In the previous post I mentioned my personal journey on the question of Creation and how we are to understand Gen. 1-11. Before I share some more basic truths that were helpful for me in coming to the truth of the Bible, I want to give thanks for a professor at Biola in the late 1960’s. I entered Biola as a Sophomore /Junior after 2 years at a California Junior College. In JC I had taken a very enjoyable Biology class. We worked our way in class and in labs from single cell animals to frogs and cats. It was clearly a course based in evolution, but to his credit the teacher didn’t really make a big deal about it.
I had been raised in a Christian home. My father was a wonderful
pastor-teacher. I think I assumed
the truth of the Bible’s account of creation.
When I heard of the discoveries of science (e.g. some bones found of a
millions of years old human) my attitude was to assume both were correct
and could be fit together. At some point
I heard a preacher teach on the “Gap Theory” (millions or billions of years fit
between Gen. 1:1 and 1:2) and thought it must be right. That’s probably the way I was thinking when I
arrived at Biola. Assuming but not really thinking.
Meanwhile, someone in the Dean’s office
decided I need another “science” credit for graduation, so I enrolled in an
evening class, somewhat of a “general science” as I remember. The teacher was Dr. Bolton Davidheiser. I won’t deny: I was taken by his name. He sounded like he was someone who should be
listened to. But what really was used by
God in my life was something he said in what I remember to be either the first
or second class. I can’t give you an
exact quote. But the gist of it was
this: it is completely unnecessary to bring harmony between the
pronouncements of “science” and the proclamations of the Bible; the Bible can
be trusted in what it says on any subject.
It hit me that I was doing that: uncritically accepting what some
scientist said and altering the Bible to make it fit.
I don’t remember much else about the
class. Science was never my strong suit
(especially after my high school chemistry lab when I melted the solder in the
copper pot because I forgot to put water in it; it collapsed on the Bunsen
burner). What Dr. Davidheiser’s comment
did was to tell me that a man of science didn’t have to make excuses for the
Bible or deny it’s literal statements.
That was an important junction in my spiritual journey.
Dr. Bolton Davidheiser, PHD. In a tribute to him, the folks at Answers in
Genesis said this:
Dr. Davidheiser … was once an evolutionist. It was part of the kind of educational
upbringing he had, including earning a Ph.D. degree in zoology at Johns Hopkins
University (where he was eventually to become a cancer researcher). By the age of 32, however, Dr. Davidheiser
had looked at both sides of the creation/evolution debate, gave up his
evolutionary beliefs, and eventually became convinced of a young earth. Over time, as he wrote and lectured on
creation, he became increasingly concerned about Christians who accept compromise
views of Genesis.
With this in mind, I want to recommend an
article to you by Dr. Davidheiser. It
concerns the writings of Hugh Ross. I
have had to deal with Dr. Ross in my own ministry, as I have twice been given
books by well-meaning Christians who were sure that Ross had shown the way to
bring peace between science and Scripture.
Davidheiser’s article is too long to post here so I am going to give you
the link. Possibly you will find it
helpful. The subject is, of course,
HUGE! Can the Bible be counted on to
give us truth about the origin of all things?
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