The Bible and Science

Dr. John C. Whitcomb
6147 Hythe Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46220

[This is an outline of the Bible and Science lectures found on the Audio Tape Series #BS-00 and Video Series VBS#-00 which is available to be ordered.]

Lecture #1: The Creator and His Methods

I. Who Was the Creator? (Gen. 1:1-5. Basic answers to ultimate questions.)

1. The plurality of persons within the eternal Godhead

2. The Son of God was the actual Creator of all things

3. The entire Godhead was involved in the creation

4. The significance of this fact (1 Cor. 3:22-23)

II. What Method Did the Creator Employ?

1. The significance of the word "created" (Hebrew: BARA)

2. The key New Testament text on creation (Hebrews 11:3)

3. Creation was both supernatural and sudden

4. The rigid chronological framework of Genesis 1

5. Objections to a literal creation week

6. The Gap Theory of Genesis 1:2

III. When Was "The Beginning"?

1. Not 4004 B.C. (Genesis 5 and 11 are genealogies, not chronologies)

2. The date of creation

Lecture #2: The Origin of the Universe

I. The Antiquity of the Universe

1. Brief review of Lecture #1

2. Two key factors for determining the absolute age of anything

3. Application of these factors and illustrations to the absolute antiquity of the stars, the moon, the earth, the oceans, and the human race.

4. Conclusions on the age of the earth and universe and clues from the realm of science

II. The Original Condition of the Heavens and the Earth

1. The three heavens of Scripture (cf. 2 Cor. 12:1-4)

2. The original condition of the first heaven

3. The original condition of the second heaven

4. The original condition of the third heaven

5. General analysis of the earth's original condition

III. Did the Earth Come From a "Proto-Sun"?

1. The evolutionary challenge to the earth-first concept

2. The collapse of the planetesimal theory

3. The failures of the nebular hypothesis

4. A direct creation of the solar system by God is the only reasonable answer to such problems.

IV. Why Did God Create the Earth First?

1. The uniqueness of the earth as the center of God's redemptive purposes in the universe

2. The theological error that is encouraged by assuming a prior existence of the sun

3. The tremendous superiority of the sun, moon, and stars in contrast to the "light" of Genesis 1:3 as benefits to man

4. Christ and His Word must be our final guide as we seek to understand the origin, meaning, and destiny of the heavens and the earth.

