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chapter 6 MODERN SCIENCE TENDS INCREASINGLY TO CONCUR WITH THE BIBLE |
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THE TESTIMONY OF UNBELIEVING SCIENTISTS--SCIENCE DEFENDS WHAT BISHOPS ATTACK -- THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE NATIONS -- GOD AND HIS SPIRIT -- THE ELECTRON -- CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES
"All powerful self-existent God: who all creation doth sustain."
ow who shall we select as an example of a scientist who makes no profession of religion? May we suggest Dr. Alfred Russell Wallace as above suspicion of having Christian sympathies? Dr. Wallace is quoted by the author of Evolution Disproved as writing:
Dr. Wallace thus implies that the Bible allows for these scientific gaps, and claims, with a great measure of success, to bridge them. "THE FATHER OF HISTORY" Genesis was in the possession of the Jewish race for many centuries before Gentile historical records were known. Reliable Gentile history does not go back further than the middle of the fifth century B.C. This is made evident by the designation bestowed on Herodotus, the Greek historian -- "The Father of History." Herodotus flourished about 440 B.C. The Jewish scriptures began with the first five books of Moses. From time to time other books, by other authors, were added during a period extending over many centuries. At last the canon was closed and the scriptures were a complete and finished production. This was many years before the time of Herodotus; therefore the Bible could not be just a typical product of an age when legend prevailed. Yet, not only does the Bible reliably record ancient history, it records its beginning, also--the Creation. So convincingly is this done that it commends itself to men like Dr. Wallace, and no one need suspect him of having sympathies with the Creationists of the Genesis school of thought, because he, with Darwin, was the co-inventor of modern Evolution. His testimony is, therefore, of great value. Uninspired attempts to record the Creation have never evoked the admiration of thinking men, but have only provoked their contempt; and no wonder, for we have but to read the fabulous accounts of Creation in order to be forcibly impressed by the great contrast they present to Genesis. CHALDEAN LEGENDS Dr. Bell Dawson gives a good abridged resume of the Chaldean Creation record, which we cannot do better than reproduce: "They tell us that in the beginning nothing existed except an inert mass of watery vapour, of boundless extent, called APSU. After a long and indefinite period, the heavens and the earth were established as separate entities. "The gods who had meanwhile arisen established a disposition of things which was displeasing to APSU, who is thus personified. He therefore took counsel with a monster She-devil, named Tiamat, to overthrow this order known as The way of the gods! "Tiamat was the personification of chaos, darkness, and every kind of evil. The gods appointed Marduk to be their champion: a god whose star was Jupiter, and who was represented by the rising sun; and who became the chief god of Babylon. He was commanded to go and slay Tiamat.
This childish and mythical record is typical of man which could be quoted. Their recital, however, would be wearying and would serve no useful purpose. The important point we wish to impress is this: If the Genesis record of Creation was merely the work of unaided man, then it would inevitably be couched in similar language to that of all other Creation stories--the language of the above Chaldean account; but, whereas today these human records are self-evident nonsense, the Bible story of Creation has successfully emerged from the most penetrating enquiries and searching examinations of modern science. Even Haeckel, a violent anti-creationist and ardent evolutionist, was so impressed with the Bible record that he felt himself impelled to write thus:
It would, of course, be more correct to say, among all other ancient nations; for we know of no nation, other than the Jews, which possessed literature recording a Creation that was not mythical. The Jewish record does not share a place with others. It is unique in the whole realm of literature because it--and it alone--comes as a revelation from God Himself. The far-seeing manner in which this record was worded, in order to suit all generations of men, is also remarkable. It was given, of course, to enlighten men in all generations as to their origin. The record accordingly leaves no room for speculation, nor does it enter into scientific objections. It has an air of authoritative detachment which has arrested men's attention, and caused them to remark upon its clear message. For instance, Professor Henri Deveaux wrote:
EVOLUTION'S FAILURE Now we would add two more short testimonies from great contemporary scientists. The first is a professed Christian; the other, we believe, an agnostic. The first is Sir Ambrose Fleming, who, in Evolution or Creation, page 56, writes as follows:
