Holding the Phalanx of the Christian Life

22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! ~ Ro. 7:22-25a

As I was reading through my devotional for this morning (which is New Morning Mercies by Paul Tripp, and I highly recommend it), I was struck by something in Ro. 7 that I had never really thought about before. In vv. 22-23, Paul brings out how sanctification is a war in the Christian life. Yes, that is not really new, but the way I thought about it this morning was new to me. Sanctification being a war of sin, temptation, the world, my flesh, and the devil against my my union with Christ requires me to hold the phalanx of the Christian life and march forward always.

The Phalanx

The phalanx was an ancient battle formation that was really brought to its penical by the Spartans in ancient Greece. In the above photo, you get a pretty good picture of what it looked like (though, that photo is from the movie 300, which was really not representative of Spartan battle strategies in any other way than this one scene). The front line of soldiers would line up with shields in their left hand and spears in their right. The shields would overlap, so part of your shield protected you and part of it protected your comrade to your left. Then, the next line would do the same thing, putting their shields right up against the backs of the front line, and so on and so forth back--many ranks deep. Then, they would face another army, and the line would never break. The the Spartans would often just march over entire armies this way or even push entire armies off a cliff, if that was available.

Christian Life Warfare

Since sanctification is a war of sin, temptation, the world, the flesh, and the devil against my union with Christ and since that means I must hold the phalanx of the Christian life, it is then something constant and spiritually exhausting, when we do it in our own strength. Do you ever get tired of resisting temptation to the same sin over and over again? Do you ever get so tired that you give in? Me too. Holding the phalanx can be exhausting, and we often make the same tragic outcry Paul makes in v. 24, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"

Holding the Line

Yet, what is Paul's answer to his outcry? It is that we never actually do hold the line on our own. We are never meant to! "Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord... There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Ro. 7:25-8:1) Our Savior--who is the only human ever to hold the line without it breaking ever in His life--delivers us and strengthens us; not just at the moment of our salvation but in every moment that follows throughout our whole life. He beckons us, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Mt. 11:28) He gives us rest, even in the midst of holding the phalanx in the spiritual battles of this life. A phalanx held by me will fail, but one held by faith in Jesus will hold until the end (cf. Php. 1:6).

The Shield of Faith

So, now that you know what the phalanx is, do you see why Paul used the metaphor of a shield for faith? In his metaphor about the Christian life and the armor of God (Eph. 6:10-20), he says, "In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one." Faith in Jesus providing the strength we need is what protects us and what allows us to hold the phalanx, even in the midst of battle.

In Sparta, if you were a soldier, you could be caught without your sword or your spear during a time of war, and you might only receive a minor punishment. If you were caught without your shield, however, that was a capital crime. Why? Because being without your sword or spear would merely mean you could not go on the offensive in the phalanx, but if you did not have a shield, you were a weak point in the phalanx that might cost the whole army the battle. Your shield was absolutely essential, and you had to have it on you all the time during wartime.

For us, the shield of faith is something we cannot let drop for even a moment. We live by faith (Ro. 1:17) and walk by faith (2 Co. 5:7), for we must always acknowledge our need of Him and His gospel every moment. The war of the Christian life is not made of two or three "big" moments in life where temptation comes in a huge assault but of a million "little" ones in our daily, hourly, minutely life--the war is constant! And, we can face none of those moments on our own and hope to succeed. We must submit them all to Christ and His strength, praying that the gospel would drive us, strengthen us, and motivate us in Him to hold the line through them all. That is why Paul ends his metaphor of the armor of God by saying, "...praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication." (Eph. 6:18)

Holding the Line Together

There is one more thing I want to bring out: the phalanx was not a one-man line. That is obvious, but we need to think about the implications for us as believers. We hold the line against temptation with our shields of faith as a community of believers. I stand beside my brothers and sisters in Christ, and sometimes their shield of faith is what encourages me to keep mine up against the enemy. They might do this through their own prayers for me, through accountability, or simply through encouragement, but whatever way it is, one of the ways Jesus strengthens us to hold the line is through His body. We hold the line together.

O Lord, make this true of us today!

By His Grace,
Taylor

What do Christians do now?

No matter what your personal feelings are about our recent election results, we cannot deny that in our nation frustrations abound, emotions are confused and conflicted, confusion is rampant, and division is evident. Facebook is full of individuals trying to express to the world how they feel, one way or another. Peaceful demonstrations and rioting are happening in many cities throughout the US. America is divided by the celebration of some and deep fear and anger of others. And, Christians might be wondering, "What do we do? How do we respond?"

Well, I cannot tell you everything that you need to do to respond, but here are several biblical guidelines to help us process what is running through our heads and help those around us in our sphere of influence.

Pray for our nation, President-elect, and other government officials: Christians are called to be in submission to the governments under which we live and to pray for our leaders. As difficult as it may be for some to hear this right now, that is what we are called to do by God, and no matter your feelings about this election, you cannot deny that we are a deeply divided nation and prayer is desperately needed. You may be confused, you may be hurting, you may be angry, or you may be celebrating but none of that exempts us from the call to prayer. If you do not know how to pray for our nation, I would recommend reading this article by my senior pastor on eleven ways to pray for the new President-elect and the nation. Pay particular attention to the last way. And, note also that, while in this article he does express some of his emotions about our current situation, he does so in a way that fears God and is honoring to our leaders (see below), as well as brings us back to praying for the good of our leaders and nation.

Take seriously God's Word through Paul and Peter in Ro. 13:1-7 and 1 Pt. 2:12-17: Christian, this may be hard to hear for you right now or it might be too easy for you to hear, but we are called to be subject to and honor the governing authorities. Please take a moment and reread Paul and Peter's words in these passages, and, in fact, if you do that and do not come back to this post: fine, for they will do you more good than anything else I can say. I want to highlight in particular Peter's final command in that section in v. 17: "Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor." We need to take that very seriously, for as Peter says in the beginning of the passage, "Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation." So, what does that verse mean? Well, let's look at the couplets:

• "Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood." First, this means in our interactions in person or on social media, we need to honor everyone, even if we disagree with them. We may feel compelled to speak truth, but we should always speak the truth in love, which means at least that we are "quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger"; we do not berate; we do not mock; we do not antagonize; we do not resort to name-calling; we do not gloat; and we also seek peace, not quarrels. The tongue is a dangerous tool that sets ablaze a world of unrighteousness, and we can do that by gloating or by being angry. Second, this means we need to be especially careful with how we interact with other believers. All of the above still applies, and we need to remember that the world knows we are Christians by our love for one another. The other side of that is that when the world sees us fighting among ourselves, the gospel and cause of Christ is maligned. Please, remember we are to glorify God in all we do and not give unnecessary offense.
• "Fear God. Honor the emperor." First, remember that both Paul and Peter wrote under the rule of Nero when they composed these works of God's Word, and both remind us that we should honor the rulers. I know for some that is hard to hear right now, but we need to bring our emotions into submission to God's Word and honor the rulers who are taking office. That means that we can disagree with them and we can even point out their immorality (we will get to that in just a moment), but, like above, we do not berate, we do not mock, we do not resort to name-calling, we speak in love and not anger, and we do not join with those who do. We show them the respect and honor their office is due. Second, do not gloss over the command to fear God. Fearing God means being subject to authorities, but it does not mean covering up their sins, making light of their sins, or defending their sins. Sin is sin, and Christians are never to cover up, condone, make light of, or defend sinfulness. We are "to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with [our] God." Part of honoring our leaders and everyone is not letting sinfulness and injustice prevail and loving those who are needy, persecuted, and have no voice.

