that God owned heaven and earth, he meant not only the places of heaven and earth, but also everything in them and on them. As well, when the Genesis writer stated that God created the heavens and the earth, he meant that God fashioned the entire universe.

I thought that was a really awesome point! In the very first sentence of the Bible, we are informed that God made everything!  BANG!

Creation Revisited (Part 1)

I am studying creation (Genesis 1:1-2:4) now in seminary. And it has been very interesting! Coming from a scientific background (biochemistry and medicine) that is heavily influenced by an atheistic worldview, it has been thought-provoking to hear a clear, insightful, educated, and rational (not to mention humble) perspective in support of a literal interpretation of Genesis. (I have had some very negative experiences from hateful and overbearing creationists in the past.) My professor, Douglas Kelly, wrote the book Creation and Change and he makes some very interesting theological points that have caused me to critically “readdress” the issues regarding creation (instead of panning the debate as largely irrelevant). This week, I will be sharing some insights that I have picked up from his lectures and reading materials. As usual, please understand that a tiny blog entry will not do justice to this immense topic. So I present these points not as a defense of one position or another (since I am still trying to “figure it all out” for myself), but rather as simply thoughts that have caused me to “take pause” and to reconsider some of my assumptions regarding creation. So, here they are (in no particular order of importance):

1. A correct view of creation is important for our understanding of the rest of Scripture. The reason is simple. The creation account found in early Genesis forms the foundation by which we understand all of Scripture at large. Central tenets of Christianity find their establishment with the creation account. In these early chapters, we are informed of who God is, who man is, how sin entered the world, the effect of sin on our relationship with a holy God, and the promise of hope given to Adam and Eve before being expelled from Eden (which allude to Christ’s redemptive work on the cross). Therefore, a mythological interpretation of these early chapters of Genesis would undermine fundamental Christian doctrines.
2. Belief in either evolution or creationism all proceed from faith based presuppositions. In other words, even the evolutionary model is based on “faith” in something which guides how the evolutionist interprets the evidences. Dr. Kelly quotes Michael Polanyi as saying,

   “No human intelligence . . . can operate outside such a context of faith, for it is within that context that there arises within us, under compulsion from the reality of the world we experience, a regulative set of convictions or a framework of beliefs which prompts and guides our inquiries and controls our assessment of the evidence.”

3. The New Testament holds a “high view” of Genesis and there is no suggestion from the New Testament or Christ’s sayings that Genesis should be interpreted as mythological. Dr. Kelly quotes Henry Morris: 

   “The New Testament is, if anything, even more dependent on Genesis than the Old. There are at least 165 passages in Genesis that are either directly quoted or clearly referred to in the New Testament. Many of those are alluded to more than once, so that there are at least two hundred quotations or allusions to Genesis in the New Testament. It is significant that the portion of Genesis which has been the object of the greatest attacks of skepticism and unbelief, the first eleven chapters, is the portion which had the greatest influence on the New Testament. Yet there exist over one hundred quotations or direct references to Genesis 1-11 in the New Testament. Furthermore, every one of these eleven chapter is alluded to somewhere in the New Testament, and every one of the New Testament authors refers somewhere in his writings to Genesis 1-11. On at least six different occasions, Jesus Christ Himself quoted from or referred to something or someone in one of these chapters, including specific references to each of the first seven chapters.”

4. How we interpret Genesis 1-2 will reveal something about our hermeneutical presuppositions (i.e. the “belief system” that guides how we interpret the Bible). If we say that Genesis 1:1-2:4 is “poetry” and “metaphorical”—when the majority of Hebrew scholarship does not identify it as such—are we then imposing our own assumptions regarding the origin of life on a plain interpretation of Scripture? How will this awkward “forcing a square peg into a round hole” affect how we interpret other parts of the Bible that doesn’t agree with our preconceived notions of how life should work?

Anyway, Dr. Kelly makes these and many other good points, and I’m looking forward to finishing his book. Obviously, this little blog entry will do nothing to settle this 200 year old debate. Just something for me personally to think about (since a literal interpretation of Genesis 1:1-2:4 contradicts my indoctrination by a medical education which assumes a purely atheistic or deistic worldview).

Predestination (Some Resources)

Here are some useful resources on predestination. I have not read these books from cover to cover yet. But the chapters and excerpts that I have read have helped to shed light on this difficult subject. I'm sure that there are other good books that could be suggested. These are just the ones that come to mind...

"The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination" by Loraine Boettner (available free at CCEL)

"Freedom of The Will" by Jonathan Edwards (available free at CCEL)

"Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God" by J.I. Packer (Amazon)

And finally... From the most important resource...