Then in support of his contention concerning past and present physicists, he quotes Lord Kelvin, "one of the greatest of those in the Victorian Age," who said: "Science positively demands creation." And then Sir Ambrose selects Sir James Jeans as a repre- sentative of contemporary physics, and quotes him as saying:
With this Sir Ambrose himself agrees, for he further writes:
Modern science thus declares that the statement "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," is a statement of scientific fact. Science (the alleged enemy of Old Testament "folklore and legend") raises her voice in praise of Genesis, gives her unsolicited testimony to Moses, and pays homage to the book which the "Christian" Bishops despise. The Bible doctrine of the unity, or one-ness of God will provide us with a further opportunity to compare the Bible with science. Unenlightened men did not believe in God as a unity; but upon this subject, as upon all others, they were hopelessly in error. Uninstructed Gentiles, says Paul, believed in and worshipped "Gods many and lords many . . ." In marked contrast to this, the Jews believed in only one God; thus Paul continues, "but to us (the Jews) there is but one God." (1 Cor. 8:5, 6.) The reason for the Jewish dissociation from popular belief is not far to seek. The unity of God was plainly taught in their Scriptures, e.g.,
This being so, it involves God's eternal existence, for he had no predecessor. This is also declared to be the case:
The essential superiority of such a mighty, underived God over the petty, squabbling gods of men's invention is forcibly impressed by those significant words of David, who, contrasting God with idols, said:
This God himself declares to be the case:
The Psalmist also declares:
A SCIENTIST'S FORECAST We learn from these quotations (which are, of course, only a small sample) that there is one great and powerful cause of all visible phenomena. Some years ago there were indications that science was tardily moving towards this conclusion. As illustrative of this, we had Dr. Clarke writing:
Nothing has happened since Dr. Clarke's day to belie this forecast; much--very much--has happened to substantiate his predictions, and this for the reason mentioned by Dr. Clarke: science is growing more mature. In this he puts his finger upon the crucial spot: it is immature science that has clashed with the Bible. Although God is located in a fixed abode, styled in scripture "the heaven of heavens," He is not confined there, but is co-extensive with the Universe by means of a mysterious power or "Spirit." Pervading universal space, and entering into the composition of all things, this Spirit is used by God for creating and sustaining life and all natural phenomena. It is the medium through which God operates at a distance: fashioning a wayside flower--guiding the stars. By its agency He sees, hears, and knows all that transpires in His amazing realm. So detailed and intimate is God's cognizance, that Jesus tells us that a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his Father's knowledge: for
Here we would quote at some length from a Psalm which illustrates Bible teaching on this subject.
Or, as the prophet Jeremiah succinctly puts it:
A MYSTERIOUS POWER If past generations of men had only believed what was in the range of their experience, then to them these truths would have sounded utterly fantastic. and wholly unbelievable. In our day revolutionary discoveries have made us familiar with miracles, made possible by the discovery of electricity. By an intelligent use of this mysterious power, man is now able, on a small scale, to imitate God. Man can now control machinery from a distance and, by means of radio and television, he can also hear and see at a distance. With such practical demonstrations before our eyes we have a decided advantage over those who lived before us. Science has made credible the incredible. All animal life is dependent on the Spirit power for its continued existence, for if God
Many centuries after Job's day the Apostle Paul, addressing the men of Athens, declared that the God whom he worshipped was the
Or as David declared: With God is the "fountain of life." THE SOLUTION OF A RIDDLE These and similar Bible statements, which have borne lone and uncorroborated testimony for millenniums, are now confirmed by the discoveries of modern experimental science. David described God as the "fountain of life." Here is the modern scientific version:
