The Audacity of Christian Certainty
Article from mpchristianity.com by Brad Harmon
During his presidential campaign, President Obama published a book entitledThe Audacity of Hope. I love that title. It’s one that could be used to describe Christianity, but I’m afraid that instead of “rejoicing in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2
) we have, by and large, become a religion that has become audacious in our certainty.
This is great when it applies to the security of our salvation through Christ (John 10:27-30), the reliance on God to keep His promises (II Peter 3:9), or trusting in our faith as the only evidence we need (Hebrews 11:1). The problem is that we have a tendency to extend this audacity of certainty to our own interpretations of God’s word (I was reminded of this fact many times in preparing for the 20 Entrepreneurial Lessons from Creation series).
The Great Struggle Between God and ScienceThere is a great cosmic battle between the church and science. Each is out to destroy the other. Agreement with science is a blasphemy against God while agreement with God is a blasphemy against reason. Really? Says who? Yes, there are those on both sides with agendas so some of these arguments are valid; however, is God at odds with science? I think not.
God wrote the laws of science. He is not at odds with them, but neither is He bound by them. True science is discovery via the scientific method. A scientist’s job is to observe and explain within these confines. When a scientist says that there is no evidence to suggest or confirm an assertion from the Bible is true, why do so many Christians take offense at that?
Throughout the history of Christianity there have been powerful members who have opposed scientific ideas as blasphemy, and then proceeded to do some of the most horrific acts in the name of Christianity to silence these ideas. It turns out that the earth does rotate around the sun, the world isn’t flat, and on and on. It also turns out that the Bible never disagreed with these findings either.
Biblical Creation Versus the Big Bang and Evolution
Compared to the debates roaring today, those disputes between the church and science were small potatoes. It’s a little terrifying to think about what they would have done with people like Stephen Hawking proclaiming the universe created itself or Richard Dawkins declaring that God is a delusion.
Science has taken on its own audacity in recent years sounding more and more like a religion in its own right. They have gone far beyond the scientific method, and are now openly attacking the Bible, Creation, and the very existence of God. Sadly, Christians have taken the bait and staunchly defend their ideas of Biblical science. Are they defending what the Bible really says though?
Is the universe only 6,000 years old? Were the days in Creation only 24 hours long? When did dinosaurs roam the earth? Are there gaps between the days in Creation? Has this planet been populated before us? Is there a case for Biblical evolution? There are so many different “Biblical” views about Creation, but which is correct? Isn’t there some audacity is saying your account is the right one?