Remember that God is in control of all this: Christian, we know something that the non-believers in this world do not: God is in sovereign control of all that is happening right now, the leaders are in His hands and He does with them as He wishes, all kingship truly belongs to Him, and He has placed all authorities in their places. And, even though we may not be able to figure out why, we can know He has done it for the good of His people. These are His promises from His Word, so we need to keep them close to heart and walk by faith; not by sight in times of confusion, pain, and fear. And, even in times of celebration, we are not to place our faith in our leaders, for they are just tools of God; not any time of savior for this nation.  

Remember that this nation is not our true home or our true hope: Christian, while yours and my earthly home may be in America and we may even be citizens of this nation, our true citizenship is in heaven because when we were united to Christ, He transferred us from kingdoms of this world into His eternal Kingdom. Now we are spiritual exiles in our physical homes. So, while we do want our nation to prosper (see below), we can also know that this nation is not really our home or our hope, and the like the great "cloud of witnesses" of Christians past, we are looking forward to a heavenly city "whose designer and builder is God." We do care about our nation, its people, and we grieve injustice, division, and conflict, but our hope should never be here or in any nation for all of this will one day pass away. Our hope should be in the new heavens and new earth that Jesus has secured for us. The world desperately needs to see that hope right now because it is what causes them to ask questions and gives us the chance the share the gospel. 

Seek the welfare of our nation: Christian, while this nation is not our home and we really are citizens of God's Kingdom, we are still here right now, and He calls us to seek the welfare of this nation. In fact, the passage to which I just alluded deserves full quotation:

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Our spiritual exile currently in whatever nation we occupy is mirrored in the physical exile that Israel experienced in Babylon, and that is actually why Peter calls us exiles in the first place in 1 Pt. 1:1, so God's commands to them apply to us as well. We need to conduct ourselves, live our lives, use social media, work our jobs, communicate with politicians and leaders, and do whatever else we do in this life in such a way that it contributes to the welfare of our nation. It does not matter how we feel about our nation or the government, we are called to seek its welfare. As Paul says in Ro. 13:2, "Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment." Now, that does not mean we cannot peacefully protest or call out the sins and injustice of our leaders, for those can be ways of actually seeking the welfare of our nation, but we should not be involved in or condone activity that undermines peace, safety, justice, and the welfare of our nation. We also need to do it in such a way that we continue to honor our leaders, as mentioned above.

Be careful how you conduct yourself at times like this: Christian, there are a lot of emotions rolling around right now. Some are celebrating, and others are hurting, angry, and fearful. When such emotional ups and downs run unchecked, it creates conflict, division, and even some violence, as the recent news has shown. Christians are ambassadors for Christ, are called to be instruments of reconciliation, should have gracious speech, and need to be careful never to add to that strife, unrest, division, or quarreling in the way we conduct ourselves in our conversations and especially on social media. (Here is a great post about general rules for posting on social media.) Let me try to give some guidelines that might be helpful:

• If you are angry, confused, or even celebrating, take that to the Lord first, just as the psalmists did with life's ups and downs. If you are celebrating, remember that no mere man is a savior who will solve your problems. We have only one Savior and Shepherd who can solve our problems, and it is Jesus Christ. All other men are fallen and will disappoint us, so keep your celebration moderate, always looking to God alone for your peace, hope, and confidence. If you are angry, hurting, or confused, again, take those to God first, using the psalms of lament as your guide. A few examples are Ps. 44; 60; 74, and note in particular that, while these psalms express deep feelings of pain to God, they never accuse God of wrong-doing and they move to praise for His goodness even in the midst of hardship. That should be our pattern. 
• If you have spent time in prayer, and you still need "to get it out," start with personal conversations with friends or family first, please! This will help you process whatever you are feeling and get a handle on your emotions.
• If, after all that, you still feel like you need to say something publicly on social media or in some other fashion, speak only the truth and do it in love and let "your speech always be gracious." If you are celebrating (and with how much pain there is out there right now, I honestly cannot imagine a good reason to celebrate publicly but perhaps you have one), do not "rub it in," especially when you know others are hurting, for that is provoking and pride at its ugliest, and, again, do not elevate a mere man to the position of a savior. Jesus is our only Savior, and all our leaders in this world are fallen instruments in the hands of God. If you are hurting, make sure that your grief is not the grief of a world that has no hope but the grief of a Christian who has certain hope in Christ. And, if you are angry too, be angry but do not sin, as Paul commands us. An example of sinful anger might be if we do not follow the above guidelines from Paul and Peter about honoring our leaders and everyone, as well as not loving our brothers and sisters and Christ as we should. Hopefully, if you have expressed your pain and anger to God first and close friends and/or family second, by the time you get here, you will be ready to be angry without sin. 
• No matter how you feel about this election, remember that we are called to "weep with those who weep." If you are celebrating, the Christ-like and loving thing to do would be to set aside your celebration and acknowledge that there are those who are hurting around you, validate that, and weep with them. In that pain, you can offer them the hope of the gospel, but validate their pain, enter into it, and uphold them through it. If you are hurting too, it seems hardly needful to tell you to weep with those who weep, but perhaps you need to hear that in your weeping, you need to weep as one who has hope in the gospel and pass that on to others. Sometimes in our emotions, we can forget that our hope is not in this world or in the leaders of this world but in God's sovereign control of it (see above) and in the new heavens and new earth (see above). Remember that and lead others who are mourning to that hope.

Keep the first things first: Christian, at the end of the day, we are called to be salt and light in this world, make disciples of Christ, work our jobs as to Christ, love God and our neighbors, worship together, etc.; all so the gospel can spread because God "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." And, Christian, we can do that no matter what government we have. As Paul says in 1 Co. 15:3-5, what is of absolute first importance is the good news of Christ's death and resurrection. At this time and at all times, the world needs the gospel more than anything else. Please, bring the world back to that over and over again. There is only one Savior, one Lord, one Master, and one Hope, and that is Jesus Christ. The world needs to see Him always but especially in hard times. Display that hope before the world, keep the gospel central, and then be ready to explain that hope to those who see it in you.

By His Grace,
Taylor

I am not Very Good at Prayer. Are you?

