This blog is a landing article for social media readers.  It only has excerpts of the full FAQ on this topic.
https://whatsgoddoing.com/faqs/hasnt-science-really-proven-the-bible-wrong/

Many people, including many Christians, think that science and the Bible conflict.  But science is a passion here and having spent time with non-Christian skeptics has solidified that science and the Bible complement each other, not conflict.

The first thing to understand is that after you read past the Creation account at the beginning of Genesis, the Bible is almost entirely about relationships.  Most other science items in the Bible are individual sentences (verses) where God supporting a different topic and dropping in a science fact.  See examples below.

Some examples:

• Examples where the Bible got science right hundreds or thousands of years before science: the earth is round, the earth hangs in space over nothing, the water cycle, the trade winds and the expanding Universe
• The age of the Earth/Universe:  See the details in the FAQ, but Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and the rapidly expanding Universe might provide a time-dilation foundation for young and old narratives both being true.
• Evolution:  The more this is explored, the more “faith” is required to accept macro-evolution.

The verses on these are on FAQ page
https://whatsgoddoing.com/faqs/hasnt-science-really-proven-the-bible-wrong/

Details on linked sub-page
https://whatsgoddoing.com/faqs/hasnt-science-really-proven-the-bible-wrong/science-more-details/

This blog is a landing article for social media readers.  It only has excerpts of the full FAQs on this topic.
https://whatsgoddoing.com/faqs/the-6-year-old-picture-story/
https://whatsgoddoing.com/faqs/why-does-god-allow-bad-things-to-happen/

Many people, including people that do not believe in Christianity, have said the 6-year-old picture story is the first time they have heard an explanation that makes sense for why a loving God would let bad things happen.  You are encouraged to read the linked pages above, but here are some key points:

• Sometimes tough love is the best love.
• Listening to and following wise advice leads to a better life.  Not doing so leads to problems.
• Parents are looking at the whole life of their of their child.  Typically, the child is only looking at “now” and “me”.

Loving and wise parents understand that sometimes a child needs to go through a tough lesson to build good long term character.

Key concepts:

• The child focuses on “now” while the loving and wise  parent sometimes sees “future character” as most important.
• We see this life on earth as the child sees “now” while God is looking at our overall eternal life.
• Like the child, we can experience a better “now” if we decide to trust our loving and wise Heavenly Father.

If nothing else, read the 6-year-old word picture linked above and the verses at the bottom of the FAQ on why God allows bad things to happen such as these (each is summarized):

• Matthew 13:24-30:  This time on earth exposes our true heart
• Romans 5:3-4:  Suffering produces endurance, character and hope
• 2 Corinthians 7:9-10:  Godly grief produces repentance
• Romans 8:28:  God works all things together for our good

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6

Background
The early Church was known for very high levels of faith — but why???  It should not be surprising, they had either seen Jesus or met people that had.  But even more, they had learned what “they will know you are my disciples if you love one another” actually meant because they saw it in action.  God also highlights many people in the Old Testament Tanakh) that have strong faith such as Abraham, Elijah, Moses and David.  All of these people made huge life decisions because of faith.

Hebrews 11 is called the “Hall of Faith” because lists a bunch of people that had true faith.  But what is important is that God did not ask them and does not ask them or us to have “blind faith”.  Instead, He gives all the info we need to have a “reasonable faith” (faith based on experience).  It is reasonable faith that when you flip the switch, the light will come on because it is based on experience.

Faith is like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it grows.  God calls us to prioritize the two greatest commandments.  When we do that in faith, we see blessings in ways that helps us trust Him even more.

What it meant to the original audience
The audience of Hebrews was initially Jewish Christians.  These were people that had deep understanding of what God had done the last 1,500 years including all the people in the Hall of Faith.  Now they were being asked to completely change their understanding of the core of what God is doing.  And doing so would come at great cost for many of them.  They needed to lean heavily on reasonable faith and the Spirit.  To those that did, God would provide peace and purpose in the midst of the storm they would experience.

