Dr. Duane T. Gish, Ph.D., Chairman • Mr. Arthur C. Cunningham, Co-Chairman • With contributions by members of the Science and Technology Committee of The Coalition on Revival • Dr. Jay Grimstead, D.Min., General Editor • Mr. E. Calvin Beisner, M.A., Assistant to the General Editor
The Christian World View of Science and Technology. Copyright 1986, The Coalition on Revival, Inc. All rights reserved. • The Coalition on Revival, Inc. • P. O. Box 1139 • Murphys, California 95247
PREFACE
The world and its inhabitants were created supernaturally in a state of perfection by a transcendent and personal Creator God (Genesis 1,2). Because of the willful sin of the first man, Adam, mankind fell and the creation was subsequently cursed by God (Genesis 3). Hence, both man and the universe exist to this day under a law of death and decay (Romans 8:20,21). Nevertheless, God providentially and lovingly sustains both.
In response to God's commands to subdue the earth and to exercise dominion over creation (Genesis 1:28), man has developed science and technology. Science is man's attempt to observe, understand, and explain the operation of the universe and its inhabitants. Technology is the use of the knowledge gained by scientific research for mankind's practical benefit, bringing portions of the universe under his control.
In order to understand the created universe truly and to use the knowledge gained from scientific research properly, man must pursue science and technology in the light of the Word of God. Because of the Fall, and because most men are either ignorant of or choose to be disobedient to the revelation God gave in the Bible, fallen men inevitably arrive at divergent views of the origin and operation of the universe. Only by a diligent study of the Bible can man come to a true understanding of the origin, purpose, nature, and behavior of himself and the universe.
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Statements of Affirmation and Denial
Philosophical Foundations
1. We affirm that Christians must obey a Biblically centered world and life view in their understanding, development, and application of science and technology (Colossians 2:3). We deny that the understanding and application of science and technology are morally neutral and thus unaffected by one's world and life view (Genesis 6:5; 1 Timothy 6:20-21).
2. We affirm that there is a single truth, God's truth, revealed both in His written revelation, the Bible, and in nature, His created universe (Psalm 19:1-11). We deny that there are any real conflicts or contradictions between God's Word--the Bible--and the truths revealed in nature (John 3:12).
3. We affirm that God has empowered and commanded man to study, to understand, and to exercise dominion over His creation (Genesis 1:28; Titus 1:7). We deny that there is anything inherently evil in the nature of the physical universe or in science and technology (Genesis 1:31).
4. We affirm that man is a steward of all of God's creation and as such is responsible to Him for both the preservation and the productive use of all the world's resources to the benefit of man and the glory of God (Genesis 1:28). We deny that pollution and mismanagement of resources are necessary results of man's attempt to obey God's command to subdue the earth and rule over it (Revelation 11:18).
5. We affirm that Jesus Christ alone is the Savior of the world (John 14:6). We deny that we can save ourselves through science or technology or through any other human endeavor (Acts 4:12; Titus 3:5; 2 Peter 3:10).
6. We affirm that God is transcendent beyond, immanent in, and sustaining of, His creation (Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:3). We deny that God is in any way synonymous with nature, and that nature is self-sustaining (Hebrews 11:3; Psalm 33:6).
Creation and Natural Laws
7. We affirm that the natural laws and processes now operable in the universe were created by God and are discoverable by man (Jeremiah 27:5; Nehemiah 9:6). We deny that God is bound by the natural laws He created, and that miracles do not or cannot occur (Jeremiah 32:17,27; Matthew 19:26).
8. We affirm that many attributes of God are clearly discernible in the things He has created, so that those who deny or doubt His existence, His power, or His creation are without excuse (Romans 1:18-20) We deny that the origin and operation of the universe are results solely of properties inherent in matter and energy (Acts 17:28; 2 Peter 3:7).
9. We affirm that the physical universe of space, time, matter, and energy has not always existed but was brought into existence by a transcendent, personal Creator God through an act of creation using special processes not now in operation (Genesis 2:1-3; Hebrews 4:4). We deny that matter and energy have always existed, and that the universe was brought into existence by some natural evolutionary process, whether by the so-called Big Bang or by any other mechanism hypothesized by the human mind (Genesis 1:14-19; Jeremiah 10:12).
Origin of Life
10. We affirm that each biological life form was specially and supernaturally created by God as a definite kind, and that all natural variations in life forms have been and are limited to variations within that kind (Genesis 1:11,12,21,24,25; 1 Corinthians 15:38,39). We deny that life arose from non-life through any evolutionary process, and that the various basic types of plants and animals have arisen from a common ancestor (Psalm 104:30; Acts 17:25).
11. We affirm that Adam and Eve were specially created by God and were the first human beings, from whom all other humans are directly descended (Genesis 1:27; 2:7,22; Acts 17:26; 1 Corinthians 15:45). We deny that mankind arose from apelike ancestors through any evolutionary process, and that Adam and Eve were figurative and thus merely symbolic of a human species that had evolved from lower animal forms (Mark 10:6; 1 Corinthians 15:47).