"It just hurts not to be good at important things like prayer. I recent read this phrase--I want to say it's by Brother Lawrence--who said, 'I decided I was never going to be good at praying, so I'm just going to start not being good at praying. I'm just going to start to pray.' For a performance person, that's freeing: just to say, 'I'm not going to be really good,' and just do it. It won't be something to write a book about. But the the thought that Christ meets us there, not when we get good, but when we're not--doesn't that define grace?" ~ a quote from a pastor in Resilient Ministry

Currently, one the of the books I am reading is Resilient Ministry, and it is an excellent read. It is generally geared towards pastors, but it would be something helpful for a congregant, elder, church staff member, or anyone to read. I am not very far into the book so far, but one of the ways it has already blessed me is to remind me that I am not the only pastor who is not good at personal time in God's Word, prayer, understanding my own emotions, etc.

Are you good at praying? Does it come naturally to you? Do you rarely get distracted, discouraged, or go long periods of time without much prayer? If so, you are much, much better at it than me. I am not very good at prayer. I think that most people think pastors are just naturally good prayers. Why not? I mean, we are "professional Christians" right? (That was major sarcasm, by the way.) Sometimes when people come to me asking for prayer, and I get the sense that they think my prayers are going to carry more weight with God or something like that. Now, do not get me wrong: I love it when people ask me to pray for them, but my prayers are no more effective than anyone else who is in Christ. James says in Js. 5:16, "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working," but that is not a call to rest in our own works for powerful prayer. It is a call to rest in the righteousness of Christ--the righteous Person--and simply to pray on the merits of His righteousness that He has given to us. That means any Christian can pray with equal standing before God. But, I digress... Again, I am not very good at prayer, and one of the blessings of this book is that it made me realize that I am not the only pastor who feels that way.

But, not being good at praying is no excuse for not praying. The Scriptures command us to pray, and prayer is one of the three objective means of grace (prayer, the Word, and the sacraments) that the Spirit uses to grow us in grace and in the likeness of Christ. We need prayer. The Church needs prayer. So, what does that mean for those of us who are not good at praying?

Well, it means just what the quote above says: we just need to start not being good at praying, i.e. praying "badly" but still praying. Do you get distracted during prayer like I do? Well, you can probably take some practical steps like solitude, specific times for prayer, writing prayers out, etc. (and I will talk about one practical step below), but the most important thing for us to remember is: keep praying and let the blood of Christ cover your wayward mind. Do you sometimes know you have many things to pray for/about but for some reason nothing is coming to mind? Well, again there are many practical things we can do here (and I am about to get to one), but the most important thing we can remember is: persevere in prayer even if your mind draws a blank, confess that to God, ask for the Spirit to help you pray, and trust the blood of Christ to cover your forgetfulness. When you pray, do you sometimes realize you are not really sure where you were going with a thought or think, "Good grief, I sound like the most confused person in the world!"? Well, again, there are probably some practical things we can do like writing out prayers, but, again, the most important thing we can remember is: Christ is our advocate before the Father (1 Jn. 2:1) and the Spirit prays with us and for us when we do not know how (Ro. 8:26). As Richard Sibbes wrote in The Bruised Reed, "God can pick sense out of a confused prayer."

Friends, you might be bad at prayer like me, but that does not mean God does not want our prayers! He is our Father, and He wants us to pray and loves it when we throw ourselves at His feet whether we are good at it or not. My three-year-old is not very good at speaking yet (though he is quite remarkable for his age), but I love for him to come to talk to me no matter how confused it is. I love trying to make sense of his confused thoughts. Remember, God is a Father far more loving than me or any other earthly father. And, Christ's grace covers our bad prayers, so we just need to accept ourselves where we are and be bad at praying but pray anyway!

But, even though we may not be very good at praying, we cannot use that as an excuse for not doing what we can to help our prayer life and grow. I am not going to talk about prayer from a theological perspective here, for their are many great books on that: Prayer by Tim Keller, Approaching God by Steve Brown, The Hidden Life of Prayer by David McIntyre, just to name a few. I just want to tell you about one thing that has helped my prayer life (and perhaps in a future post I will mention a few others things that have helped). It may seem silly to say this, but it is an app called PrayerMate. (I really do feel a little silly for saying an app helped me, but I am not the only pastor who thinks so. Tim Challies wrote "How An App Revitalized My Prayer Life" on it, which is actually how I found out about it.)

What I love about this App, is that it helps you keep track of all those people you want to pray for, and it makes it manageable. Do you ever feel like you have more to pray for than you can remember? Or, if you have a list, do you always make it all the way through? If not, can you remember where you left off or do you start back at the beginning again? Well, this app helps make prayer times manageable by allowing you to create categories of prayer, subjects under each category, and then giving you a set number of prayer subjects from each category each day/time you refresh the app. So, instead of feeling overwhelmed by a list, the app gives you a set number of subjects (however many you choose) from each category, and it rotates through so you do not have to keep track of what you have and have not prayed for lately.

Hopefully, that is not confusing, but if it is, let me try to clarify by giving examples from my use of the app. In mine, have a number of categories:

• God's Perfections & Adoration: This one helps me with adoring and praising God. I have in it God's perfections (i.e. His attributes; you can find the list here) as well as a number of psalms of worship (e.g. Ps. 19, 33, 103). Each time I use the app, I get one of those, so I either pray/praise through a psalm, allowing it to guide me in adoring God, or I spend time praying about and meditating on one of His perfections. I have found this helps make my praise of God more well-rounded--instead of always praising Him for the same things that come to my mind, in a period of time, I praise Him for all that He revealed to us about Himself. 
• Confessions: This category is to help me with repentance. I have in it Ps. 51 as well as a number of prayers of repentance from The Valley of Vision like "Yet I Sin," "Mortification," and "Sins." One cannot pray them rotely, of course, but each time I use the app I get one and they are very helpful as guides that jog my memory of how I need to confess specific sins of my day, week, and life. 
• Personal Godliness: I have this category to remind me to pray about ways in which I know I need to grow in Christ. I have it in the fruits of the Spirit, as well as some other ways I know I need to grow. Each time I use the app, I get one and I spend time confessing how I am sinful in that area, thanking God for any growth I might have seen, and asking for the Spirit help to grow in that area with respect to my ministry (in general) or certain people (specifically). 
• My family: I have all my family members listed in here along with ways I know I need to pray for them. Each time I use the app, it gives me two to pray for. 
• My friends: I have many of my friends in here (and I add new ones as I am reminded to) along with ways I know I need to pray for them. Each time I use the app it gives me two to pray for. 
• My youth: At my church, one of the areas I cover is the youth group. I love my youth group. And, I have a subject for each of my youth and how I need to pray for them. Each time I use the app it gives me two to pray for. 
• I have other categories like missionaries, non-Christians, graduate students (another area of my ministry at my church), and a few others. 

In the end, each time I sit down to pray and use the app, I get 16 out of 152 items/subjects in my list. Now, if I tried to pray for the 152 all the time, I would never finish, and I would probably forget where I left off each time, thus missing some almost completely. But, this app helps make that manageable and keeps me from skipping any of them. 