For us today
Today, depending on where you live in the world, your background experience will likely be much different than the early Church.  Whatever culture you are in, God likely conflicts with it in some very important ways.  Sometimes those differences are very offensive to others.  Learning how to live the two greatest commandments in love can be a challenge.  But with the help of the Word and the Spirit, we can find it more rewarding than anything the world has to offer!

Trusting God brings joy to Him and blessings to us.

Unconditional love casts out fear.

Background
While it is hard to exactly date when Bible books were written, most credible scholars date all the New Testament writings except John’s writings in the 40’s to 60’s AD.  These writings came out when a large number of eye witnesses to what Jesus said and did were still alive.  This gave significant credibility to these writings that were all completed by Jesus apostles either directly or through the hands of those working with them (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).  John’s writings, however, were compiled within about 5 years of 90AD which would have mostly had an audience of second generation Christians.  As one of Jesus’ inner circle of 3 apostles (with Peter and James), having John available to reinforce the original teachings during a time when critics were trying to create dissent was critical (John 21:22).

Dissenters since the time of Jesus have tried to reinject the idea that we need to earn God’s love.  Much of John’s writings emphasize the core gospel of God’s unconditional love.  God integrated His love into our parent / child design.  A truly loving and wise parent makes sure their child understands that there may be consequences and rewards for actions, but all is in context of unrelenting unconditional love.

What it meant to the original audience
These second generation Christians were surrounded by people that wanted them to believe they needed to earn God’s love.  This was especially true of the Jews that still held on to the ritual sacrifices and other activities that Jesus said He fulfilled.  These Christians needed reassurance of God’s unconditional love and validation that “good works” was a “response to” not a “requirement of” that love.

For us today
Similar to their experience, the world today is teaching that you get to Heaven by being a basically person.  Some even add on some required religious rituals.  But God wants us to understand that He offers unconditional love.  Good parents make sure their child understands they are loved regardless of how good or bad they might be.  There will be rewards and consequences for actions, but the loving and wise parent makes sure the child understand those are purposeful in helping the child mature.

God wants us to understand we are unconditionally loved completely separate of “being a basically good person” or completing various religious rituals.

James 4:8  Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.
Jeremiah 29:13 You will find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Background
James, the half-brother of Jesus, was a leader of the Church in Jerusalem as it was forming after Jesus’ ascension to Heaven.  There were many complexities at the time.  “Following God” had completely changed.  After 1,500 years of The Law (Old Covenant), it was now salvation by grace (New Covenant).  None of the New Testament existed yet.  Persecution by the Jews was severe.  All believers gathered together regardless of factors that lead to divisions today.  They didn’t have television, the Internet, social media or even email seek out answers to questions.

They needed God to answer their questions…  They had the heart, but needed the tools.

In Jeremiah’s time, the leaders of God’s people had become completely “religious” and lost track of the relationship and provision God provides when you trust and follow Him.  It had been a very long time since the nation had been close to God and they lacked understanding of how to actually have a wholesome relationship with God.

They needed God to help find their way again…  They had the tools, but needed the heart.

In both instances, God was calling them.  Both needed to seek their loving and wise Heavenly Father because “people” don’t have the best answers to our problems.

What it meant to the original audience
In James’ time and in Jeremiah’s time, big changes had happened and more big changes were coming.  To handle them well, they really needed to get close to God.

For us today
This world is rapidly changing.  People that live in 1st world Western culture countries are seeing a move away from Biblical values.  Other countries have their own issues such as deep corruption, violence, anti-Christian laws, etc.  Navigating how to be an effective tool of God today requires attitudes and values that often do not come naturally and require daily time with God to keep on track.

God has made it known that our sin nature will be clearly a part of this world starting in the Garden of Eden and continuing until the end of this earth.  That is supposed to help us recognize our dependence should be on Him rather than “self”.  Heaven is coming.  Until then, draw near to Him with all your heart and you find Him drawing near to you.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Background
Why would a loving and powerful God let bad things happen?  For the same reason you do and you think it is a good thing.  If you have not read the FAQ word picture of the 6-year-old on the website, do so now — really, go read it.

