I recently had the pleasure of attending a lecture by Dr. John Walton at Fuller Theological Seminary titled, “Origins Today- Genesis Through Ancient Eyes.” There’s still a lot I need to process through about the lecture, but there were many parts of it that were incredibly helpful.

It spoke to an issue that has plagued the church for centuries: science vs. faith.

Somewhere along the way, Christianity adopted the notion that science and religion are somehow opposed to each other. It has alienated Christians who are convinced of evolution, and forced Christians to choose between science or Christianity.

But what if this is a false dilemma?

I believe that this mistaken belief came about because the church made ‘biblical’ claims that the bible never made. In their reading of Genesis 1-2, (through a heavily Hellenistic lens) they sought a material explanation of the world. Dr. Walton claims that this is simply not an explanation that it seeks to give. Instead, says Walton, “Genesis 1 and 2 is an account of making a house into a home.”

The opening verse of Genesis 1 makes the statement, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This is about as much we get about the material creation of the world. But in verse 2 we find that, “The earth was without form and void…” So when we enter “Day 1” of “creation”, we already have a physical universe, but one that is “without form.”

The emphasis then is not what was spoken into existence, but how what existed was formed, and given order. It is a move from disorder to order. It is about creating time (the passage of days/the separation of light and dark), weather (the physical environment we inhabit between the waters above and the waters below), and the food we eat (fish, birds, vegetation, etc.).

God created the “house” of the universe in verse one, but created the “home” of God and man in verses 2-31. Walton claims that the creation account in Genesis is analogous to the building of Solomon’s temple. While the temple took 7 years to build, it was just an impressive architectural achievement until God’s presence rested on it; then and only then did it become sacred space.

While the pinnacle of creation is often assumed to be on the sixth day, with the creation of man, we are mistaken. The seventh, “day of rest,” was not an afterthought, not a “dead” day, but the true pinnacle of creation. The world was created for rest. Dr. Walton claims that the term “rest” is best contrasted with the word “unrest”. God, as the sovereign of all creation, brought rest where there was unrest, and when we “rest”, we are surrendering our work and attempts to control our corner of the world to his sovereign control of all things. Our rest is a reflection and acknowledgment of his sovereignty.

When mankind sinned, we desired to, “be like God,” and attempted to subvert God’s position as the sovereign of the universe. We created unrest, and lost the ability to rest in His authority. The restoration of the universe is a submission to His sovereignty. It is in this submission that we find rest, and joy, and life, and peace.

In conclusion: the Bible is not concerned by accounts of material creation. God created it. That’s how the material got here. Accounting for the mechanics of creation, and a history of what happened since “God created the heavens and the earth,” is science’s job. It is not the role of Genesis to provide that information. Instead, Genesis proclaims the function of all things, and shows how the world was created as a sacred space for God to commune with man. It explains the problem of creation, and highlights the road to redemption. So instead of ostracizing and alienating scientists or university students in the church, we need to reconsider our paradigm, and stop making claims beyond the scope of the bible. Exegetical study keeps us honest. I believe that good communication is saying everything you mean, and nothing that you don’t. In a church setting, I pray that we say nothing more or less than is revealed by God. Let science perform its function, and let the bible speak its message, and please don’t conflate the two.

We need to not stop fighting and defending a position that the bible doesn’t hold to. It is damaging, dishonest, and divisive. I pray that we can celebrate and lift up the work of scientists in our churches, and lay down this barrier to the gospel that shouldn’t even exist.

But what do you think? How should the church interact with science?

*EDIT*

To clarify: I am not advocating any scientific theory: I only hoped to show that bible is not making any claims about material creation beyond, “God made it.” No exegetical study is going to resolve the issues that Intelligent Designers, Young Earthers, and Theistic Evolutionists have with each other.