King's Business - 1961-07

BIBLICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY 4005 Verdugo Road Los Angeles 65, Calif. A faith work founded by David L. Cooper, Ph.D., with a literary ministry to Jew and Gentile (Rom. 1:16).. ' FREE—A sample copy of our monthly publication, Biblical Research Monthly

science and the Bible by Bolton Davidheiser, Chairman, Science Division, Biola College

S u o fa ctiO H d t t d

K ecen tly t h e statement was made to a group of graduate students and two university teachers that faith is required no matter what position one takes with regard to evolution. One of the teachers protested, saying that faith has no place whatever in science. He relies completely on the scientific method and went so far as to say that he would not accept the supernatural unless he could put God into a test tube and verify His acts by repeated experimentation. But even reliance on the scientific method requires faith in the “uni­ formity of nature,” for the scientific method is based upon the assumption that under the same circumstances the same event will always produce the same result. This has been observed so often and is so common in our experience that the scientist is likely to overlook it as an act of faith. How­ ever, reference to this was not in­ tended in the statement about evolu­ tion, but rather that certain things which are not explained scientifically are accepted on faith. August Weisman, one of Darwin’s ardent supporters in Germany, said, “When we are confronted with facts which we see no possibility of under­ standing save on a single hypothesis, even though it be an undemonstrable one, we are naturally led to accept this hypothesis, at least until a better one is found.” An example which illustrates this kind of faith is a state­ ment made by George Gaylord Simp­ son in connection with the origin of horses. Among other hypotheses he considers the one that a pair of ani­ mals unlike horses “ suddenly gave birth to a litter of Dawn Horses.” Concerning this he says, “ In the na­ ture of things this hypothesis cannot be ruled out categorically and some respectable scientists support it. Nev­ ertheless it is so improbable as to be unacceptable unless we can find no hypothesis more likely to explain the facts. No such radical jump ever oc­ curred . . . in any other group repre­ sented by the fossil record, so what

logical right have we to assume it happened here unless there is no other explanation?” (Italics not in the orig­ inal.) He is saying that if he can find no hypothesis which is better than one which he considers to be essentially unacceptable, he is willing to accept the unacceptable one. Darwin found it difficult to believe that a structure as complex as the eye could be produced by accidental vari­ ations. In a letter to Asa Gray he said, “ I remember well the time when the thought of the eye made me cold all over.” However, he finally came to the conclusion that “the difficulty of believing that a perfect and complex eye could be formed by natural selec­ tion, though insuperable by our im­ agination, should not be considered subversive to the theory.” Thus' he believed that a structure actually did come about by chance when it is acknowledged to be too difficult for the imagination to conceive o f , its coming about by chance. John M. Taylor said, “How some ancient ancestor had succeeded in developing bone, in many respects the most marvellous tissue of our bodies, is beyond my comprehension. He did it.” Professor Hooton of Harvard said the same thing this way: “All this is complicated, obscure, and dubious. Anyway there evolved from the in­ vertebrates a tribe of animals, which, by hook or by crook, had acquired backbones.” He further said, “ Just how fins developed into limbs is still a mystery but they did.” J. Arthur Thompson said, “ Our frankness in admitting difficulties and relative ignorance in regard to the variations and selections that led from certain dinosaurs to birds cannot be used by any fair-minded inquirer as an argument against the idea of evo­ lution. For how else could birds have arisen?” Indeed, with the best that can be offered to date as an explanation of h o w evolution is accomplished, it seems a great deal of faith is required to believe that it has occurred.

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JULY, 1961

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