Now, a few tips:

• It is an app and it is designed specific times that one sets apart in which to pray. It does not replace spontaneous praise, confession, thanksgiving, or petition. Do not depend on it but let it help you. 
• It is an app, which means it is connected to a device with an Internet connection. If you are like me and easily distracted, turn off your WiFi or put it on Airplane Mode while you pray. 
• As mentioned above, it is really designed for designated times of prayer, so pick a block of time that is manageable for you and use it then. I would recommend even setting apart a time of day. You do not have to be legalistic about that time, but put it on your calendar, so you do not schedule things during that time if you can at all avoid it. The app will even alert you at that time, if you want it to. 
• Look and then close your eyes or look and then stroll around the room as you pray. This helps me not to be distracted by the other things I could do on the device. 

I do have a couple of complaints about the app. Its UI is a little cumbersome. It does not have a central syncing location for keeping several devices synced, but it does allow you to export to Dropbox and import from there. However, that means extra steps when you update your prayer list. But, overall, it is excellent and really has helped my prayer life. 

So, if you are not very good at praying, like me, pray anyway. As quoted above, say to yourself, "I'm just going to start not being good at praying. I'm just going to start to pray." Read a book on it or make use of an app to help you. You know what I have noticed since I have started having dedicated times of prayer with the app? I have noticed I pray more spontaneously throughout the day, and distractions are not quite as bad (though I have a long way to go). Remember, if you have put your faith in Christ, you have the Spirit to help you pray when you do not know how and the blood of Christ to cover your not-very-good prayer life. If you learn nothing else from this post, please try to learn to rest in that grace. 

By His Grace,

Taylor

Two Beautiful Books: Science... err... correction: Nature and Scripture (Part 6)

Over the past several blog posts, I have been in a series on thinking about science biblical and consistently as a Christian. The previous post summarized the first four posts, so you can head back there fore that summary. It also began us on the journey of moving forward, using the biblical view of science that we talked about from Scripture to learn how to live in a world like ours, which puts a great deal of weight on science. To use the analogy that I have been using in this series, we started to put "walls" and a "roof" on the "foundation" and "framework" of the intellectual houses we are building, and we are going to continue to do that in this post. 

At the end of the last post, we talked about mutual correction: the idea that proper interpretations of scientific data can help correct misinterpretations of Scripture and proper interpretations of Scripture can help correct misinterpretations of scientific data. And, I left that post with a question I was asked by a student, which is quite relevant: "How can I know where I should stand firm with my theology no matter what a scientist says and how can I know where I can perhaps let their theories alter my interpretation of Scripture?" That is a good place to pick back up the topic of moving forward to learn how to live in our day and age with this biblical view of science. 

So, how can we know where to stand firm with theology and where we can perhaps let a scientific theory affect our interpretation of Scripture? Well, we will get into this in more detail below when I will give what I think is a helpful method for handling apparent conflicts between science and Scripture, but there are few things that can be said here that should help with this question: 

1. First, you and I should never make that determination alone. Scripture is one of God's great gifts to the Church as a whole and we interpret it as a community. So, seek help from others by talking to a pastor, campus minister, Christian friends, reading books, etc. Do not try to make the determination by yourself. Sometimes you might end up disagreeing with some of the people with whom you discuss the issue, but the mere fact that you do it together will help keep you from gross error and keep you humble. 
2. Second, the creedal statements of Christianity are non-negotiable. The Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the Creed of Chalcedon put parameters around the Christian faith. They leave a lot of room when it comes to many, many doctrines, but they define Christianity in its outermost limits. If we stray beyond the theology of those creeds, then we have strayed beyond Christianity. Any statement of a scientist that attempts to overthrow a statement of those creeds--like God being the maker of heaven and earth, from the Apostles Creed--is just wrong. Stand firm on them. (By the way, this does not mean we do not need to know how to defend these creedal statements to non-believers, for we should be able to give the reason for the hope they give Christians, but it does mean we cannot budge on them. If we do, we do not have Christianity anymore and therefore there is nothing to defend.)
3. Take into account the great confessions of Church history. These things are not infallible like the Bible itself, but they are great statements of theology that have stood the test of time. They have not been around as long as the creeds, but they still have a lot to teach us and we should not just haphazardly dismiss them. For example, I, as a PCA teaching elder, am bound by the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Catechisms. I can differ from them slightly, which I do in a few places, but even there I do not do that alone. My presbytery, which is the other teaching elders in my local geographic area, corrects me if I go too far in my differences from the confessions. In the next post, I will give some resources I recommend, and in it I will put links to the historic Reformed confessions that are still quite helpful here.
4. Finally, Do not jump to any conclusions one way or another right way, but pray a lot, study a lot, and talk a lot to other Christians.

Now, in what I have said here and in the previous post, let us not forget the mutual correction of science and Scripture. Scripture properly interpreted can also correct scientific theories where they misinterpret nature. Scripture does not give a lot of detail about most of the areas that scientists study, but where it does give details, they are details that are from God, have His authority, and provide interpretive parameters or corrections for scientific theories. One example of this might be scientific theories that attempt to claim that humans and animals have really no substantial difference other than cognitive abilities. Some scientists attempt to claim that animals are just as valuable as humans because the only difference between us is how smart we are. That, of course, comes from their interpretation of the evidence based on the assumption that naturalism and evolution are indisputable facts, which they are not. The Bible can help correct this error by pointing out that humans are made in God's image, while animals are not. God may have used a lot of the same building blocks to make humans as He did to make animals, but that does not mean He did not endow humans with a natural value and dignity that far surpasses animals. Furthermore, God gave dominion over animals to humans, thus further defining human value far above animal value. Now, that does not mean we can just abuse animals, but it does mean that animal life is not even close to being as equally valuable as human life.

Understanding how scientific data can help us correct a misinterpretation of Scripture and Scripture can help us correct misinterpretations of scientific data (mutual correction) is one way that we start putting "walls" and a "roof" on our intellectual and spiritual houses. The last thing we need to discuss is how to handle apparent conflicts when they arise because they will arise, and we need to know how to deal with them wisely. This will also help us put "walls" and a "roof" on our house. 

So, how do we handle them? Well, let me say upfront that there is probably more than one "right" way to handle these things. What I am about to give you is a method I have found helpful and others have found helpful too. It is not foolproof, for nothing is, but I think it can help you make your "houses" livable enough to help you live confidently and comfortably as a Christian in our day and age.