Lecture #3: The Origin of Life

I. The Order in Which Things Were Created (Gen. 1:11-13)

1. The real reason why evolutionism must assume that marine creatures appeared first

2. Why the creation-by-chance concept has fallen upon evil days

3. Evolutionary "faith" and the origin of life

4. The "god" of evolutionism is dead!

5. God's order of events intentionally contradicts the order which His chief rival today (CHANCE) must assume

II. The Manner in Which Things Were Created (Gen. 1:11)

1. Full-grown fruit trees first, seeds in ground later

2. Full-grown people first, babies later

3. Hens first, then eggs

4. Faith in a miracle-working God vs. "faith" in purely natural processes through time

5. Miracles are consistent with the nature of God (cf. Isa. 55:10-11)

6. Public demonstration of creation methods by the incarnate Christ for three years on earth

7. CHRIST IS THE KEY TO CREATION!

Lecture #4: Genesis and Evolution

I. The Number and Variety of Living Things at the Beginning

1. Evolutionists agree that there could have been no variety at all

2. The God of Creation did not face such limitations! (Gen. 1:20-21)

3. An example of the dilemma of evolutionism: the whale

4. Could God have created whales while everything else evolved?

II. How Much Change Can Occur in Living Things Through Time?

1. Evolutionism sets no real limits: "the family tree of life"

2. All major institutions and leaders in natural sciences hold this view

3. Basic objections to "the family tree of life"

III. How Much Time Has Been Required For All Living Things to Appear?

1. Why is nothing apparently evolving now?

2. The insatiable thirst for more t-i-m-e!

3. The ape to man problem is more difficult than ever

4. God didn't even need time to create the world!

5. The testimony of the New Testament to Christ: "The Key to All Creation"

Lecture #5: The Origin of Man

I. The Testimony of Genesis 1:26-28 (The Image and Likeness of God)

1. Self-consciousness.

2. Purpose and goals in life. Freedom.

3. Rationality, speech, fellowship.

4. Capacity for teaching and education. Tools, history.

5. Complex emotions.

6. Aesthetic capacity. Art and music in creative sense.

7. Moral nature. Conscience, sin, guilt, punishment.

8. Knowledge of God. Sacrifice, worship, obedience, service, love.

9. Personal existence beyond the grave.

II. The Testimony of Genesis 2:18-23 (The Creation of Eve)

1. Genesis 2 compared to Genesis 1

2. Adam's psychological preparation for Eve's creation (19, 20)

3. Adam's physical preparation for Eve's creation (21-23)

4. The evolutionary alternative to this account (1 Cor. 2:14)

5. The theistic evolution alternative

III. The Testimony of the New Testament

1. Matthew 19:4

2. 1 Timothy 2:13

3. 1 Corinthians 15:39

4. 1 Corinthians 11:8

IV. The Testimony of Genesis 2:7 (Dust of the Ground)

1. The dust was not animated

2. Man became a living creature, not "living soul"

3. How did it happen?

4. A full-grown man only one hour old!

V. The Attitude of Modern Paleo-anthropologists

VI. The Final Authority of the Genesis Creation Account

1. John 5:45

2. Matthew 5:17

3. Luke 24:25

4. Matthew 22:29

Lecture #6: The Original Perfection of the World

I. Man's Original Dominion (Gen. 1:29-31)

1. Balance of nature and population explosion?

2. Our dominion is only a shadow of Adam's (James 3:7)

3. Christ's earthly ministry the only valid analogy to Adam

II. The Fall and the Edenic Curse

1. Man is no longer king of the earth!

2. The world system programmed to frustration (Ecclesiastes 1:12-15)

3. The modern tendency to blame God for the problem

4. The true blame falls upon mankind, not God

III. The Specific Terms of the Edenic Curse (Gen. 2:17; 3:14-19)

1. Spiritual death (Gen. 2:17; 3:7)

2. Physical death (Gen. 5; Heb. 9:27)

3. Painful childbirth (Gen. 3:16)

4. Serpent cursed (and entire animal kingdom; Gen. 3:14; Rom. 8:20-22)

5. Ground cursed (Gen. 3:17-19)

IV. The Modern Pseudo-Scientific Alternative: TOTAL EVOLUTIONISM

V. The Impossibility of the Evolutionary Alternative

1. From a Biblical standpoint

2. From a scientific standpoint

VI. Clashing Eschatologies

1. The evolutionist's "hope" - later, perhaps!

2. God's sure promises

Lecture #7: The Flood and the Final Judgment

I. The Crisis of Pseudo-Scientific Skepticism (2 Pet. 3:1-6)

1. God's provision for His people in times of crisis

2. The nature of the crisis

3. God's answer to end-time skeptics: THE FLOOD (vv. 5-6)

4. The pressure upon modern Christians

II. The Nature and Extent of the Genesis Flood (Gen. 7:11-20)

1. The sources of the Flood waters (Supernatural intervention)

2. The extent of the Flood waters (Geographically universal)

III. Noah's Ark (Gen. 6:14-22)

1. Unique in the history of oceanic vessels

2. Its shape (a barge, not a ship)

3. Its proportions (contrast the Babylonian Ark)

4. Its dimensions (100,000 sq. ft.; 1,400,000 cubic feet)

5. Its cargo

IV. The Objections of Modern Scholars

1. Noah couldn't have gathered all the animals!

2. Noah's family couldn't have cared for all the animals in the Ark during the year of the Flood!

3. Where could the waters go after the Flood ended, if they covered the entire earth?

4. Where are the visible effects of the Flood if it covered the entire earth?

V. The Comparison to the Final Flood of Fire (2 Pet. 3:7-13)

1. The universal melting of elements

2. The only means of escape (Heb. 11:7)

3. The warning of Jesus Christ (Matt. 24:37-39)

4. Christ is God's Ark of salvation today

Lecture #8: The Flood and Modern Geology

I. The Basically Supernatural Character of the Flood

1. The cause of the modern rejection of the Flood

2. Five supernatural aspects of the Flood event

3. The miracle of the ending of the Flood

II. The Natural and Providential Aspects of the Flood

1. The rarity of miracles in Bible history

2. No evidence of additional miracles during the Flood

3. Known processes of flood action at work

III. The Anticipated Effects of a Global Flood

1. Enormous capacity for erosion and destruction

2. Not chaotic mixture, but horizontal layers

3. Vast fossilization of plants and animals

IV. The Theological Significance of the Flood

1. God's holiness and sovereignty vindicated at the Flood

2. God will not permit the Flood to be forgotten by mankind

3. A PRAYER: (the testimony of the Flood and the absolute necessity of the atoning death of Christ)

Lecture #9: Noah and the Dispersion From Babel

I. Noah's Faith and Family

1. The Lifespan of Noah (Gen. 5:32)

2. Noah's Unique Faith (Gen. 6:8-13; 6:1-5)

3. The Purpose of the Flood

4. The Covenant with Noah and His Sons (Gen. 9:1-7)

5. The Prophecy of Nations (9:20-27)

II. The Dispersion From Babel

1. The Judgment of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9)

2. The Table of Nations (Gen. 10)

Lecture #10: Modern Science and Biblical Miracles

I. Miracles Are Central to the Christian Faith (1 Cor. 15)

1. The resistance of 20th century scientism to Biblical miracles

2. Paul's assertions on the crucial importance of the bodily resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15:12-15, 17-19)

3. The pseudo-scientific challenge and our response

II. God's Method of Giving Us Full Assurance Concerning the Resurrection (Rom. 10:9-10)

1. Scientism rejects the Biblical concept of "the heart"

2. The unique importance of this aspect of man in Scripture

3. My personal experience of this reality

4. Do we not need visible confirmation of this experience?

III. The Supremacy of Spiritual Faith Over Visible Signs As the Foundation of Salvation and Maturity in the New Testament

1. John 2:23-25

2. John 3:1-16

3. John 6

4. John 20:19-29

5. Luke 16:19-31

6. Basic Concluding Principles

Lecture #11: How May We Defend the Bible?

