Correctly Handling the Word of Truth

Reformed Hermeneutics Today

Mees te Velde, Gerhard H. Visscher, te Velde, Visscher

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN:
  9781625649119
• eBook ISBN:
  9781630878580
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

How should the Word of God be interpreted and applied today? Does our modern culture affect how we read the Bible? Can certain passages be interpreted in different contexts and in different ways, all the while acknowledging that God speaks with a clear and consistent voice? These are the enduring challenges of hermeneutics. In this volume, no less than sixteen Reformed scholars from four different countries join together to tackle the hard questions that often arise when we busy ourselves with the weighty responsibility of interpreting Holy Scripture. As iron sharpens iron, so also these Reformed scholars challenge each other and their readers to ask not only how hermeneutics can be done, but ultimately, how it should be done so that God's Word of Truth may be handled correctly (2 Tim 2:15).

1

The Two Books Debate

What if Scripture and Science Seem to Say Different Things?

Jason Van Vliet

Joe had a lingering, niggling problem. Let me explain.1

Joe grew up in a solid, Reformed home. And whether it was at home, or in church, or at school, the message concerning the beginning of this world was always the same. God miraculously created all things in six days. In fact, to this day Joe can still remember the big chart that Miss Jansen, his kindergarten teacher, put up on the wall with beautiful pictures of what God created on each day. A bright patch of light on the first day. Sun, moon, and stars on the fourth day. An elephant, a horse, and of course Adam and Eve, on the sixth day. He never forgot Miss Jansen’s large, colorful creation chart.

So far, so good. Now, after high school, Joe studied engineering and eventually got a job in a robotics firm. He also loved to read up on the latest scientific developments: astronomy, geology, chemistry, biology . . . he loved them all. He was also impressed by all the new discoveries: from the stunning hi-res photography sent by the Mars Rover to the exploration of microbial life at the bottom of the Mariana Trench—some ten kilometers below the surface of the ocean. It was all very fascinating stuff!

But for Joe it also caused a problem. The same scientists who were making all these great discoveries also said that the universe is about thirteen billion years old, and that life forms developed, by a process of evolution, over millions of years. What’s more, these scientists held that death was commonplace in the world long before human beings ever walked the face of the earth. And all of these discoveries did not seem to fit with what the Bible says. It was all so very different compared to what Miss Jansen taught him with that big, colorful chart in kindergarten.

One day Joe finally shared his problem with a Christian brother at church, Bob. Like Joe, Bob was into scientific things. Much to his relief, Joe learned that Bob had also experienced the same tension. However, Bob said to Joe, “You just have to work through it using the two books doctrine.” “What’s that?” asked Joe. “Well, basically, it’s like this,” Bob explained. “What God wants us to know about salvation he teaches us in the Bible, and what God wants us to know about creation he teaches us through science. The Bible is one book, creation is another book. They don’t contradict each other. They’re just teaching us about different topics. It’s even in one of our confessions, right at the beginning of the Belgic Confession somewhere.” Joe thought that Bob made an interesting point about the two books. But was Bob correct? That’s another—and a very important—question.

* * * *

It’s not uncommon for people to refer to the two books of God.2 The first one is the book of “God’s word in Scripture,” and the second one is the book of “God’s works in creation.”3 These two books are also sometimes called special revelation and general revelation, respectively. Moreover, it is often said that the first book, Holy Scripture, teaches us about salvation, while the second book, creation, teaches us about science.4 So, at first glance, it would seem that as long as we go to the Bible for answers about salvation and to creation for answers about science, all should be well. For instance, this is precisely what Roland Frye has argued:

Science and faith will conflict irreconcilably only if we insist upon confusing and conflating the two books of God. And if we do that, the result will be either bad for science or bad for religion, or bad for both. Our purpose should be to avoid such confused readings, and to concentrate upon getting the most we can out of each of these books.5

In theory that might sound reasonable. Yet, as Joe discovered, in practice it’s just not that easy. For example, the first book, the Bible, does speak about how God created the heavens and the earth. It may not contain every detail that our curious minds would like to know about how he did it. Yet certainly God does speak about it in his Word. He even says how long it took him to do it. Genesis 1 speaks of six days.6 However, after carefully and thoroughly studying creation, a rather substantial number of scientists have come to different conclusions. They have concluded that the development of life forms on earth took millions of years and involved some sort of evolutionary process.

So it looks like we’ve reached an impasse. God’s Word in Scripture seems to say one thing, and God’s work in creation seems to say another. The two books appear to contradict each other. And yet we firmly believe that God does not speak out of two sides of his mouth: “God is not man, that he should lie” (Num 23:19). In fact, he is the truth (Isa 65:16; John 14:6). So, from the very start we can establish that God does not deceive us!

Yet what do we do with Joe’s lingering problem? The answer to that question has everything to do with hermeneutics, which is the study of how we correctly interpret the Word of God. To be more specific, should the book of creation cause us to interpret the book of Scripture differently? In other words, should general revelation guide us as we interpret special revelation? Or is it the other way around? Should special revelation teach us how to use general revelation?

In answer to these questions, here is the main point that I’ll aim to put forward in this article: If we elevate the role of general revelation beyond what God intended it to accomplish, then we may very well begin to feel tension between what Scripture says and what science says. However, precisely because general revelation is God’s revelation we must keep it within its God-ordained boundaries. And if we do that properly, then we are well on our way to reducing the tension.

Let’s explore this matter in three steps. First, we’ll analyze a proposal written by David Diehl about how to understand the relationship between the two books. Second, we’ll go to the Belgic Confession and see what it actually says about these two books. Third, we’ll apply this concretely to hermeneutics. And along the way, we’ll always endeavor to give the final authority to Holy Scripture, the Word of God.

David Diehl’s proposal

David Diehl is concerned that North American Christians do not have a very solid understanding of general revelation, the book of creation.7 Although interestingly, in a footnote he remarks that Calvinists with Dutch heritage are an exception.8 However, before any Calvinists, even those of Dutch extraction, start resting on their laurels, Diehl has a challenge for them. He wants their doctrine of general revelation to be even more robust than it presently is. First, though, he sums up the status quo. According to Diehl people who take the Bible seriously can all agree on the following:

1. General revelation is an ongoing revelation of God through his works of creation and providence.

2. General revelation gives a knowledge of God’s general character and will.

3. This knowledge of God from general revelation has been darkened and distorted by sin.

4. In spite of sin, general revelation itself is clear, and therefore God is not unjust when he punishes people who reject or suppress his revelation.

5. Scripture and the grace of the Holy Spirit are needed to enable us to understand the message of general revelation properly.9

So far, so good. Indeed, most, ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contributors
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: The Two Books Debate
• Chapter 2: Interpreting the Bible in and with the Church
• Chapter 3: The Hermeneutics of Dogma
• Chapter 4: Interpreting Historical Narrative
• Chapter 5: “For the Word of YHWH will certainly come true” (1 Kgs 13:32)
• Chapter 6: The Structure of Jeremiah
• Chapter 7: 1 Timothy 2:12–15
• Chapter 8: Christian Ethics and God’s Use of the Bible
• Chapter 9: A Soteriological Perspective on Our Understanding
• Chapter 10: The Reader as Focal Point of Biblical Exegesis
• Chapter 11: Another Wax Nose?