Special Insights No. 6
Second Quarter 2007
Adult Sabbath School Lessons
“Thy Word Is a Lamp Unto My Feet”
(Produced by the Editorial Board of the 1888 Message Study Committee)
The Bible and Science
It is no coincidence that Darwin’s
theory of evolution was first published in 1859. Look at what was going
on in the religious world at the same time. God was attempting to bring
to a close the longest time prophecy in the Bible—Daniel 8:14:
“then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Recount the events
taking place in the years surrounding this date.
- 1831—William Miller began preaching the message of the second
coming of Christ.
- 1844—The “Great Disappointment” over the misunderstanding
of the meaning of the sanctuary.
- 1863—The founding (organization) of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church.
- 1888—The beginning of the Loud Cry message of Christ and His
righteousness as humanity’s only means of salvation.
- 1890s—“Social Darwinism” is having an effect teaching
that man can remedy sin’s problems by trying harder and moving
up the “good behavior” ladder.
Satan always works to counterfeit the work of God. As God was bringing
the truth of the closing messages of Revelation 14:6-12 to the world,
Satan was working to counterfeit and block that very truth that would
destroy him. Satan provided skeptics with what they needed to turn away
from the light of truth.
“The philosopher turns aside from the light of salvation, because
it puts his proud theories to shame; the worldling refuses to receive
it, because it would separate him from his earthly idols. Paul saw that
the character of Christ must be understood before men could love Him
or view the cross with the eye of faith. Here must begin that study
which shall be the science and the song of the redeemed through all
eternity. In the light of the cross alone can the true value of the
human soul be estimated” (Acts of the Apostles, p. 273).
Sadly, science is often seen as opposing the Bible. In actuality, the
study of science reveals the character of God. It naturally follows
that when one approaches science without acknowledging God there will
be significant results. Usually Christians see those results in the
form of autonomy, man takes the authority of God and reorders life as
he sees fit. Such an act can cause real problems. I recently was reading
E. J. Waggoner’s The Everlasting Covenant, and found a most interesting
issue that puts this struggle in a new light.
Exodus 33:14: “My presence shall go with you, and I will give
you rest.”
Waggoner wrote, “ Rest was promised, and could be found only
in God’s presence, which was to go with His people. ... The rest
that was offered to the children of Israel in the desert, is the very
same rest that Christ offers to all mankind, rest in God. ...
“God always was and is everywhere present; why then do not all
people have rest?—For the simple reason that as a general thing
men do not recognize His presence, nor even His existence. Instead of
taking God into account in all the affairs of life, most people live
as though He did not exist” (The Everlasting Covenant, pp. 283,
284, Glad Tidings ed.).
The problem with science, as it has been studied too often, is that
it does not recognize God’s presence or existence. The result
of such a course is to cut one’s self off from the rest of God.
That rest is what the world is desperately seeking but never finds.
Instead, its failure to find God’s rest reveals itself in forms
of sleeplessness, stress, addictions, and the spending of money and
other resources to the detriment of the majority of the world’s
population. How can we laud ourselves as being so successful with all
our inventions and achievements when so many in the world have so little?
It is clear that man cannot produce rest or peace on his own. Without
recognizing the presence of God, man is left to his own abilities to
order for life to produce justice, equity, and fairness. This he has
not been able to do. But this truth is not without rebuke to the church.
Christianity is no less accountable for recognizing the presence of
God. History has too many examples of professed believers that exhibit
“Laodicea” (cf. Rev 3:14-21) characteristics that have discouraged
many from the gospel.
The challenge facing us today is to seek first the kingdom of God,
to learn to recognize His presence. Only knowing Him will bring the
peace and rest we all crave. Then science will be seen as one avenue
God has given us to understand His creative design and care. Without
the self-absorbed approach that seems to plague its study, science will
be the witness to God’s marvelous love it was intended to be for
each one of us.
“O whom then will you compare Me to, or who is My equal? Says
the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who has created
these things, that brings out their host by number: He calls them all
by names by the greatness of His might, for He is strong in power, not
one fails” (Isa. 40:25, 26).
—Robert Van Ornam
(Note: A series of CDs on these lessons recorded
by this Robert J. Wieland is available from the office of the 1888 Message
Study Committee: 269-473-1888.)
Listen to the audio recording for Lesson 6 now in MP3 format.
Read Special Insights 7 |