I. What Kind of Answers Must We Be Able to Give? (1 Pet. 3:14-16)

1. The antisupernatural atmosphere of our day

2. The special challenge to Christian students in secular schools

II. My Own Experience at Princeton University in 1943

1. A challenge and an attempted answer

2. Biblical answers and a genuine conversion

III. The Importance of Understanding Man's True Spiritual Condition Apart From God

1. The unseen presence of Satan (Eph. 6:12)

2. Even Paul was staggered by this problem (2 Cor. 4:3)

3. No unregenerate man is neutral toward God (Ps. 14:1-3; Rom. 8:6; 1 Cor. 2:14)

4. Unregenerate men are enemies of God, even like Paul on the road to Damascus (cf. Rom. 5:10)

IV. In Spite of the Stupendous Problem, We Have Adequate Resources

1. Our word cannot penetrate, but God's Word can (Heb. 4:12)

2. Only the Holy Spirit can create genuine faith (1 Cor. 12:3)

3. There are deep mysteries in the Christian faith that no theologians can fathom (1 Tim. 3:9; Rom. 11:33; 1 Cor. 13:12)

4. 1 Peter 3:14-15 gives the true perspective on witnessing to lost men ("not afraid . . . not troubled . . . sanctify the Lord God in your hearts") - (Isa. 55:10-13; 2 Cor. 2:16)

5. God's Word by the Holy Spirit penetrates men's hearts so deeply that they can never be the same again, even though they may resist.

6. Since the Bible is God's exclusive weapon, we must preach and proclaim it rather than academically defend it (though this is both possible and necessary at the proper time and place)

7. This emphasizes the urgency of the message!

V. Does This Approach to Men Involve Circular Reasoning?

1. This so-called "circle of reasoning" ("proving the Bible by quoting the Bible") happens to be God's circle, and it encompasses the soul/spirit of the unregenerate man as well!

2. No other approach would work, for the Gospel alone has soul-transforming power

3. The evidence of transformed lives is unanswerable

VI. Our Attitude in Dealing With Unregenerate Men Is Vitally Important

1. Peter's appeal: "meekness, fear, good conscience" (1 Pet. 3:16)

2. Paul's admonition: "avoid, not strive, gentle, patient" (2 Tim. 2:23ff)

3. Thus, the best "defender of the faith" and the best "apologist" is the best student of Scripture (2 Tim. 2:15), not necessarily the best scientist, philosopher, historian, archaeologist, logician, etc. (though God certainly puts no premium on ignorance as such, and often uses these disciplines in their rightful place)

4. The Word of God, like physical light, needs bold presentation more than subtle and academic argumentation. It is self-authenticating and self-vindicating, so that the humblest Christian can use it through the Holy Spirit with astounding effectiveness.

Lecture #12: Does God Want Christians to Perform Miracles Today?

Introduction

1. Satan's strategy of destroying our confidence in Scripture by casting doubt upon the reality of Biblical miracles

2. Satan's strategy of distracting our attention from Scripture by means of modern "miracle-workers"

I. The Pressure Is On

1. Movements that offer new revelations from God

2. The suffocating atmosphere of uniformitarian scientism which spawns such movements

3. The legitimate desire for divine intervention in history

II. God's Plan and Purpose for Miracles

1. Miracles must be rare to retain their sign value

2. Christ's purpose in performing miracles

3. Miracles are no longer needed

III. Christ's Miracles Were Unique

1. They were abundant (Matt. 14:14; Luke 6:19)

2. They were spectacular (Luke 22:50; John 11)

3. They were undeniable (John 3:2; 11:47)

IV. Is God Healing Sick People Today?

1. Sick Christians must ask for "elders" to come (James 5:13-16)

2. If God does heal, it is not for a "sign" to unbelievers

3. Healing is not automatically guaranteed each time

V. Paul Himself Lived to See the Passing of Miracles

1. Paul could not heal himself (2 Cor. 12:7-10)

2. After arriving at Rome, he could not heal others (1 Tim. 5:23; 2 Tim. 4:20)

3. The scaffolding of miracles vanished as the edifice of Holy Scripture was being completed

4. The testimony of early church fathers concerning the cessation of miracles after the apostolic period

VI. Christ Clearly Implied That Physical Miracles Would Be Supplanted by Even Greater Works During the Church Age

1. Christ's miracles were great, but were intentionally superficial and temporary in quality

2. Greater works than these would have to be spiritual miracles of regeneration (basic and permanent in nature) - John 14:12; cf. Acts 2:41

3. God is concerned about our physical weakness, but will not solve the problem permanently until the resurrection day (Rom. 8:23)

4. The Church doesn't need new revelation, more apostles, or special miracle powers:

THE CHURCH NEEDS A NEW CONFRONTATION WITH THE WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD, PROCLAIMED IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH AUTHORITY AND LOVE, BY MEN WHO KNOW THEIR GOD AND WHO HONOR HIS ONLY WRITTEN REVELATION.