Today’s article was originally published by the Student Support Program in April 2014 and is geared toward high-schoolers and college students. Read the unabridged article here.

As many of you travel off to college (or you’re already there) your faith will be challenged to the core, as mine was, by scientific pundits. Can God and science exist together? Can we as Christians use science to defend our faith? Let’s use some real examples and start the dialogue.

The Creation Story

In the beginning, it was dark. Really dark. At this point, you either believe there was a rather large bang or God himself spoke and made light. You can believe a conglomerate of basic organic molecules (primordial ooze, as I like to call it) were thrust together and slowly over the next 4.5 billion years evolved into you and I or God in His foreknowledge and wisdom skillfully crafted all that you see around you. Just a small little difference, I know.

Go ahead. Read Genesis 1 again. Did you catch it? It wasn’t until day four that the sun and moon were created. So a “day” as we know it didn’t start until halfway through God’s great creation. Let that sink in for a second. How was time recorded then? 2 Peter states “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (3:8). Clearly God’s timeline is much different than ours. Could that period of time account for an Earth that is 4.5 billion years old? I don’t know, but it could be a start.

Looks Like It Might Rain Today

If you do the math (something I’ve never been good at) New World proponents feel the Earth is not quite as old as previously mentioned. Christian theorists (probably ones with calculators) have summed the genealogies of Adam and Abraham to calculate the age of the Earth at about 6,000 years. This rough number seems to hold true when analyzing ancient texts across all continents as well.

So where did this 4.5 billion years come from then? The answer (they claim) is right beneath you, literally. It comes from the theory that the geologic layers have been laid down over very long periods of time.

That would make some sense — if it weren’t for the flood. Yeah, it rained for 40 days (Genesis 7:12), but the water persisted for 150 days (7:24) before it even started to go down. That’s right, Genesis 8 tells us it took another 150 days for the water to abate. That adds up to an entire year when the flood changed the face of this great Earth. The incredible pressure from the water coupled with the raging current could account for the geologic layers we study now or, better yet, could have wiped out any geologic formation up until that point.

Christians are mocked for their belief in our version of the story, but you can see that it takes a certain act of faith to believe the other side of the argument.

Bedtime Stories

“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scripture might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). From a stick turning into a snake (Ex. 4:2-4), a floating ax-head (2 Kings 6:6), to the resurrection story (Matt. 28), miracles abound in scripture.

These miracles deny the laws of physics and modern medicine. By our faith, we hold these stories as truth, but to others they are nothing more than a story told to children at bedtime. We accept the scriptures as the true word of God, which gives hope in Jesus Christ, but what bridges the gap to make these “stories” real to us?

The Comforter

Long before I was baptized, I did a lot of things I am not proud of. At one point, I had hit rock bottom. I was alone and afraid, and I prayed the simplest (and most meaningful) prayer of my life. “Lord, I’m scared…I don’t know what is going to happen, but please help me.”

Despite not having a relationship with the Lord, I knew that nothing of this Earth could help me. What happened next science can never explain. I felt warmth cover my entire body and a sudden peace came over me. God had sent his Comforter to abide with me. It was the exact moment that God had proven not only His existence but His LOVE towards me.

If you are reading this article, I pray that you have experienced that sweet spirit too. I hope that God has confirmed in your heart His existence and love in your life. As you embark on your education and career, seeds of doubt will come from all directions. Pray to the Lord that He might strengthen your faith as you stand upon solid ground.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.