1. Remember what the biblical view of nature and Scripture is: Remember, as we learned in the previous posts, God is the author of both books, as we talked about yesterday, so this conflict that arises is only apparent; it is not real. Now, sometimes it may take a lot of work to figure out which book is being interpreted incorrectly and how to think about them properly, but while we work on that, we can rest in this truth. And, rest keeps us from anxiety, which helps us think more clearly about the issue. Christians have nothing to fear from scientific research because the scientist is researching God's domain--God's book. I meet many Christians who are afraid of science, but it is a tool God has given us to discover truth from His universe, so we have nothing to fear from it. 
2. Remember the world in which we live, and do not be surprised: As we discussed in part four, we should expect there to be cases where a scientific theory appears to conflict with our interpretations of Scripture. Many scientists are interpreting the data from the worldview of naturalism, which does conflict with Scripture's theistic worldview, and, as we have talked about a lot, we are simply fallible beings, so we make mistakes. Because of those things, we know apparent conflicts will arise. A biblical view of science tells us to expect this, so do not be shocked when they come. Shock only increases our anxiety of these issues, which, again, clouds our ability to think through them, but if we can look at it and say, "Huh, that's odd, but it doesn't really surprise me that they might think that," then we will remain calm enough to think through the issue biblically and rationally.
3. Remember not to jump to any conclusions too quickly: A biblical view of science and Scripture reminds us that either our interpretation of Scripture or the scientist's interpretation of nature is incorrect or both, and we need to be humble enough to jump to any conclusions before we have thought it through. 
4. Check the source and wait: Things that come up in popular media via news, blogs, books, etc. all have a source behind them that points to the scientific research, and very often claims in the popular media are either reported incorrectly, too early, or are overturned by further scientific research. For example, here as some things to think about:
1. When you read something in the news, did it come from a research paper in a peer-reviewed journal like Science, Nature, or The Astrophysical Journal or did it come from something someone present at a conference? There can be a big difference in the reliability of the data. At conferences, researches often share raw, infant ideas that can range from Nobel prize concepts to junk and dead ends. Sometimes unpublished, un-peer-reviewed claims are portrayed as scientific fact by the media when even the researchers would not say that. Whenever I presented a paper at a conference, I cringed when I saw journalists sitting on the front row because I new generally that they would not understand what is going on or report it as fact when it was not. Now, luckily for me, my research was not really important enough for them to report, but it does happen often. Check to see if the source is a journal or something less reliable like a conference. 
2. If you have the ability, check out the source yourself. Even if it comes from a journal article, I have seen several occasions where the author was not saying anything close to what the news article claimed. If you do not have access to the journal through a university or a friend, then see if you can find someone who does. There are great ministries on that can help you think through these things here. One I really like is called Reasons to Believe. Email and ask them. They may have a resource that can help you or they may plan to comment on it. I would not mind helping you either, though I would be a distant second to the brilliant men and women at RTB, but feel free to ask me. 
3. And, remember to wait. Stuff in the best journals is still debatable, and further research may change the claim. For example, does anyone remember the fossil Ida that was introduced back in 2009? It was claimed to be a "missing link" that would totally change the way scientists view human evolution and would solidify the theory of evolution. It was introduced with a huge media circus and got so much hype that even Google dedicated a logo to it. Well, after several months, other papers started coming out questioning how helpful the fossil really was, and eventually the scientists who introduced it had to admit that their claims were far overblown. Just waiting would have shown many stressed-out Christians that this "discovery" does not really change anything at all and does not solidify anything with Darwinian evolution. 
4. So, check the source and wait. And, waiting can be done very easily with Google's handy "Google alerts" tool. If you are concerned about an apparent conflict, create a Google alert that will send the most recent information your way without you having to go looking for it, and then see what comes up. 
5. Attempt to separate the data from the interpretation of the data: Again, a biblical view of science reminds us that science is a tool that produces data and then that data is interpreted within a worldview. The data itself will not conflict with Scripture if it is properly extracted and recorded, but the interpretation might easily conflict because it might come from a scientists whose worldview is naturalism. But, if we can separate the data from the interpretation, then we can take a clear look at it and see how it fits within Scripture. Sometimes a biblical interpretation will look almost identical to the original; other times there will be significant differences. Now, this may take a lot of time and discussion with colleagues, friends, or consulting books or ministries that help Christians with apologetics, but if we really believe God wrote the books of nature and Scripture, then we know the data will fit within a biblical model, we just have to do the work of separation and interpretation within a biblical worldview. If you want an example of this, check out my posts on Adam and Eve here, here (this one especially illustrates this point), here, and here.
6. Remember to consider your interpretation of Scripture as well: In these apparent conflicts our goal is not to prove ourselves right (at least it should not be). Our goal should be to discover God's truth in order to bring Him glory. While we have considered so far how to think about the scientific side of the apparent controversy, we cannot skip over the possibility that the error may be on the theological side. We need to examine our exegesis of the Scripture passages that address the issue, we need to consult others like a pastor or campus minister, we need to do some reading on the subject, and we need to be as certain as we can be that the error is not in our interpretation of Scripture. And, like with the scientific research, sometimes this takes time. Sometimes we have to consider a number of different views before we can try to determine which seems the most faithful to God's revelation in Scripture and in nature. But, if we are resting in a biblical view of science and Scripture, we can take the time without becoming anxious because know there is a resolution, even if we cannot find it right away. 
7. Strive to be humble: Honestly, this is contradiction in terms because one cannot "strive" to be humble, but what I mean is that in this whole process, we must remember that we are just as fallible, biased, and sinful as the most hardened, virulent "new atheist." The only difference between us and them is that we have God's grace, forgiveness, salvation, and Holy Spirit (not from anything in us but as a gift so no man can boast, Eph. 2:8-9). The only reason that you and I understand and believe the Scriptures is the Spirit's illumination (1 Co. 2:9-12), therefore we need to be humble when responding to critics, evaluating someone's work, or discussing apparent conflicts with others.
8. Do not go it alone: I have already said this several times, but this is not something we need to be trying to do alone. We need the wisdom of the Christian community. We need friends, family, campus ministers, pastors, etc. to help us think through these things. Some of the people we consult might not be helpful in the pursuit of truth but some probably will be, and even if we end up not agreeing with them, their viewpoint will help us refine our own. 
9. Pray: When Nehemiah stood before the King Artaxerxes to request permission to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls around the new Temple, he was in a tenuous spot. He could have been killed for his request. In 2:4 the king asks the question "What are you requesting?" and before Nehemiah responded, Scripture tells us that he prayed. In that moment--a second or two--he prayed for wisdom and God gave it to him. We need to pray for wisdom when trying to figure these things out. Sometimes they are very difficult. We need to pray that God will help us sort out the truth from interpretation, and we need to pray that He will help us come to a proper understanding of both His Word and His world, for His glory and our good. 
10. Remember that God is still God and Jesus is still coming back: Sometimes you will not be able to figure it out, even after having studied the scientific data and Scripture. Sometimes you will not be able to figure out which interpretation is in error. Even the best scholars and academics have to say, "I don't know" sometimes. Hopefully these times will be rare, but they will probably happen every now and then. In those times, a biblical view of science and Scripture reminds us that just because we cannot figure it out does not mean there is no solution, and we need to be humble enough to admit that. The issue might be a paradox, but a biblical view of science and Scripture reminds us that it is not a contradiction, so we can rest in that truth. Do you know the difference between a paradox and a contradiction?
1. A paradox is something that seems contradictory but actually is not. The reason it seems contradictory is because we cannot find the solution, but we know there is one. Every theology and scientific model has its share of paradoxes. For example, in theology, Scripture upholds the sovereignty of God over everything, including man's salvation, and Scripture also upholds human responsibility for their actions. Are those contradictory? No, because God teaches them both and cannot contradict Himself. There is a solution to how those two work together, but God has chosen not to share it with us. When Paul considers this paradox, he does not even try to pose a resolution but simply says, "But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?" (cf. Ro. 9), and if it was too much for Paul writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit, it is too much for you and I. Another example from the sciences would be wave-particle duality in quantum mechanics. This is the evidence from nature, that a subatomic particle exhibits both particle and wave properties. How can something be a point in space and also a wave at the same time? No one really knows, but we do know that it happens. It is a paradox because there is a solution, we do not have it yet.
2. A contradiction means there is no possible solution. It is like saying 1+1=2 and 1+1=5. There is no way to reconcile those statements, so they are contradictory.
3. A biblical view of science and Scripture tells us that God is the author of both books, so there is no contradiction, but sometimes paradoxes will arise because either God has chosen not to give us all the information we need to solve the problem or we just have not figured it out yet. We live in a fallen world full of sinful people who do not know everything and make mistakes, so sometimes the solution is beyond you and me, and that is okay because God is still God and Jesus is still coming back. I hate not being able to figure something out as much as the next guy, but sometimes (rarely but sometimes) we need to admit it is too much for us, trust God, and go get a milkshake.

