Lexham Press is the publisher of a series called “Scripture in Context”. One of the volumes in that series is titled Science and the Bible: Modern Insights for an Ancient Text, and it is authored by David Instone-Brewer.
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Science and the Bible: Modern Insights for an Ancient Text
There are two aspects of this book that I really liked. The first one is the purpose of this book. It is no secret that the Bible and Science are treated as enemies and not friends. Those two words are often deemed as antonyms. The truth is, however, that God is the author of both Special Revelation (Holy Scripture) and General Revelation (the natural world that points us to a wise and powerful Creator). Though General Revelation and Science are not synonymous, Science is indeed attempting to rightly understand the world that the Lord has made.
Instone-Brewer is taking the approach that says the Bible and Science are friends that can help one another interpret each other. Though I don’t disagree that Science is able to help us rightly understand certain Biblical passages, I feel uncomfortable with this approach. I’m admittedly much more comfortable relying on Special Revelation to help me rightly interpret General Revelation, but very uncomfortable with the reverse. So I like Instone-Brewer’s premise for the book, but I fear that he may push this too far at times.
For instance, the Bible is quite clear in its teaching of God’s omniscience. According to Instone-Brewer, string theory is able to help us better understand God’s omniscience. Instead of looking at the plain teaching of the Bible in regards to God’s attribute of omniscience, the author feels the need to look elsewhere (and string theory of all things?) to find more information about His character. Is not Scripture enough, sufficient, for us to rightly understand this? These are the type of things that made me feel as if Instone-Brewer is going too far in trying to bring Science and the Bible together.
The second aspect that I really liked was the format of this book. Each chapter is quite short, and there is a really nice summary at the end of each chapter. Instone-Brewer included a lot of “extra” information in the footnotes for those who would prefer to go deeper.
Conclusion
I must admit that I did not agree with much of what the author teaches in this book. Whether it be in regards to creation or the constituency of man, I didn’t agree with his conclusions. Perhaps more disappointing, I didn’t see him interact too often with opposing views.
I also feel as if his interpretation of Scripture is highly affected/influenced by Science, but it didn’t seem like His interpretation of Science was highly affected/influenced by Scripture. Yes, it is true that the church messed up big with the whole Galileo fiasco, but this should not lead us to swing the pendulum to the extreme opposite side. On the flip side, I like interacting with others that I disagree with, so for that reason, I did enjoy reading through the book.
Disclaimer: My thanks to Lexham Press for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Matt became a joyful follower of Jesus at the age of 21. He is very grateful to be a husband to Lindsey, and a father to four boys. He is an ordained minister (teaching elder) in the PCA. He previously served as a pastor of biblical counseling and is currently a corporate chaplain in southern Delaware. Matt received his Master of Divinity degree in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds an advanced certification in biblical counseling from the Association of Biblical Counselors. In his free time, he loves playing with his boys, traveling with his wife, and reading (and buying!) books.
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