The things of creation and the worldviews of men come and go.

We will destroy the church if we do not have the courage in a radical day like ours to hold onto the absolutes of the Word of God regardless of the cost. But also when we train children to take equally what the Bible says and what people will think, we destroy the Bible's authority when the chips are down in the university.

  - Francis A. Schaeffer, Back to Freedom and Dignity

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

  - Isaiah 40:7

Just what is the authority of the Bible? How binding is its teaching? What does it stand over, and what, if anything, stands over it?

These are important questions, and they have a bearing on the work that Christians do in the various fields of scientific endeavor. "The Bible is not a science textbook." We hear that frequently as the prelude to an explanation concerning why we should not take this or that portion of Scripture literally. Does this mean the Bible is always subject to the next commanding worldview, to explain what it says and means?

The Bible is not a textbook on science. It is a record of divine revelation and absolute truth. It speaks clearly in broad and specific terms concerning God, the universe, human beings, and how all these relate. The Bible insists that the heavens and the earth belong to the Lord. He is their Creator. He keeps them in existence. He has appointed to human beings a care-taking and development role in the cosmos, but only within parameters designed to ensure that our work in every field of endeavor will bring blessings to our neighbors and glory to God. We need the Light of Scripture to guide us in how to fulfill this high and holy calling.

If we will not allow the Bible to speak plainly into our endeavors, so that they are shaped by its teaching and drive toward its objectives, then what kind of authority do we consider the Bible to have? Is it merely to tell us how to get to heaven when we die?

The things of creation and the worldviews of men come and go. The Word of the Lord remains forever. The light of divine wisdom, goodness, power, and majesty can be discerned in the things God has made. Part of the duty of science is to discover and celebrate the glory of God which glows in the light of created being.

But the light of God in creation is only intelligible as such in the brighter light of Scripture (Ps. 36:9).

The better students we are of the Word of God, the more God-honoring and beneficial will be our work in every other field, including the sciences. Let us hold fast to the authority of God's Word, so that the Light of divine revelation can have its full effect in guiding our labors according the God's eternal plan and purposes.

T. M. Moore

Senior Theologian and Historian