Alright, that is my general "method" for handling apparent conflicts between what scientists say and what we read in Scripture. Hopefully you will find it helpful enough to help you put "walls" and a "roof" on your intellectual and spiritual "house." This also brings my discussion of a biblical view of science to a close. Certainly there is more that can be written on this topic, but I hope and pray this will give you a solid start as you consider the tool of science. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have or check out my "science" tag for stuff I have written on various subjects. 

In the next post, I will list out a number of resources that you might find helpful for various sub-topics of science and Christianity. It will not be an exhaustive list by any means, but it will give you enough material to keep you reading for a while. 

By His Grace,

Taylor

Let That Be Enough

"...have you not cause to say, 'I love the Lord, because He hath heard the voice of my supplication.'?... He has heard you in the day of trouble, has strengthened you, and helped you, even when you dishonoured Him by trembling and doubting at the mercy-seat. Remember this, and let it fill your heart with gratitude to God, who has thus graciously heard your poor weak prayers." ~ Charles Spurgeon, the morning of Feb. 6 from Morning and Evening

Reading this today reminded me of a very special part of prayer that I often forget in my desire for answers--the believer's prayers are heard by the God and King of the universe always. Even when we do not get the answers for which we look, He never turns a blind eye or deaf ear. He always listens and perhaps says, "Wait, my child," and when, in our anxiousness, we say, "But, Father!" He patiently responds, "Wait, my child." That is never the response I want but it is no less valid or loving. The very fact that our heavenly Father--the God and King of the universe--is available at all hours and hears us is incredible. Imagine how you would feel if the President (whether you like him or not) was always at the ready to hear you. Just the fact that he listens and wants to hear from us would be an honor, regardless of his response. How much more true is that of our heavenly Father? He is the King of the universe; I am a pion and unimportant even by human standards (not to mention cosmic standards). He is the holy God; I am a sinful, selfish creature. Yet, He wants me to come to Him and wants to listen. That alone, regardless of the answer, is amazing. I am not a big fan of Switchfoot in general (not that I have anything against them; I just do not care for most of their music), but I like the chorus to "Let That Be Enough":

Let me know that You hear me
Let me know Your touch
Let me know that You love me
And let that be enough

Let that be enough, Father.

By His Grace,
Taylor

How Should We Worship?

"[It is the] tension between the need to remain faithful to the gospel and the Christian tradition while at the same time faithfully communicating that Evangel [good news] in a changing and complex cultural milieu that presents mammoth challenges to the continued witness of the Christian church." ~ J. Matthew Pinson, Perspectives on Christian Worship: Five Views

How we should worship God, especially in public worship, is an important question for the Church. It is one of the more important questions because worship is one of the main ways we glorify God before an unbelieving world, and it is what we will be doing for all eternity in the new heavens and new earth. I would like to pose a list of fifteen things that I think are essential for public worship. Now, this list is a work-in-progress and I am in no way claiming that it is exhaustive. I welcome any comments on how to biblically refine these points.

Here we go: public worship should...