If we now outline, in a simple manner, the discoveries of modern physics, it will help the ordinary reader to understand more easily the scientific quotations which are to follow. From earliest times unenlightened men have tended to seek complex and multiple reasons for all their experiences. For instance, love, hatred, war, peace, famine and plenty were each attributed to separate gods, or spirit influences, either benign or malevolent according to the nature of their visitations. Recently, however, modern research has progressively moved towards greater simplicity, until now it is suggested that there is but one cause at the bottom of all phenomena, despite the multitudinous and multiform manifestations which we behold on every hand. Everything of which we have any knowledge is composed of minute particles of matter termed atoms: they enter into the constitution of everything. Just as a great building is composed of small units which we call bricks, so everything in nature is built up by a multiplicity of atoms. Despite its extreme smallness an atom is not solid: indeed, it consists mostly of space. It has a central nucleus styled a proton, and around this proton other minute bodies styled electrons are in continual revolution. A MINIATURE SOLAR SYSTEM The atom is, in fact, a miniature solar system, having a central sun, around which revolve the equivalents of the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Physicists tell us that the analogy still further holds good by the fact that the distance between the proton and electrons is as great (relative to size) as that which divides the earth from the sun. A globule of quicksilver and a steel knife present a contrast in appearance and texture; yet the atoms of which both are composed vary only in one small respect: they each have a different number of electrons revolving round their central nuclei. This amazing revelation simply means that however widely quicksilver or steel atoms may appear different, they merely differ in the internal arrangement of one--and only one thing. That one thing is electricity. These brief introductory observations will help us to grasp easily a few very interesting discoveries of modern science. We will first quote the well known physicist, Sir William Bragg: "There are only about ninety sorts of atoms and of these a considerable number are only used occasionally. It is very wonderful that all the things in the world and in the universe, so far as we know it, are made up of so few elements.
Now in order to explain and amplify this very remarkable statement we read again:
We see, then, that even the small variety of elements of which Sir William Bragg speaks is being further reduced to only one thing. The writer continues:
These conclusions have been aptly summarized in these telling words:
Thus, step by step, science has been led to affirm one spiritual cause for the Universe just as Dr. Clarke predicted. TODAY, SCIENCE IS SAYING WHAT PAUL SAID NEARLY TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO:
A DIVINE CONTROLLER Having preceded all matter, electricity must of necessity be eternal; and being eternal, must have a direct bearing on the subject of an uncreate eternal God. The heavens and the earth were in the beginning created by God--not "out of nothing," but out of Himself. How this was done it is not our intention to enquire; if indeed enquiry were possible. The testimony we have already adduced should enable us to see the matter in broad outline, and to realise the illimitable possibilities of the power of electricity, or, as the Bible terms God's great power, the Spirit. Yes! all things out of Himself: so says Paul. The Greek term "ek" rendered in the Authorized Version "of," literally means "out of." Rendered thus, we read:
The inspired record in the Psalms puts it this way:
His "word," which John tells us was in the beginning with God, is sufficient to produce all phenomena. There are no fumbling methods that we have learned to associate with human constructions or manufacture. The word of command itself accomplishes God's will. The Spirit or power of God in its free and all-pervading state is invisible and intangible, but under the fiat of His will it becomes corporealized. Assuming substance, shape and colour it becomes recognizable as a tree, a man, or a mountain. With equal ease, God can will that they again resume their free state and, to us, disappear or cease to exist. With this agree the words of Paul:
In other words, there is an invisible material out of which all visible things are fashioned. Perfect harmony therefore exists between Bible teaching and scientific discovery. Such stupendous truths present a fitting portrayal of God, and are in sublime accord with all the Bible tells us of His immeasurable greatness, and power, and wisdom. It is all so overwhelmingly reasonable that its very narration alone has the ring of truth in marked contrast to the unenlightened guesses of men, as the Chaldean Creation account exemplifies. God is further described as,
At the Adamic Creation God commanded, "Let there be light." This command took effect "and there was light." So accurate, so scientific are these declarations, that a few years ago we read the following account in the daily Press:
These concepts reduce the whole universe to a world of light potential or existent, so that THE WHOLE STORY OF ITS CREATION CAN BE TOLD WITH PERFECT ACCURACY IN THE SIX WORDS,