The book of Romans is the most comprehensive compilation in the Bible of principles and purposes for the Christian living.  The primary audience was the Christians in Rome and many of them had little understanding of the details of God’s work with Israel over the prior 2,000 years.  They were also far away from core set of believers in Jerusalem and they had a wide variety of people trying to influence them such as orthodox Jews, Gnostics, atheists, etc.

The recipients of Paul’s letter had a huge lack of information.  They didn’t have the full Bible because the New Testament was still being written.  They didn’t have an Internet full of preachers or other resources.  They didn’t have dozens of churches to choose from.  Even getting a copy of Paul’s letter would very limited.

They were in deep need for a comprehensive overview of what to believe who was Jesus and what were the fundamentals of His teachings.  But God has His ways of getting His Word out!

The context for this specific passage in Paul’s letter to them (the “book” of Romans) was the turmoil they were seeing in relationships and in the culture.  If you live in a “first world” country today, you likely have a much lower threshold for the definition of persecution and suffering than what they were experiencing.  Slavery was common and fairness / justice was reserved for a privileged few.

Imagine living in that world and looking for evidence that God exists and is good.  Imagine being the 6-year-old in our word picture wondering why my parents don’t rescue me from my suffering?  Are they not able?  Do they not care?  I don’t understand!!!

What it meant to the original audience
This letter covers a wide variety of topics including how you can KNOW that you are going to Heaven, that God loves you unconditionally completely independent of you “being a basically good person” and how to build relationships modeled after the relationship God offers us.

This passage specifically gave them foundational perspective on the mess all around them and how it fit into our full life now and in eternity.  It gave them perspective and peace in a world full of turmoil.

For us today
Depending on where you live in the world, you may already be seeing a world as harsh as what they saw or a world heading in that direction.  When we see or personally experience unfairness or injustice, we need perspective and hope.  Paul tells us:

• God loves us unconditionally.  There may be rewards and consequences, but those are in the context of love.
• We can KNOW that we will spend eternity in Heaven.  This life seems like a long time, but it is a blink of an eye in our full eternal life.  Heaven will be full of only people that have decided to trust God and He will be there in our direct presence to mediate when things start to go wrong.
• We mature in character when a wise and loving is there to help us understand and grow from the results of our free will actions.
• We can have peace and purpose in the middle of chaos if we are in sync with who God is and what He is doing.

This world is a mess.  But we can find peace and purpose in the storm if we take the time to step back and connect with God.  Instead of being in distress over the mess, we can see the opportunity to be a part of the good plan God is rolling out.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Background
The “book” of Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings (proverbs) written by several authors, but mostly by King Solomon.  When his father King David died, Solomon was young and recognized his lack of the lack of wisdom that comes with age.  God asked Solomon what he wanted God to do for him.  Solomon asked for wisdom on how to rule the people.  God said that because he asked for this rather than riches and fame, God would grant him that wisdom plus riches and fame.   Much of the book of 1 Kings in the Old Testament is dedicated to documenting the life of Solomon including evidence that God granted him greater wisdom than anyone in all time.  This led to fame and riches beyond our imagination. Eventually his pride overcame his wisdom and he started seeking primarily filling “self”.  As is often heard among the super rich and powerful, he found all the riches and fame empty to the soul and he documented that in the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament.  In the end, he wrote that the chief source of peace, joy and purpose is only found in God.

What it meant to the original audience
As seen in 1 Kings, Solomon was very influential because of his wisdom.  Important people from distant lands would travel to meet him.  Getting to spend time with Solomon was highly desired.

For us today
As highlighted frequently on our website, God calls Himself our parent and us His children.  Not all children have loving and wise parents.  Those that do will hopefully recognize their blessing early.  For those children, the wise ones will seek a close daily relationship with their parent(s) so they can talk about life and make better life decisions.  God is more loving and wise than any parent.  God communicates to us in a variety of ways, but the primary way is through Bible reading and prayer.  You can tell if you are leaning of “self” or your loving and wise Heavenly Father by if you are spending daily time in prayer and reading your Bible.