1. ...be God-exalting, Christ-centered, and Spirit-filled: The second commandment, the Psalter (e.g. Ps. 134), and the rest of the Scriptures declare of the glory of the Triune God and that He is to be worshiped and only Him. Other Scriptures (cf. Jn. 4:21-23; 5:23; Php. 2:9) tell us that worship in spirit and in truth is Christ-centered worship for He is the glory of the Father and the one whom God has exalted to the highest place. Finally, passages like 1 Co. 12:3 tell us that no one can worship God unless indwelt by the Spirit, for a renewed heart is essential to the right worship of God. 
2. ...put the amazing back into grace. The grace of God to us in Christ Jesus is more than we can fathom and we can never the exhaust the depths of this grace. Every worship service must amaze us and shock us by the grace of God, for we are a people prone to wander and we need constantly to be reminded of the magnitude of what He has done for us. 
3. ...be founded on the fact that we are created to worship God and enjoy Him. The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC) asks, "What is the chief end of man?" It then biblically answers, "Man's chief end is to glorify God (cf. Ps. 86; Is. 43:7; 60:21; Ro. 11:36; Re. 4:11), and to enjoy Him forever (cf. Ps. 16:5-11; 144:15; Is. 12:2; Php. 4:4; Re. 21:3-4)." It is important to note that this is one end with two aspects—when we truly glorify God, we also enjoy Him. This means that public worship (and private too) should always be an overflow from our very purpose of existence. It should also be enjoyable because glorifying God and enjoying Him are inseparable. 
4. ...be on the Lord's Day. The Sabbath was not just part of the 10 Commandments (though that is no trivial thing) but was part of the creation ordinance. Even before man fell, he was to rest and worship one day in seven. In the OT, the Lord's Day was the seventh day of the week. Now that Christ has come, He is making a people for Himself, and grace abounds, the first day of the week is the Lord's Day (Re. 1:10; cf. Mt. 28:1; Lk. 24:1; Jn. 20:1, 19-23; Ac. 20:7; 1 Co. 16:2) for it mirrors grace—we rest in grace and then we work—and it is the day in which our Lord was raised from the dead. Though not foundational, it is also practical, for God's people need a Lord's Day to have a common day to gather for worship (cf. He. 10:25). 
5. ...be corporate. On the Lord's Day (see above), God's people gather for corporate worship. While private worship is absolutely essential, one can and should distinguish between corporate and private worship. There are few explicit commands in the NT that tell us to gather together to worship (He. 10:25 being one) but that is not because the NT does not expect there to be corporate worship. That is because the teaching of the NT apostles rests firmly on the OT view of public worship and the assumption that the NT saints gather together in a public, definable worship service. Indeed, many of the NT commands about worship are unintelligible if there is not a distinct, corporate worship service for God's people (cf. Mt. 18:20; Ro. 14; Ac. 20:17-38; 1 Co. 7-11; 14; 16:2; 1 Ti. 2; 4:6-13; 2 Ti. 4; Tt; 2; He. 4:9; Re. 1:10). 
6. ...be governed by the Regulative Principle (RP) of worship. This principle is thrown around a lot these days and sometimes quite incorrectly, so let me attempt to define it for you. The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) 21.1 states it well, "But the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture (Dt. 12:32; Mt. 15:9; Ac. 17:35)." Why does it say this? It's justification is stated in WCF 20.2, "God alone is Lord of the conscience (Js. 4:12; Ro. 14:4), and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in anything, contrary to His Word; or beside it, in matters of faith or worship (Mt. 15:9; 23:8-10; Ac. 4:19; 5:29; 1 Co. 7:23; 2 Co. 1:24)." In short, the RP tells us that pastors, sessions, worship leaders, or anyone else directing worship can only prescribe in public worship that which God Himself has prescribed. Because God alone is Lord of the conscience, man has no right to insist another man do anything in matters of faith and worship unless God Himself has commanded it. No man has a right to make another man feel guilty about anything unless it comes from God's command in Scripture (cf. Mt. 15:1-9; Ro. 14; 1 Co. 8-10). This frees man's conscience from the tyranny of man and places it under the only Sovereign who can rule the conscience without damaging it—God. It is helpful, when discussing the RP, to distinguish between elements (those things prescribed as essential to gathered, public worship), forms (the way the element is expressed in public worship), and circumstances (those considerations regarding how, when, where, and in what manner or amount the elements are to be performed, i.e. bulletins, length of prayers, number of songs, times of services, etc.). The RP tells us the elements of public worship but leaves the forms and circumstances open. The forms and circumstances are those things that are, as WCF 1.6 states, "common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word." (In the case of forms, they are open but only to things which do not detract from the element itself, and some forms can detract from the element, which is why the WCF says, "ordered by... Christian prudence." E.g. reading Scripture in Latin to a people who do not understand Latin, as the Roman Catholic church did and still does at times, is a form which detracts from the element and therefore unacceptable.)
7. ...contain the following elements: reading the Bible (1 Ti. 4:13), preaching the Bible (Ro. 10:14, 17; 1 Ti. 4:6-13; 2 Ti. 4:2), praying the Bible (Ac. 2:42; 1 Ti. 2:1-4), singing the Bible (Eph. 5:18-19; Col. 3:16), and "seeing" the Bible, i.e. the sacraments (Mt. 28:19; Lk. 22:14-20; Ac. 2:38-39; 1 Co. 11:23-26; Col. 2:11-12). Why is it that we read, preach, etc. the Bible? Because God’s Word is central to our knowledge of Him, His works, His will, and our salvation. With its content and its content alone can we be assured that we are worshiping Him properly. Therefore, as the elements of worship are derived from Scripture, so should those elements be saturated with Scripture. 
8. ...be following the one, true worship leader—Jesus Christ Himself. Everyone else who directs a worship service is merely a minister, Jesus is the one who leads us into worship (Mt. 18:20; Jn. 4:21-23; He. 2:5ff). Jesus gathers us together in Him and brings us before God as our great High Priest. If we really remembered that Jesus is our worship leader (not the man or woman with a piano or guitar), would we not worship differently? 
9. ...be the whole thing—every activity between the call to worship and the benediction. Worship is not just singing. Worship is reading God's Word, praying, preaching, singing, and participating in the sacraments. Every act between from the beginning to the end is part of public worship. When we hear God's Word read or listen to a sermon, we should be cognizant that the hearing, actively listening, and contemplating of it are acts of worship and should lift our affections toward Him. 
10. ...have music that aids in the worship of God but never gets in the way of the worship of God. I do not think it is biblical to quibble over style of music in general, yet there are things that need to be considered when we choose our style. Music is a great way to involve our affections in worship, but it can also manipulate those affections and lead us away from worship, when not used properly. Being moved emotionally is not the same thing as being spiritually changed. Music should engage the affections but always in a way that is spiritually edifying, not just emotionally charged. 
11. ...be orderly. This is a simple but very important aspect of public worship that Paul pounds into the Corinthian people in 1 Co. 14. Paul builds an argument for order in worship and then closes it by saying, "But all things should be done decently and in order." How else is it going to edify God’s people and be a witness to the lost? 
12. ...be edifying. Like the previous point, in 1 Co. 13-14, Paul tells the Corinthian people that gifts and actions in worship are to be done "so that the church may be built up." What good does it do to speak in a tongue, prophesy, or have all knowledge if it is not used in love for the edification of the body? Paul answers in 1 Co. 13:3 we "gain nothing."
13. ...be covenantal. WCF 7.1 states, "The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto Him as their Creator, yet they could never have any fruition of Him as their blessedness and reward, but by some voluntary condescension on God's part, which He has been pleased to express by way of covenant." God's people should come before God to praise Him for what He has done, hear His Word preached, understand the new covenant in Christ, learn about His commitment to them, learn about their commitment to Him, give Him thanks for His covenant, and receive the sign and seal the covenant and be nourished by Christ in the Lord's Supper. All these are aspects of a covenant renewal ceremony, which is at the heart of public worship.
14. ...engage the affections. Jonathan Edwards, in his excellent work Religious Affections, states, "True religion consists so much in the affections, that there can no true religion without them." One can have sound doctrine and not be a Christian, but one cannot be a true Christian and not have true affections. Now, it is important to note that affections are not just emotions, they are the response of the whole person. Affections are not emotions as distinct from the other faculties but the whole lot of emotions, will, and mind. They involve the will, the intellect, and the full range of emotions (not just the happy emotions). It is only through the engagement of the affections for God that we can glorify and enjoy Him. 
15. ...be simple, transferable, and flexible. Worship should not require any elaborate ritual or prescribed book of liturgy/prayer. Since it is based on the principles of God's Word, it is simple, not complicated. Worship, if guided by the RP, is also transferable. The elements are defined (and uncomplicated) but the forms and circumstances can be adapted to every culture (when guided by Christian prudence and the light of nature, according to the general rules of the Word). Finally, worship should be flexible. Like its transferability, it is flexible because biblical worship does not and cannot produce a "cookie-cutter" pattern that everyone church must fit into. The flexibility of worship guided by the RP encourages diversity and cultural expressions. 

As I stated above, this list is not exhaustive and I welcome any comments that may help me biblically refine what is said above.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Science vs. Religion: Thoughts on Handling Apparent Conflicts

"While many Christians and non-Christians see the two [love of science and a desire to serve God] as in perpetual conflict, I find they integrate well. They operate by the same principles and are committed to discovering foundational truths. My passion... is helping Christians see how powerful a tool science is to declare God's glory and helping scientists understand how the established scientific discoveries demonstrate the legitimacy and rationality of the Christian faith." ~ Dr. Jeffrey Zweerink, UCLA Assistant Researcher and RTB Scholar

When people find out that my educational background is in physics and that I just graduated from seminary, I am often asked about the alleged conflict between science and religion/faith. When the questions come from a fellow Christian, they generally ask how I can merge the two without giving up my commitment to the inspiration, authority, inerrancy, and infallibility of Scripture (all things to which I am completely committed). This is a very important question and usually I find it comes from people hungry to hear something besides "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" or "religion simply causes fundamentalism, superstition, intolerance and suffering." I enjoy being asked the question because it gives me a chance to try to help others realize there is no inherent conflict between science and the Christian faith, and that the alleged conflict is simply played up by many of the so-called "new atheists" and media hype.