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)

Predestination and Election (yikes!)

The topic of predestination and election can garner some pretty hostile responses. And although these are the topics that I am currently studying in seminary, writing about them in a blog causes me some trepidation. The reason is simply that the format of a blog is not typically conducive of such weighty and mysterious topics. Huge tomes have been written by “giants” of the faith (so my little “blurb” here will not likely add much to the discussion). Nevertheless, here are some interesting points to consider about the doctrines of predestination and election that I have learned. I present them in no particular order of importance, and this list is obviously not exhaustive. These are simply some points that strike me as “touching” or “thought provoking” or “worshipful:

1. These doctrines reveal the loving heart of a compassionate God. When God predestines and chooses those who rebel against him, hate him, and want to have nothing to do with him, his election proceeds from his abundant heart of tenderness and mercy. As I look back on my life and conversion, I can see no valid reason for God to choose me. And the fact that he does speak volumes of his love rather than my lovability or personal wisdom in choosing him.
2. A proper understanding of God’s sovereignty is not reserved for the philosophical and theological musings of pastors and seminary professors. It is eminently practical for everyone. Right now, I have a patient in the hospital who is likely dying of heart failure. But what comforts her is the knowledge that her suffering and pain are not the random outworking of a cruel materialistic Universe (or an impersonal deistic god), but rather they are grounded in the purposeful will of a true, living, and good God who will “work all things for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). This promise is extremely comforting. There is an existential need in every Christian to know that even in the most horrible tragedies of our lives, God is in control.
3. In some ways, almost every Christian believes, at least partially, in God’s election. Most Christians, for example, believe that children who die and those who are severely mentally impaired go to heaven. (Personally, this understanding alone has been enough to convince me of God’s election for the rest of mankind.) Also, when most Christians pray for the conversion of a loved-one, we do not pray a “wishy-washy” request for God to convince a sinner of the merits of his love. Rather, we pray that God breaks the heart of stone and actively replaces it with a heart of affection. We pray for God to act decisively. 
4. The doctrine of predestination and election do not invalidate man’s responsibility or the Christian’s call to passionately and urgently evangelize. Such beliefs are unfaithful to Scripture and proceed from man’s attempt to “logically extrapolate” from something that is infinitely complicated and mysterious. That should never be done. Our biblical motivations for evangelism are from faithfulness to God's command (Matthew 28:19), intrinsic joy (John 4:27-42), and a deep love for others.
5. We must accept mystery here. That God is utterly sovereign and that man is responsible are both clearly taught in the Bible. However, we will never reconcile these two truths "logically" on this earth. We must live Scripturally. We must live by faith. And the fact that we cannot piece together this infinite puzzle into our finite minds should not provoke us to despair. Rather it should induce us towards worship.

The Marxian Objection

After each lecture, the professor typically asks several questions to help us interact with his teaching points. I thought that the following question was interesting (my response follows). 

Calvin states in the Institutes, (I.3) that man has an awareness of the divine (divinitatis sensum). In light of this fact, consider how this concept could be explained to a Marxist. Consider their objections and write a response drawing together information derived from the lecture and from the reading.

       The crux of the Marxian objection to divinitatis sensum (i.e. that man has an innate sense of the divine) is that 1) religion has been used by the ruling class to oppress the masses, and 2) that religion is nothing but an “opiate for mankind” and therefore only offers a false placation of man’s existential suffering.
       To address the first objection, we must admit that abuses and atrocities have been done in the name of religion (and Christianity). History is littered with examples. Although these examples offer some existential force for the denial of efficacious religion and they severely damage the good witness of true Christianity, abuses and atrocities in and of themselves do not offer anything close to a logical abrogation of God’s existence. As one philosopher puts it, “religion cannot be rightly judged by its abuses.” If a Nazi scientist, for example, discovers a cure for HIV, does that scientist’s repugnant anti-Semitic views negate the truth that a cure of HIV had been discovered? His warped morality may tarnish the wonderful truth (like vomit on a diamond), but the glorious fact that a cure exists still remains. In the same way, an abhorrent Christian witness does not logically negate the existence of God (although it most definitely will not forward that "Christian’s" evangelistic efforts). At most, the abuses that we see in Christendom call into question the efficacy of Christianity and the genuineness of that "Christian's" faith. For genuine faith will produce a harvest of genuine works.
       The second Marxian objection also fails because of similar grounds: just because something offer comfort or relief of anguish does not logically negate its intrinsic reality. Both a placebo and a cure can offer relief to a patient. But the relief of pain in and of itself does not prove one way or another whether the patient took the placebo or the cure. It may be that the patient feels better simply because he has been freed from his disease.