We wonder what the bishops thought of the "myths" of the first chapter of Genesis when they read that? Not that it would produce a change of heart. Men who adopt an unbelieving attitude toward Moses are in a very serious condition. So hardened are they, Jesus declares, that even a dead man coming to life would fail to convince them; for, said he, "If they believe not Moses . . . neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." But then many of them do not believe the claims of Jesus; they limit his knowledge and disparage his judgment, as we could show by numerous quotations. Thus again is scripture fulfilled, for Jesus declared further:
Therefore it follows that disbelief of one inevitably leads to disbelief of the other. A PARADOX Sir James Jeans does not bear his testimony as a Christian. He does, however, bear his witness as an educated man: an education which proves to be no barrier to the acceptance of Genesis if he believes that the facts warrant it. But how paradoxical for science to range itself in defence of the Bible which the clergy reject because of their "scientific" knowledge. Surely there is something radically wrong somewhere! How came it that science should be thus anticipated by thousands of years, in a book whose production was contemporaneous with an age of folklore and fable: a book that witnessed to scientific truths during ages which failed to produce history that was unmixed with childish legend? To this question there is one, and only one, answer, convincing and conclusive: God is the Author of the Bible through the instrumentality of holy men who
And here we can confidently affirm that no man, however hostile to the Bible, however learned or competent, has ever been able to suggest an alternative that will bear a critical examination. Occasionally the vague charge is made that "the Bible is the work of a designing priestcraft, written in an effort to impose upon a credulous and ignorant people." Such a charge quickly falls to pieces under cross examination, and its collapse leaves the case for the Bible even stronger in consequence--if that is possible! Let not the Bible lover seek to evade the opposition; let him rather welcome the encounter; because to hear all that the enemy can say is a most invigorating experience. How true are the words of a writer whose name we have forgotten:
Continual discouragement and opposition may, however, while bracing the strong, weary the weak and ill equipped. Such ones should now feel encouraged and fortified, since they have seen some of the formidable array of educated and learned testimony waiting to do combat for them in defence of God's precious word. Even the strong and well-equipped believer must also find this knowledge gratifying. As a consequence it is to be hoped that both strong and weak may be helped to do more efficient battle in defence of the Bible. Our confidence in the Bible is entirely independent of science. Its favourable testimony is nevertheless welcome. Its unfavourable opposition is of such a nature as to leave us more than ever convinced of the truth of the Bible. Science has changed her voice of recent years into greater harmony with Bible revelation. Science has found cause for climbing down; advancing knowledge has created a changed outlook. "All this experience teaches us that at any turn on the road of scientific advance we may come suddenly on phenomena which causes a complete destruction of previous ideas on certain subjects. The result of this has been, however, to destroy a good deal of that cocksureness and dogmatism which marked the science of the close of the nineteenth century. We are very doubtful now whether we know as much as we then thought we did." (Sir A. Fleming, "Creation or Evolution," page 101.) It can be seen how wisdom has been justified in her children--wisdom which, being assured of the Bible's truth, has stuck to it through thick and thin and trusted where, for the time being, it could not see. They knew that science in its maturity must speak in harmony with God's word and they have not been disappointed. We would, therefore, appeal to honest unbelievers to re-examine their foundations and then examine the believers' foundations. There is a surprise waiting for them--and it can be a very pleasant one! Of Bible evidences Sir Ambrose Fleming writes:
AN OPPOSITE DIRECTION Then, reverting to Professor Huxley's words, which we have already quoted, Sir Ambrose writes:
Therefore, it is untrue to affirm that "educated Christians" are justified in accepting evolution at the expense of Genesis. In this chapter we have seen that in matters open to scientific enquiry, science, far from discrediting the Bible, has vindicated it; for, as Sir Ambrose Fleming says, the evidence leads in the opposite direction to evolution. As Creation is the only alternative to evolution, as its defenders confess, the evidence must inevitably lead to the truth of Creation. Not only have neutral or friendly scientists testified in favour of the Creation record in Genesis, but even unbelievers have added their testimony to confound the Bishops. |
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