TAXONOMY
TAXONOMY
“And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field... ” (Genesis 2:17-20 KJV)
I am indebted to Prof. John Lennox for the following insight. Lennox is a mathematics professor at Oxford and a world renown Christian apologist. In addition to English he speaks, French, German, and Russian. He has debated some of the world’s most famous atheists. During a Q and A someone brought up the ridiculous notion that the Bible is opposed to science. Quite to the contrary, Lennox pointed out, for in the very beginning God introduced Adam to the science of taxonomy. Taxonomy, as you know, is that branch of science that encompasses the description, identification, nomenclature, and classification of organisms. God Himself made Adam the world’s first taxonomist. Remember! “Whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” Of course God wants man to investigate and learn. God even gave to man dominion over all of creation (Gen. 1:26). This dominion also included herbs and trees (Gen. 1:29). Adam was further trusted with the responsibility of dressing and keeping the garden (Gen. 2:15). With the help of God Adam also became the world’s first ecologist.
It is ridiculous to assume that the Bible is opposed to science. Dr. Lennox further pointed out that the pioneers in modern science believed in God. Dr. Henry Morris, for example, listed over 100 believing scientists in his book “Men of Science - Men of God”. The list includes Copernicus, Bacon, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, Pascal, Newton, Boyle, Faraday, Mendel, Einstein, etc. etc. etc. Lennox insisted that faith in God was key to scientific discoveries. Believing that the universe is designed inspires scientists to search for meaning.
The SETI program, for example, began in 1959. It stands for “Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence”. It positions radio telescopes around the world searching for some “pattern” in radio waves that reflect intelligence. The “belief” that there is intelligence out there is key to the search for it. If they didn’t “believe” the project would be immediately abandoned. It is ironic that many “scientists” who “believe” the universe created itself without intelligence, are the very ones convinced that out there, somewhere, is “intelligence”. Doesn’t it seem a bit arbitrary to label “belief” in extraterrestrials as “science”, and “belief” in angels and demons as “superstition”?
Sir Isaac Newton was a Bible believer and yet was one of the greatest scientists who ever lived. He laid out the three laws of motion, discovered the law of universal gravitation, and the famous inverse-distance-squared law. He performed many experiments on optics and light, and invented calculus. He rejected decisions made merely by authority and promoted the use of scientific experiments to discover truth. Remarkably, however, Newton spent more time on theology than he did on science. In fact, he wrote some 1.3 million words on biblical subjects. He studied the Bible for days and weeks at a time, and took special interest in miracles and prophecy. In a manuscript on rules for interpreting prophecy, Newton noted the similar goals of the scientist and the student of prophecy. For some reason, however, this vast theological legacy lay hidden from public view for two hundred years. It was not made known until 1936.
Not only are many scientists believers, a great many link their scientific discoveries to prayer. This was certainly the case with the late Dr. George Washington Carver, the Father of Synthetics. So don’t let anyone try to tell you that the Bible is opposed to science!