Religion and Science.

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Religion and Science.
Part 1 The Bible
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Science

• The word science originally referred to any
  systematic collection of knowledge. In the
  Middle Ages the study of God, theology , was
  called the Queen of Sciences.
• Science that tries to explain the world without
  mentioning God is a modern development.

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A Biblical Viewpoint.

• Many discussions about miracles presuppose that a
  miracle is an extraordinary event that cant be
  explained by science. It is presumed that if
  science can explain an event, it is not a
  miracle.
• For example if a girl recovers from illness
  because bacteria are destroyed by a medicine,
  then it is presumed that the cure was not caused
  by God. This is not a Biblical view!

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The purpose of this presentation

• The purpose of this presentation is to show a
  Biblical view of Gods activity in the world,
  andscience is part of that activity.

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From a Christian viewpoint...

• From a Christian viewpoint, God is wonderful and
  worthy of admiration. God fills people with awe.

• Also, Gods actions fill people with wonder and
  awe. It doesnt matter whether we can explain
  Gods actions scientifically, they are still
  miraculous.

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...Gods work is full of wonder

• Anything that is truly wonderful makes us full
  of wonder can rightly be described as
  miraculous.

• Anything that is the result of extremely unlikely
  circumstances can also be described as
  miraculous.

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• From a Christian viewpoint, it is not just the
  scientifically impossible events that are
  miracles. Gods work in the world, encompassing
  all of creation, is wonderful or miraculous.
• If we use the term miracles to mean only those
  events that science cant explain, we are calling
  God a God of the Gaps. We use God only as an
  explanation for those events that cant be
  explained by science.
• This is not the God of the Bible.

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• Many scientists are attracted by how wonderful,
  how complex and how interesting their subject is.
• Many would see that by improving their knowledge
  of science, they are improving their knowledge of
  Gods world.

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Let us look from the viewpoint of a person living
in Biblical times.

• For this person, there is no such thing as
  science. There is no such category of knowledge
  in the way that we know it in the 21st century.
• For this person, when it rains it is because God
  chooses to make it rain. If there is a drought,
  it is because decided it. If you showed such a
  person all the meteorological evidence of
  temperatures, condensation and air currents, they
  might smile and say, Yes. God does all that
  when he chooses.

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Take Psalm 104 as an example

• The narrator sings
• 5He set the earth on its foundations it can
  never be moved.
• The congregation sing
•    6 You covered it with the deep as with a
  garment the waters stood above the mountains.
•     7 But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the
  sound of your thunder they took to flight
•     8 they flowed over the mountains, they went
  down into the valleys, to the place you assigned
  for them.
•    

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Psalm 104, contd.

• This says that God covered the mountains with
  water and that the water moved down into the
  valleys only when God told it to go.
• We would say that water naturally flows down
  hill. The Psalmist knows this. But saying water
  flows down hill naturally is the same as saying
  God tells it to move.
• God has built his laws into the way the world
  works.

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The sea obeys the laws of nature.The sea obeys
the laws of God.
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Psalm 104, another example.

• In another place it says
• 14 He makes grass grow for the cattle,       
  and plants for man to cultivate        bringing
  forth food from the earth
•  15 wine that gladdens the heart of man,       
  oil to make his face shine,        and bread
  that sustains his heart.

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• This says that the grass and other plants grow
  because God makes them grow, for a purpose that
  he has decided feeding animals and providing
  people with food, drink - and oil for their skin!

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From a Biblical viewpoint

• To suggest that scientific laws are opposed to
  God is nonsensical!
• To suggest that God is opposed to people learning
  the scientific laws that he has built into his
  creation is completely absurd!
• Science is the study of the wonderful work of God.

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Science is the study of the wonderful works of
God...

• For a few examples of scientists who agree with
  this see the next presentation
• RELIGION AND SCIENCE , PART 2 SCIENTISTS