Science:Reality as Bible:God?

I'm really on a roll here with this blogging stuff. Hopefully I'm still saying stuff of value and not just adding to the noise. I welcome the comments.

I sat in on a discussion this afternoon in which we wrestled with the great question of "knowing truth:" can we only know truth by scientific, reproducible experimentation? or are there other means of knowing truth such as revelation or experience? It's a great question, and a challenging one to approach. I don't plan on ending the debate here... but I had a couple thoughts that are worth writing down... at least I felt so.

So the Naturalist believes that "you can only arrive at truth through the scientific method." Is this true? I believe that science is a great way to understand the world and that it is incredibly worthwhile. However, the obvious question that comes to me is "how do you use the scientific method to prove the validity of the statement: 'you can only arrive at truth through the scientific method'?" I mean, if it's true, then I should be able to test it, right?

Alright, so you can't. It's too abstract. You can't put "scientific method" in an oven and see if it turns into "truth" if you bake it long enough, nor is there a road called "Scientific Method" which leads to a house called "truth." It just doesn't translate. In fact, I think this view of reality is so narrow that no one really believes it. The reason no one believes it is because it would be impossible to even have a conversation with someone, let alone operate in this world only speaking and doing things that could be scientifically provable. Can you imagine trying to talk in scientifically provable statements all the time?! You couldn't do it. I'd have to throw out this entire blog. So much of the reality of our existence is NOT based in science.

So, my conclusion is, then, that the Naturalists view is just too narrow - it restricts too much, and even those who say they are Naturalists really aren't anyway.

Again, I have to say, science is a wonderful means of understanding the world... and furthermore, from my perspective, a great way of learning about God. I'm a medical student after all. It's kind of a given that I believe science is useful and worth pursuing. However, my point is that it is just a small window through which we can view reality... and it's really quite limited.

I want to extrapolate this idea and see if I can get some stones thrown at me.

So, in the world of Christianity we have this book called the Bible. It's a compilation of poetry, history, law, and prophecy. It's incredible. I could read the Bible a million times and never exhaust the truth and mystery contained within it. I love the Bible, and I believe the Lord gave us the Bible help us see Him better.

But is the Bible GOD? I mean, some people believe that when it says "the Word became flesh" it means the Bible became Jesus. Something about that doesn't work for me. Maybe it's because it is written backwords... we had Jesus BEFORE the Bible... like a long time before the Bible. I guess we had the Old Testament... the Jewish writings. But is that it? Is God really contained within the Scriptures? When we arrive in Heaven will we be greeted by Psalty? (for those of you who don't know who Psalty is... he's a book with arms and legs). I'm not meaning to take this lightly, but did God speak the Word... then when we got the Bible He stopped talking? Would that kind of be like a bride and groom standing at the altar and just after they kiss, the groom pulls out a book and says, "You know, dear, I love you so much that I spent years writing this book for you. It's so thorough that if you'll read it, I'll never have to talk to you again."? If God really is our Lover (and I know that He is), this is not His intention.

See, much like science, I'm feeling that the Bible does not contain all of God. In fact, I think it would be incredibly narrow for me to think that. If everything I believed the Lord shared with me had to be written in the Bible, I'd never be able to do anything! I wouldn't know if it's ok to go to college... or to talk on the phone... or to order a club sandwich at McAlister's... or to use air conditioning. It's just impractical. That doesn't mean that the Bible is obsolete... not at all!! Again, the Bible is invaluable. We can learn so much about the character of God through studying and meditating on it. It is a wonderful gift. But it's not God. It's a lens. It's true, but it's not Truth. Truth is a person named Jesus who is really alive and is still talking. He's still moving and affecting this world. He tells me (through the Bible) that if I am really his sheep, I will know His voice. If I have no clue what it sounds like, then the Bible is the perfect place to go. I should read it and memorize it... but I should not neglect talking to Him.

There's a real danger of letting this "modern age of science" worldview seep into our view of the Bible. We start to think of the Bible as the only lens... the only way to know God. Jesus said that HE is the way to the Father. Not the Bible, but Him personally. I mean, people say we should pray, but rarely do they expect the Lord to speak to them. See, the Pharasees and Scribes of Jesus' day studied the Scriptures that testified about Jesus, but neglected to come to Him to have life. Do we turn the Bible, with all of the different opinions and interpretations, into God ... in a sense, manipulating words and sentences to fit our preconceived ideas of God ... instead of coming to Him to open our eyes to understand who He is through the Scriptures?

Science is a wonderful advance and a great way of understanding the world and God, but it's lacking in it's ability to contain all of Reality. The Bible is one of the most precious gifts we have been given by God. It is inexhaustable in depth of wisdom and revelation. We should have a growing respect and love for it. But have we allowed ourselves to condense Almighty God of the Heavens and Earth into a book and so prevented ourselves from hearing what He is saying today?