This kind of question is usually asked of those in the sciences who are personally pursuing knowledge. If they write a book, they’ll usually write about ancient man’s inability to explain the forces of nature, and so they invented a divine being and attributed all the unknown processes to that god.
Since the author himself is in the field of knowledge, it makes sense for him to view the whole world through his personal, narrow lens. If the person is in psychology, he will write about ancient man’s inability to understand himself, so he invented a god who gives him worth and understanding. But now that we have psychology, we don’t need religion anymore. You could go on and on with a variety of worldviews, each claiming to have the answer that ancient man did not have.
In the end, these writers lump all the religions together as though they were all the same. This speaks of the authors’ ignorance regarding religions in general and Christianity in particular. These are philosophical ruminations without factual basis, an attempt to show the superiority of their worldview over a religious one. These authors are making the same mistake as did Eve when she chose to gain knowledge apart from walking with God. Man’s sad history is not from a lack of scientific knowledge, as these authors claim, but from lack of enjoying a right relationship with their Creator.
Science is the study of the material world and how it operates. Theology is the study of God and how He operates. The two branches of thought are not incompatible. What’s interesting about some scientists is their insistence on physical material being all there is, and yet they pursue the study of invisible natural laws that govern all physical matter. They grow in their knowledge of non-material natural laws through the study of physical matter, but deny it is possible to know of of a non-material God through the material world He has created to express Himself! “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).
When I read the Old Testament, I don’t see a chronicle of man in pursuit of knowledge. I don’t see him trying to find himself or find a purpose for living. Rather, the OT shows what happens to civilization when man attempts to live without regards to the Creator who made him. It’s the story of what happens to entire nations when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” It’s the story of man’s alienation from others, from himself, and from God.
It’s the story of sinners doing their best and failing, and God revealing His plan of redemption through the Christ to come. The Bible’s story is that we are sinners in need of a Savior, and the Bible tells that story very well.
