The Great Physician I: Origins

I’m actually excited to begin posting original material to my blog again. A new beginning. Reborn if you will. As is often the case when I write, I find digressions that just cannot fit into the topic I’m working on. My ideas and sources essentially find their origins or fountainheads in other reference materials. They in turn find their origin in the fountainhead of true knowledge: Scripture.

This was one of them.

One of my sources this time was an pretty old book: Modern Science and Christian Faith (1950). It was not solely pigeonholed to medicine. Some of its non-medical topics are fascinating and worthy of singular mention. Additionally, I should note that every single author in this book has passed on to be with their Maker which makes their essays ever more powerful.

Alton Everest wrote the Preface to this 1948 book (2nd edition 1950). In it he stated the following:

“This volume has been written to demonstrate two things: 1. Between the observations of science and a simple, direct interpretation of the Bible narrative there exists a harmony such as would be expected of a Book having the same Author as the physical world. 2. There is an appreciable group of reputable men of science who are convinced of the inspired origin of the Bible and who find in it a stimulating, satisfying, and irreplaceable contribution to their scientific picture of the universe. “This [book] represents the concerted effort of several score men of science over a period of more than six years. This group of Christian professional scientists is composed largely of college professors and industrial researchers representing the various branches of scientific specialization... It is hoped that in the diversity of authors and in the symposium form of presentation those pitfalls may be avoided into which scores of books treating the delicate no man’s land between science and religion have fallen."

It has been my experience that one of the pitfalls of modern scientists and science is an all-too-ready acceptance of anything in the name of science and forcing of scriptural interpretation to fit. The proverbial jamming of the square peg into the round hole. On the other side is clinging to dubious biblical exegesis by Christians (incorrect presupposition brought the Bible) which distorts the entirety of the Bible. It is the age old argument of Biblical Inerrancy. If you allow one mistake to exist in the Bible it puts the whole Bible in question.

The diamonds I mined from this book were as follows.

Peter Stoner makes statements in Chapter II that speak to beginnings, cosmology, origins and the Big Bang. [Remember this is after Edwin Hubble, the Big Bang Theory and expanding universe (Hubble’s Constant) which all agree with the Bible.]

“Thirty years ago [1920] there were serious discrepancies between Genesis and Astronomy. Today there is striking agreement which has been brought about by the development of science. Further developments are certain to come. They will, no doubt, show still more emphatically that the Genesis account is in accord with the universe which was and which is. Although Genesis was written thousands of years ago, every reference to astronomy in this first chapter is corroborated by the best of our present scientific information. And yet we note that books of astronomy, written 25 [1925, prior to Big Bang Theory, Hubble's Constant] years ago or more, are full of serious errors… Only the Creator of the universe, the earth, and the life upon it could have told thousands of years ago the nature and process of that creation.”

Edwin Gedney notes the use of the Hebrew word י֔וֹם “yom” spelled exactly the same way in multiple places in the Old Testament but meaning different amounts of chronological time.

“When it is translated by out word ‘day,’ as it usually is, it may have a number of implications. It is used to designate: 1. That twenty-four-hour period from evening to evening. 2. That portion of the above period which is light (Gen 1:14, 16, 18) 3. A prophetic year (Ezekiel 4:6) 4. A day set apart with a distinctive purpose as the Day of Atonement, or the Sabbath Day (Genesis 2:3). 5. A period of time in indefinite duration during which God begins and ends some specific work (Genesis 2:4, Isaiah 2;12, 22:5) All but the third of these usages will be found in the first chapters of Genesis.” (Pg. 51) He also provided a chart correlating “Events Noted In Scripture” with the “Geological Timetable”; e.g., “the sea brings forth” = the Paleozoic Era, “Beasts of the earth” = Cenozoic Era, etc. (Pg. 52-53). In other words the word ‘day’ or ‘yom’

William Smalley and Marie Fetzer suggests the following. By suggesting the following they are essentially saying that the fossil record was and still is extremely scant to draw definitive conclusions on. Its like trying to make Christian dogma from one verse in the Bible. Additionally, it also begs the question. Where is the line between men and apes drawn when we have NO scientific evidence of said specimens?

“Many Christians have … been taught that the morphological features of the fossil men presented only slight deviations from the morphological features of many today… Often it has been said jokingly that Neanderthal man is a frequent patron of the New York subways! However, a careful study of comparative morphology shows that there are large difference between the structure of man today and the structure of many of the fossil men… The evidence seems to indicate that man is much older than most evangelical Christians have suggested… These data do not mean that the Scriptures are in error… Christians should be interested in all the documented evidence anthropology can offer on fossil men. If substantial evidence conflicts with certain traditional interpretations of Scripture, such interpretations may require some modifications. The task, therefore, is to evaluate and make available to the thinking Christian public the pertinent information available from human paleontology.” (Pg. 161-162) Later, they conclude, “There is strong evidence, which is constantly increasing, for the antiquity of fossil man.” (Pg. 183)

Allen MacRae hits on the idea of intellectual presupposition or what I’ve referred to as a persons interpretive grid. We all come to certain topics with past bias that color our view of data and/or reality.

“When a noted Egyptologist thus believes the Biblical statements to be out of touch with reality, what is the correct attitude to take? …. The attitude of one who truly believes in Christ as Savior and Lord must be that of suspended judgment on the particular point involved, while seeking for more evidence… Christians may have been in error in their interpretation of the meaning of the Biblical statement, and second, that further scientific evidence may come to light, either from archaeology, or from some other source…” (Pg. 217-218) Later, he adds, “It is vital that the Christian clearly understand the nature of his attitude toward the Bible. It is not because archaeological facts have been discovered which throw light upon it that he accepts it as true. He accepts it because of his belief in Jesus Christ of whom it speaks and who set the seal of His authority upon it.” (Pg. 222)

Lastly, I mention the chapter, “Psychology and the Christian Faith”. This chapter drove home an extremely powerful point to me. A man who suffered through depression and sadly sees mental illness in a lot of people as I am in contact with multitudes of people in my work and ministry. The author observed:

“But although spiritual regeneration is the primary factor in the total integration of reorientation of the individual, there may be other problems present for which the Christian may need psychological or psychiatric help. There is no promise in the Scriptures of immunity from mental or bodily illness for the believer. Furthermore, it is not to be assumed that bringing the person into a right relationship with God through Christ will necessarily solve all the problems of the psychopath immediately without further effort and cooperation on his part. Problems of maladjustment may be found to exist, even in the lives of Christians. But the fact remains that an active faith in Christ is the most powerful dynamic and central factor in the integration and stabilization of the whole personality.” (Pg. 266-267).

In other words, the author is saying simply this: You’re forgiven of your sin but sin has consequences that can continue or ripple down through time the rest of your life. Being a Christian and accepting the truth of what Christ did on the cross doesn’t make you prefect. It makes you a sinner saved by grace.

This book was largely been forgotten. A diamond reburied in the detritus of a godless society. It took me doing internet research and buying it from Alibris in poor condition to reclaim the knowledge but I found it still well worth reading even nearly 70 years after its publication.