Here’s a take on this one that you may not have considered that the Bible demands of our scientific theories. Fitting science to Scripture means that you must first and foremost be honest about it. The Bible has far, far more to say about the need for honesty and integrity than about the age of the earth or evolution. A large part of science involves measuring things, and on the matter of weights and measurement, the Bible is quite clear. For example, Deuteronomy 25:13-16 says this:
Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy, one light. Do not have two differing measures in your house—one large, one small. You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly.
What does this mean for science? It means, for starters:
- You must not have arithmetic errors.
- You must not fudge or cherry-pick the raw data.
- You must neither exaggerate nor downplay the significance of uncertainties, error bars and disagreements.
- You must not take shortcuts.
- You must verify the integrity of your interpretation by using controls and blind studies where appropriate.
- You must not misrepresent the extent or nature of the evidence.
- You must not quote mine.
- You must not resist reasonable critique, and if your interpretation is shown to be in error, you must retract it.
These are the basic rules of honesty and accuracy that reviewers of scientific journals expect all scientific studies—including old-earth and evolutionary studies—to meet. Only when your scientific theories follow these basic rules will they be consistent with Biblical truth.
If you can’t come up with a scientific theory that follows these rules and fits your preconceptions about what the Bible text means, the logical thing to do is to ask whether or not you’ve understood the Bible correctly.