I BELIEVE IN SCIENCE
I believe in science - therefore I cannot be a Christian is often presented as an objection to Christianity.
But does that argument make sense?
Christians are strong advocates of scientific endeavour and have provided a lot of the basis for many scientific methods and discovery.
Christians affirm the scientific method as a God given ability and have a desire to explore creation and unlock God’s mysteries.
GALILEO GALILEI (1564-1642) - THE FATHER OF MODERN ASTRONOMY
The father of astronomy - he challenged the then current world view of how the solar system operates as a Christian - this is often misunderstood, as he is often presented as an opponent to the Christian thinking in his time.
What he actually opposed was an inaccurate interpretation of the scriptures, in other words he challenged it as a Christian, with the bible as his highest source of authority.
RENE DESCARTES (1596-1650) - THE FATHER OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY
A scientist, mathematician and philosopher, known for his work on creating a singular system of thought that would enable a logical appraisal of reality.
His central premise being the existence of God and man’s ability to think deriving from that, famous for his statement “I think, therefore I am” and considered the father of modern philosophy by many.
SIR ISAAC NEWTON (1642-1727) - DISCOVERED THE LAWS OF GRAVITY
Famous for his work on gravitational theory and his work on light and color spectrums, Sir Isaac Newton was a confirmed Christian and is considered one of the greatest scientists of all time.
GREGOR MENDEL (1822-1884) - THE FATHER OF GENETIC STUDIES
Famous for his mathematical work on genetics, Mendel was pretty much undiscovered during his time.
A time when there was a movement within certain parts of the scientific community to discredit those scientists that saw that belief in God and acceptance of the scientific method as something that was not contradictory, (check out Francis Galton - a cousin of Darwin, who was a strong proponent of this misguided view).
Mendel was a monk who created his work in his monastery, and became an Abbot eventually.
WILLIAM THOMSON KELVIN (1824-1907) - A LEADER IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN PHYSICS.
William Kelvin was a highly celebrated scientist of his time and it is claimed he had more letters after his name than any other scientist of his period, highly regarded as one of the leading influencers and discoverers of modern physics and a confirmed Christian who attended a chapel daily to pray and commune with God.
SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
So if all these Christians (there are many many more), were known for their commitment to scientific principle and were often central to its development, why is there a misconception about Christians being opposed to “science”?
I BELIEVE IN SCIENCE - THEREFORE I CANNOT ACCEPT FAITH!
There is a misconception about what Christian faith is, when a Christian expresses faith, they are expressing faith in a very real and very personal individual, God.
We are not expressing faith in God’s existence, because that is self evident.
We are expressing faith in God’s character and what He has said to be true…
SCIENCE SAYS!
One of the things we need to understand is that science is not a “thing”, it is not a “religion”, “it is not a worldview”.
Science is a method, a commitment to a logical process that we use to measure the universe around us, it is an abstract concept of thought.
And a belief in God does not mean you cannot accept the scientific method!
WITHOUT GOD...
In fact a Christian will argue that science cannot even be carried out unless the laws governing the uniformity of nature, are guaranteed by the existence of an intelligent controlling entity that ensure their existence.
Without God how can you argue that tomorrow will be like to today? How can you argue that tomorrow will be like yesterday, that reality will continue on the way you expect it to?
You can certainly ‘hope’ that it will, you can have ‘faith’ that it will, but you cannot ‘know’ that reality will continue on tomorrow, just as it has in the past!
ARE YOU LIVING IN THE MATRIX?
You cannot even know that you are not lost in the matrix, that you are living in some computer simulation, you cannot be sure that what you are observing is in fact reality!
Sounds ridiculous? There are many scientists claiming this very thing and offering theories to prove their ideas right now… Just search on Google for ‘are we living in the matrix?’
UNIVERSAL LAWS OF LOGIC GOVERN HUMAN THOUGHT
Without God how can you argue that transcendental absolute laws of logic can even be appealed to unless an intelligence is there who is the source and foundation of those laws of thought?
How can you have ‘laws’ that govern thought, without an intelligence to originate those laws from?
Rocks are not known for their logical abilities, how can rock be a source for the laws that govern thought?
This has been a central tenet of Christian scientific thought from the very beginning.
But Many Christians Don’T Believe In Evolution Which Is Science!
The term ‘evolution’ does not mean ‘science’.
To claim it does is to commit a logical fallacy known as equivocation.
EQUIVOCATION EXPLAINED
An example of that would be where the word science should mean ‘scientific method’’ but instead switches to mean ‘evolution’.
Science = ‘scientific method’ - Correct
Science = ‘evolution’ - Incorrect
So many Christians, who accept the biblical account of God's creation of humanity and life on this earth, are not rejecting science, but are rejecting the arguments of evolutionary theory which they consider to be illogical and not scientifically credible.
CHRISTIANS BELIEVE
Christians do believe in the scientific method.
But they reject the arguments of evolutionary theory...