When Faith and Science Collide

Book excerpt: When scientific evidence or theories appear to conflict with the Bible, how should Christians respond? Should traditional interpretations always be maintained regardless of physical evidence to the contrary, or are there occasions when it is appropriate to adopt a different interpretation of scripture that fits scientific understanding better? Answering these questions is not a simple matter of whether one believes the Bible to be true or not, for there are many who claim belief in the authority and inspiration of the Bible who fall on opposite sides of the debate over evolution and the age of the earth. In this book, G.R. Davidson offers a simple three-step approach for examining scripture and science any time the two appear to clash. The approach honors scripture first and addresses the strength of scientific evidence only after satisfying scriptural constraints. When applied to evolution and the age of the earth, the result reveals far more harmony than discord!