The video below is from the Institute of Creation Research, a Christian based science research group. I receive their monthly magazine and am very appreciative of the work they do, although I am not always in full agreement with all their viewpoints. The video they recently put out about science and the Bible is one that I think needs a little clarification. As Christians, we believe the Bible to be true in all that it addresses. To quote for the Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy:

“We affirm that Scripture, having been given by divine inspiration, is infallible, so that, far from misleading us, it is true and reliable in all the matters it addresses.”

Often times, Christians will say that we should take the Bible literally regarding all that it touches on. But we must remember, taking the Bible literally means that we takes it to mean what the author intended it to mean. If the author is speaking in hyperbole, then we take it as such. When it speaks using a metaphor, we take it as a metaphor. The point I want you to understand is that the authors of the Bible spoke in many different ways and we are to understand it in the way that it was meant to be understood. Therefore, when the Bible speak of the four corners of the earth, we realize that it does not mean that the earth is flat and actually has four corners, but rather it means the entire earth. When it talks about the sun rising, it does not mean the sun revolves around the earth. As we read our Bibles, we should work very diligently to understand the Bible properly (the formal study of this is hermeneutics).

When trying to use the Bible to establish scientific fact, we should be VERY careful that we are interpreting the Bible as was intended by the author. Many grievous errors have been made by over-zealous Christian who end up looking foolish. It is better to err on the side of caution than to make the Bible say and mean things it was never intended to say or mean.

Jordan Tong

http://vimeopro.com/icr/icr-media/video/34689424