Science and Biblical History
12. We affirm that the Biblical record of history in Genesis 1-11 (including the creation of the universe and its inhabitants in the six days of the Creation Week, the Fall of man, the worldwide flood of Noah's time, and the origin of languages and the dispersal of mankind from the Tower of Babel) is an accurate and historical account (John 3:12; Acts 17:26). We deny that the contents of Genesis 1-11 were recorded merely to give a spiritual message and are devoid of historical content.
The Flood, Geology, and the Age of the Earth
13. We affirm that the Genesis flood was a worldwide aqueous catastrophe that overflowed the entire world that then existed and destroyed all land-dwelling, air-breathing creatures except those on the ark of Noah (Genesis 7:22; Luke 17:26). We deny that the Genesis flood was a local catastrophe of limited extent and effect (Genesis 7:18-20).
14. We affirm that most sedimentary rocks and the fossils in them may have been deposited during and, to a lesser degree, after the flood of Noah's time (2 Peter 3:6; Genesis 7:11). We deny that sedimentary rocks and the fossils in them demonstrate evolutionary development through eons of time.
15. We affirm that the genealogical histories recorded in the Bible, as well as many physical time clocks, indicate that the earth is young. We deny that Biblical history and empirically verifiable physical processes establish an age of either the earth or the universe on the order of billions of years (Luke 3:23-38).
Curse, Decay, and Redemption
16. We affirm that both the universe and life have been impaired such that disease, death, extinctions, imperfections in structure, and other such phenomena are the results of changes in properties and processes decreed by God upon an originally perfect universe because of the sin and Fall of man (Genesis 3:14-19; 1 Peter 1:24-25; Hebrews 1:10-12). We deny that the universe and biological systems are becoming more ordered or improved through time as a result of natural processes (Isaiah 40:7,8; Psalm 102:25-27).
17. We affirm that God controls the destiny of man and the universe and has provided for their redemption and restoration to a state of perfection (Ephesians 1:10; Revelation 22:3). We deny that the universe is proceeding inexorably toward a final state in which all activity and life will cease due to irreversible natural processes (Romans 8:21; Revelation 21:4).
Significance and Technology
18. We affirm that ultimate meaning and purpose exist for both man and the universe and are revealed in the Bible, and, hence, that teleological considerations are appropriate to scientific studies (Psalm 19:1; Romans 8:28). We deny that man and the universe are without meaning or purpose, and that man may establish or declare for himself his own significance, meaning, or purpose (Romans 9:20; 11:33).
Science, Technology, and National Defense
19. We affirm that, because at any time we may be required to resort to military defense to preserve our lives and liberty, it is acceptable and proper for a Christian to use science and technology to develop weapon systems essential to the defense of his country. We deny that it is sinful for a Christian to use his talent and efforts in the development of systems for his country's defense.
A Call to Action in Science and Technology
General Actions
Because of the preceding convictions, we call upon all men and women who name Christ as their personal Savior and Lord to join us in:
1. examining earnestly these affirmations and denials in the light of God's Word to see if they are true, and informing us directly of those points in which they believe we have departed from Scripture or logic;
2. re-examining our own scientific and technological theories and practices and asking God to show us where we are falling short;
3. repenting of all known sins, confessing and forsaking them, asking forgiveness both of God Himself and of all those who have been offended, and then making all possible restitution;
4. praying for God to fill all of His people with the enabling power of the Holy Spirit in order that we may bring our personal lives and our scientific and technological theories and practice into closer conformity to His revealed will on a permanent and consistent basis;
5. seeking guidance from our brethren and local church authorities as to how we can mutually support and influence one another to make our scientific and technological practices glorifying to God.Having dealt with our own personal sins and failures, and placing ourselves accountable to the Bible and to the brethren, we now commit ourselves to:
1. influencing any known Christians or Christian associations with whom we work to consider seriously our affirmations and denials with the goal of enlisting their responses;
2. influencing those in the field of science and technology who agree with our affirmations and denials to implement these proposals in their work;
3. mobilizing and networking our Christian resources and working in concert with the other professional spheres both inside and outside COR, to see public perception and awareness of science and technology and the behavior of the Body of Christ, the scientific and technological communities, and our nation changed to approximate more closely the view of reality and morality presented to us in the Holy Scriptures.
Specific Actions
To these ends, we commit ourselves to:
1. influencing those in the fields of science and technology to consider seriously the claims of Scripture for their own good and success;
2. mounting a specific effort within public education to conform the science curriculum to truth (Scripture) and to reject humanism, evolution, and atheism in science;
3. mounting a similar effort among Evangelical day schools and colleges in an effort to exorcise from their science curriculae overt and subtle humanistic, evolutionary, and atheistic thought forms and presuppositions;
4. conducting our professional activities, including research, publication, and public addresses, consistently with and supportive of the Word of God;
5. taking advantage of all opportunities to present the Christian world view to our colleagues in both Christian and secular settings;
6. offering training seminars for science teachers in which they may be updated and retrained, if necessary, in a more consistently Biblical and scientific world view of origins, and offering these seminars for graduate and undergraduate credit.
