Wheaton College Professors Write First Textbook Connecting The Bible to 'Mainline Science'

Wheaton College professors have written what scholars are proclaiming to be the first collegiate textbook connecting mainline scientific theories with scripture. 

Professor of Philosophy and History of Science Robert Bishop, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry Larry Funck, Biology Professor Raymond Lewis, and Geology Professor Stephen Mosier decided to write the textbook after teaching a 300-level general education elective course "Theories of Origins" for years and not having an actual textbook for the class. 

The textbook, Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins, released last year, includes knowledge on several creation theories such as the Big Bang Theory, origin of life, and evolution. 

"It's a Christian textbook that presents mainline science as legitimate science," co-author John Walton told The Christian Post. "Lots of times, Christian books are more or less using mainline science as a foil or as the enemy. Of course, we don't do that. We present the mainline science. At the same time, we present the limits of science in some of the ways that philosophy of science needs to understand."

"In that way, we are able to help students think about these big questions in science in connection with the big questions in Bible theology, particularly in Genesis," Walton continued. "We don't just present conclusions to our interpretations; we also deal with hermeneutics. That is the methods that should be used to think about the Bible and interpret Scripture. Just like we do methodological discussions for science, we do methodological discussions for Bible and theology."

The book focuses on multiple theories within science, comparing scientific and theological views. The objective of the textbook is to give value to mainstream scientific theories from a biblical perspective.

"We end up with a biblical and theological perspective relating evolution to a comprehensive doctrine of creation modeled by which the origin of species can be understood in the context of Christian faith," explained Geology Professor Stephen Mosier. 

"There is a strong case to be made for these different creatures that have lived and God created them," he continued.

Moshier said the new textbook will give students a better perspective to understand the creation story without preaching to them. 

"We don't try to say to any of the students that this is what you have to believe," Moshier added. "We give them the tools to read any variety of literature or claims about origins they may read and have a much higher level of understanding about what goes behind some of those claims. I think we succeeded in opening the world up to students and removing the stumbling blocks that can sometimes lead students to the frustration of having to choose between evolution and creation."

The authors hope more schools will consider using their textbook for their science courses.