We go to church to learn about science

Science and the Bible, Clovis Church of Christ, Clovis, California
“We’ve got a loose one up here,” Steve Byrd, the evening’s speaker, said about the small child running toward the front. The mother corralled the kid; this hadn’t been a problem other times when Byrd taught the same material at Clovis Church of Christ. Before, he’s taught junior and senior highers; I’m sure that instead of one kid trying to run wild, there were many doing so. It was a Friday evening, and there was a good crowd with a wide range of ages to hear the first of two presentations on “Science & the Bible.”

Many people greeted us as we came in the building and even after we sat down. One of the elders, Scott Young, recognized us as visitors and gave us a visitor’s card to fill out. Scott also introduced Byrd to the congregation as a “member of the church” and a “Bible believer.”

“I’ve always wanted to present this material to everyone, not just the kids,” Byrd said as he got started. He mentioned that as a child he was fascinated with dinosaurs, as many little boys are. He thought he had to choose between dinos and the Bible.

He went on get his degree in biology at Cal Poly. “I’ve seen everything that evolution has to offer and everything that the Bible has to offer. And the Bible has more.” He said that he believes the Book of Job in the Bible even offers dinosaurs.

Though his expertise was in biology, he began by talking about archeology. He talked about the Mari tablets that mention names from Abraham’s family (though not Abe’s name), but then he discussed what he (quite rightly) called the greatest archaeological discovery of all time: the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Before 1947, when the scrolls were discovered, scholars of the historical-critical method had questioned whether the transcription of the Bible through the centuries was trustworthy. Made up of over eight hundred scrolls, written between 200 BC and 68 AD, the Dead Sea Scrolls contained portions and/or complete texts of all the Old Testament books except Esther and revealed that Scripture had been transcribed with incredible fidelity through the years.

Steve went on to talk about “finding these little nuggets of science hidden in plain sight in the Bible.” He believes that there are scientific revelations that prove that God wrote the Bible, arguing that there are two options, the Bible was either written by “Hebrew shepherds or by God.” I think that is a false dichotomy, perhaps even a slightly heretical. II Timothy talks about Scripture being God-breathed, people divinely inspired to write. Just as Jesus is understood by orthodox theologians to be fully God and fully Man, I believe the Bible is also fully divine and fully human. It is not an either/or.

I’m sorry to say the “nuggets of science” he found didn’t resonate with me. He talked about how in the last few decades, scientists have come understand that the sun follows a path in the Milky Way, making a rotation every 230 million years, then pointed to Psalm 19, which describes the sun running its course. He said this word choice indicated the course the sun makes in the Milky Way. That interpretation didn’t seem the most likely to me; instead, I think the writer was talking about the sun moving daily across the sky, which isn’t technically what happens (actually the earth moves) but it is true in the same way we all still talk about “sunrise” and “sunset.”

But despite my quibbles, it was good to see so many people coming to learn about Christian apologetics, to gain a greater intellectual understanding of their faith. And it was wonderful that they were so cheerful and welcoming while they were learning.

Science + Religion

Josh Denhart and the Amazing Chemistry Show, Iowa

“I don’t believe in religion, I believe in science.” I’ve heard people say such things. There are a number of people that seem to think religion and science are mutually exclusive -- like being a fan of the Cubs or the White Sox. The more aggressive atheist apologists have recently been presenting this as a binary proposition, and YOU MUST CHOOSE ONE!

Josh Denhart doesn’t believe he has to choose between being a scientist or a person of faith. For eight years, he worked as a high school chemistry teacher, and until very recently he’s worked as Children’s Ministry Director (and Special Needs Ministry Director) at Valley Church in West Des Moines, Iowa. Now he’s begun a business of his own, combining his love of science and the Gospel.

I asked Josh how he could believe in science and Christianity. He said, “I love Jesus. I like to blow stuff up.” He said that those in the science community who suggest that science has anything to say about the validity of religion are taking science out of its rightful province into philosophy.

Josh’s current work takes him to schools and churches. I asked how he deals with the current controversies between science and religion. He said most of those the controversies today have to do with origins. He said that since he’s a chemist and not biologist, he’s able to stay away from those issues. He said his concern is sharing the Gospel.

I pressed him a little more about the question of the earth’s origin, and he answered, “If the earth is old, Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. If the earth is young, Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins.”

At Josh’s website, one can find a variety of resources and programs, including such things as family devotions and help for training Sunday School teachers. Josh offers a VBS program that promises “no lame craft projects,” instead offering “real science” including rockets, catapults, and chemical reactions.

Another offering of Josh’s is "The Amazing Chemistry Show.” We were able to watch the show at a meeting for Christian camp workers at Wildwood Hills Ranch in St. Charles, Iowa. The show had what the website promised: colored foam, liquid nitrogen, glow in the dark solutions, and especially explosions (and more). Throughout the program, Josh used the experiments as illustrations of Christian truths.

This makes perfect sense when Josh performs his show at churches. As he said, “It’s a sermon masquerading as a science show.” One of the first places he presented what was to become “The Amazing Science Show” was the Great Pumpkin Party at Valley Church.

But Josh can also perform the show at public schools. I was quite intrigued when Josh said he’d presented his program at public schools with church sponsorship. I asked if he tried to present spiritual messages in these public school presentations. He emphatically answered that he did not, adding, “I have a respect for the laws of the land.” He said he wouldn’t appreciate someone taking advantage of their position in a school to teach another religion to his children.

So I asked how it worked when a church provides a show for their local school. He said if a church sponsors an Amazing Chemistry Show or the even bigger “Day of Science” at a local school, Josh meets with the school administration and faculty to assure them that he will be presenting good science. His credentials, such as his BA in Chemistry Education and Masters in Effective Instruction, along with his National Board Certification in Young Adult and Adolescent Science, help with that assurance.

When a church gifts a school with this program, they also often provide a breakfast and lunch at the school as part of the program. The school chemistry program is all about science, but generally,  Josh also does a program at the local church that presents the Gospel. Sometimes the school allows the church program to be publicized at the school and sometimes not. But Josh provides materials so the church can publicize the program in other ways.

While many view Christianity and science as things that mix like oil and water, Josh has found an amazing formula to blend the two.