[ INC REASE YOUR < INCOIVI1 E
SCIENCE & THE BIBLE by Bolton Davidheiser, Ph.D., Chairman of the Science Division, Biola College
J . .. just as many men and women are doing in a most dignified vocation . . . and at
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A r e c e n t newspaper article tells that a number of medical schools are adding courses in theology to their curricula and comments that the doc tor who disregards the use of prayer as a remedy for sickness will probably soon be as out of date as the doctors who opposed the use of ether in sur gery a hundred years ago. A merging of medicine and theol ogy is indeed a union of science and religion, and one may reasonably ask how this can be. The method of sci ence is to find out the causes of phe nomena b y r e p e a t e d observation through experimentation. Religion is concerned with the relationship be tween God and man. There are several ways we can think of science and reli gion combining their efforts. First, the scientific method might be applied directly to religious prac tices in general and to prayer in par ticular. The very idea of this is repul sive to Christians, but it has actually been done by a religious group who have what they call “ prayer labora tories” and who practice “ scientific prayer.” By experimenting with dif ferent techniques of prayer they try to ascertain what method is most ef fective in achieving the results they desire. A sceond way would be to observe the results that various religious prac tices have on the recovery of patients. Religion may be defined so broadly that even prayer becomes a subjective experience without God. Emotions in fluence health, and anything which relieves tensions and dispels anxieties can be an important factor in promot ing good health. The classical exam ple of this is the case of ulcers. In 1857 a physician named Dr. Brinton wrote, “Mental anxiety so frequently coincides with ulcers that we are fully entitled to regard it as a more or less immediate cause.” Then, as the germ theory of disease was demonstrated
toward the close of the 19th century by Pasteur and others, the emotional factors in health were neglected. A 500-page monograph on ulcers pub lished as recently as 1929 devoted only three pages to emotional factors. But in the following decade, with the in creasing influence of psychology, the bearing of emotions in the case of ulcers was rediscovered. This seems indeed to be the way the medical students are being taught to combine theology with their medical science. We are told that “religion is used in the therapeutic, utilitarian sense.” It is a theology without doc trines, for the doctors regret that reli gious practice tends to be associated with doctrines. Without any attempt to distinguish between that which is Christian and that which is un-Chris- tian or anti-Chjristian they concede that “ various sects which stress faith healing and other aspects of spiritual cure are along a road of truth.” This theology seems to be very similar to psychology, differing mainly in that the patient’s present and past “ reli gious” experiences are considered, but with nothing about a new birth. A third way is the experience of the Christian who has assurance of sal vation and of sins forgiven through the atoning sacrifice of Christ. He should have more freedom from anxiety than one who does not have this blessed assurance. He may take whatever medical treatment is re quired and pray to the Father in the name of the Son that His will might be done. “ In nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which passeth all under standing, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” (Revised Version of 1885)
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THE JEWS ARE OUR CONCERN
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W hen Jesus said, "Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it not unto me,” He was affirming God’s covenant with Abraham and his seed, the Jewish nation - “ I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee.” Here is both group and individual accountability for our attitude toward the Jew. God has not forgotten His covenant people, and the Lord Jesus Christ warns us against neglecting them in their deep need. Our Mission can be your channel of love and mercy to thousands of Jews in spiritual and material need in this and other lands. We invite you to share with us in this cause so close to our Lord’s heart.
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APRIL, 1959
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