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A Matter of Interpretation pt 2

Posted: Sep 19, 2011 by Jonty Rhodes

On the last blog post we saw that the supposed conflict between science and the Bible is actually a conflict between our interpretation of God’s two modes of revelation: the ‘General Revelation’ of the universe around us, and ‘Special Revelation’ of the Bible.

Two writers who I have found particularly useful in addressing this debate are Dr Vern Poythress and Prof John Lennox. Poythress has a PhD from Harvard in maths, a M Litt degree in theology from Cambridge and a host of other post-graduate qualifications. He is now on the staff of Westminster Theological Seminary. Lennox teaches mathmatics at Oxford, and has toured the world debating the likes of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. They have each written on the subject of God and science, and produced what I think are the two most helpful books to date: Redeeming Science and God’s Undertaker.

Poythress, now spending most of his time teaching Biblical studies, begins by looking at the text of Genesis and assessing the different interpretations that Chrsitians have proposed: 24hour day theory, day age theory, the framewrok hypothesis and so on. His aim is to address the conflict theologically, and thus is happy to crititique both atheistic science and overly naive readings of Scripture. Throughout the book he covers almost every area of dispute, including theistic evolution, fossils, carbon dating and intelligent design. Redeeming Science is comfortably the best book I have read that starts with Special Revelation and asks how we should interpret it in the light of modern scientific findings.

Lennox on the other hand comes at things more or less from the other direction. As a scientist he spends more time assessing (and sometimes questioning) the common understanding of the origins of life and the universe. Some of his material is fascinating: sections on non-Christian scientists who question evolution particularly come to mind. He is keen to show how science in fact rests on Christian presuppositions, how the atheist understanding of who we are and where we came from is scientifically and philosophically impossible, and how scientific reseach in fact leads us towards God. Along the way he references a huge number of other writers, always ensuring he presents his opponents’ case as strongly as possible, as you would expect from a man who has also engaged with Stephen Hawking’s latest entry into the fray. God’s Undertaker is the best book I have read that starts with our interpretation of General Revelation (science) and asks firstly whether it makes sense on its own terms and secondly how we are to interpret it in light of Special Revelation.

In short I would give God’s Undertaker to a non-Christian seriously thinking through the science versus God debate, and Poythress’s Redeeming Science to a Christian seeking to understand the Bible’s teaching better. Both are well worth the effort.