God, our loving and wise parent, wants to help you wisely think through your desires and plans.  But God will not force Himself on you.  Do you really believe God is more loving and wise than you.  Your efforts to spend time with Him will show if that is true.

Scripture Reflections are similar to what Christians call Daily Devotions.  They will usually include:

• Some background
• What it meant to the readers at the time
• Potential applications for us today

In addition to the “more comprehensive” reflections here, there are many more “quick reflections” on the social media sites linked on the About / Follow page.

Much of how God communicates to His children (Christians) is through scripture guided by the Spirit.  One key to moving from “religion” to “relationship” with God is like any relationship – spending time together.  Praying for guidance while reading scripture is a key component to building a relationship with our loving and wise Heavenly Father.

Subscribe / Follow to be notified when new content is posted on the site.  See the About / Follow page for more details on that and how to ask questions or provide feedback.

‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’

Background
Jeremiah was a prophet God communicated through to Israel about their wayward ways.  He is sometimes called the weeping prophet because the message he was to deliver is one of tough love.  If you read the word picture on our website of the 6-year-old, you will be reminded that tough love is sometimes the most loving thing a parent can give to their child.  Paul stated a similar thing in his talk to the people are Corinth when he told them that he rejoiced, not because they were grieved, but because they were grieved into repenting.  When we experience enough grief to change bad behaviors, our pain leads to long term good.

Jeremiah was letting Israel (specifically Judah) know that because they were unwilling to change their ways, He was going to send them into exile in Babylon.  Instead of repenting, they persecuted Jeremiah and God sent them into exile.  But God’s loving plan was to use that exile to purify them before their return which happened in 538 BC.

What it meant to the original audience
The message was a call to repent and return to the loving and wise God that had taken such good care of them when they trusted Him.  But they hardened their hearts and were sent into exile.  There was no joy in the situation except a promise that God would rescue them after the tough love lesson was complete.

For us today
Israel went through the cycle many times of rejecting God’s outreached arm, experiencing consequences and eventually being pulled back in after a change of heart towards their loving and wise Heavenly Father.  Israel is a picture of our own lives.  We allow distractions and sins to pull us away from leaning on God for truth, direction, power and purpose.  God lets us experience the consequences of that and encourages us to come back to His love and wisdom.  When we do, we wonder how we could have ever strayed…

God, our loving and wise parent, has good plans for us.  But it is up to us to listen, trust and follow.

We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Background
As mentioned in the prior scriptural reflection (blog), John lived into the 90s AD.  As such, he was living with mostly second generation Christians.  And, as is not rare of any second generation, some key knowledge and wisdom of the first generation starts to become lost.  Four of the five writings of John included in scripture are to remind the audience of key truths and wisdom that Jesus taught John and the others that followed Him.  The first writing of John sequentially in the New Testament is John’s gospel mentioned in the prior blog.  The next three writings are short, targeted letters titled 1 John, 2 John and 3 John.  The fifth book is the prophetic book of Revelation.

People were already infiltrating the Church trying to message that Jesus brought to the world including that God is true source of “light” (truth) and the ultimate response to truth is to love others as ourselves.

What it meant to the original audience
The letter was a clear reminder that the people trying to infiltrate the Church were false teachers trying to replace the message Jesus came to deliver.  The letter clearly reminds them to stand on who was Jesus (God’s Son sent with purpose), the truths He brought and that a proper understanding of Jesus’ message should lead us to loving others as ourselves (it is better to give than receive).

For us today
The message for us today is basically the same as it was to the original audience.  Jesus summarized all God’s teachings into two basic life principles:

• Seek God above all else because:
  • God is offering an unconditional love based relationship with you
  • God is the only source of absolute truth — understand and trust it
• Love others as yourself — it truly is better to give than to receive

John 3:16 calls us to the first lift principle and 1 John 3:16 is a call to respond in action to the second principle.  When we understand, trust and live out these two principles, we find peace and purpose that only God can provide.