What is a Christian to do when they come across "scientific fact" that seems to conflict with Scripture? Below are several things that I keep in mind when I see headlines or read the latest "new atheist" rant. Not all these things will be possible all the time, but they are things to look for and keep in mind that will help us sort these issues out (this is by no means an exhaustive list and I or others may modify or add to it later):

• Remember the world in which we live... and do not be surprised: I sometimes find myself astonished that someone would treat me with contempt or patronize me like a child when they find out I am a Christian and a scientist, and then, when I come to my senses, I remember that I should expect nothing less. This is exactly what Jesus told us to expect. Christians are a people whose highest allegiance is God Himself and His written Word is the highest authority in our lives. We, however, live in a world whose highest allegiance is any number of idols, particularly human reason. These ultimate allegiances are going to come into contact and, as the man used to sing, "something's gotta give." But, neither side is willing to give up their allegiance. The world looks to reason as the only self-authenticating authority and will not tolerate Christians who look to the Bible as the only self-authenticating authority (of course, Christianity does not deny the value of reason but places it in its rightful place: under God). So, do not be surprised when the alleged conflict is amplified or someone claims your belief is "unwarranted." This is part of the world in which we live.
• Check the source and wait: Sometimes discoveries made by scientists are either reported by the media too early (and incorrectly) or later debunked by further testing and experimentation. In the first case, take note of what you are reading in media articles and from where the information came. Did it come from a published, peer-reviewed article or from a presentation at a scientific conference? There can be a big difference in the reliability of the data. At conferences, researches share raw, infant ideas that can range from Nobel prize concepts to junk and dead ends. Sometimes unpublished, un-peer-reviewed claims are portray as scientific fact when even the researchers would not say that. If you have the knowledge and ability to check the claims, do it. If not, wait and see if further information on the subject comes up after the research has made it through the peer-review system (make use of Google Alerts). If the media story does come from a reputable journal, try to check the reporting and claims by doing your own research or asking a friend who might have expertise in the area. If that is not possible, I would recommend asking my friends at Reasons to Believe, but, as a distant second, I offer my assistance (at times I talk about scientific discoveries from a biblical perspective, some examples are here, here, here, here, and here). When all else fails, wait and follow the story (again, make use of Google Alerts)  Sometimes mistakes can happen, like the recent neutrino debacle (read the before and after) or claims can be over blown, like the Ida circus stunt. When so many people are trying to make a name for themselves, this is the nature of the beast and eventually bogus claims are exposed. 
• Try to separate the data from the interpretation of the data: This can be a huge help when trying to deal with scientific claims that apparently contradict Scripture. There is a difference between scientific data and interpretation of that data. The data is the raw information brought to light by a study or a discovery and that data has to be interpreted with a model or paradigm to figure out what it means and where it fits. Everyone interprets data within a model or paradigm (whether we know it or not) based on our beliefs and worldview. A scientific model refers to the schematic description of a system (or set of data) that accounts for observations and inferences as well as origin and history. It is a paradigm that attempts to offer reasonable explanations for the entire scope or history of a particular system in nature, as well as for its relationship to other phenomena. Particle physics has the Standard Model, for example. There are other models, like naturalistic evolution. Data taken in by various fields of science is generally interpreted within the accepted model. What you are likely reading in a media article (even a journal article) is not the data itself (for that would not sell advertising) but an interpretation of that data. Christians need to separate the data from its interpretation and interpret it within a biblical model. If we really believe God created the universe and wrote Scripture, then we know the data will fit within a biblical model, we just have to do the work of separation and interpretation. Sometimes the interpretations will be almost identical; other times there will be significant differences. For example, see my articles on the historicity of Adam and Eve. Now, again, this can be a very difficult thing to do for someone who does not have access to journal articles (to get the data) or the necessary training to understand and interpret the data. As mentioned above, try to check the claims by doing your own research or asking a friend who might have expertise in the area. If that is not possible, again I would recommend asking my friends at Reasons to Believe, but, again as a distant second, I offer my assistance.
• Remember that everyone is biased... everyone: If there is one good thing that postmodernism has done for society, it is to shown that everyone is biased and no one has the ability to lay aside completely their personal presuppositions. We interpret every piece of data not only in a model (see above) but according to our own presuppositions. As stated above, one of the common modern presuppositions is that human reason is a self-authenticating authority. Another might be that evolution is a scientific fact. We need to look for the hidden presuppositions in bold statements and ask how they might be affecting a person's interpretation of the data. We should not berate others because they have biases (for we all have them), but we should try to help them see how their biases are affecting their interpretation and how other interpretations from other presuppositions are equally valid.
• Remember that God is the God of general and special revelation: Article 2 of the Belgic Confession states: "We know Him [God] by two means: First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe, since that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God: His eternal power and his divinity, as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20. All these things are enough to convict men and to leave them without excuse. Second, He makes Himself known to us more openly by His holy and divine Word, as much as we need in this life, for His glory and for the salvation of His own." What the authors of this great confession were pointing out is that God is the God of all truth, whether it comes from nature or Scripture. This means that science and Scripture will perfectly harmonize when we are interpreting both correctly. The apparent contradictions crop up when we or others are misinterpreting one or both "books." All apparent contradictions are just that, apparent, and not real. Sometimes it takes a lot of hard work and time to figure out where we or someone else has gone wrong in interpretation, but we must never forget that any contradictions are a manifestation of human fallibility, not inherent to God's Word or world. 
• Be humble: Remember, you and I are just as fallible, biased, and sinful as the most hardened, virulent "new atheist." The only difference between us and them is that we have God's grace, forgiveness, salvation, and Holy Spirit (not from anything in us but as a gift so no man can boast, Eph. 2:8-9). The only reason that you and I understand and believe the Scriptures is the Spirit's illumination (1 Co. 2:9-12), therefore be humble when responding to critics, evaluating someone's work, or discussing apparent contradictions with others.
• Pray: When Nehemiah stood before the King Artaxerxes to request permission to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls around the new Temple, he was in a tenuous spot. He could have been killed for his request. In 2:4 the king asks the question "What are you requesting?" and before Nehemiah responded Scripture tells us that he prayed. In that moment, few seconds, he prayed for wisdom and God gave it to him. We need to pray for wisdom when trying to figure these things out. Sometimes they are very difficult (if they were not, there would not be all the controversies we find ourselves in today). We need to pray that God will help us sort out the truth from interpretation, the facts from presuppositional errors; and we need to pray that He will help us come to a proper understanding of both His Word and His world. 
• Remember that God is still God, even if you cannot figure it out: Friends, let us be honest, we are not going to figure everything out. Even the best scholars sometimes have to say, "I don't know." We must remember that even if something seems contradictory and after all our research we still cannot figure it out, God is still God and Jesus is still coming back. I hate not being able to figure something out as much as the next guy, but sometimes (rarely but sometimes) we need to admit it is too much for us, trust God, and go get a milkshake. 

By His Grace,

Taylor